[Toilet & Bowels]

I was quite disappointed by Tetsuo II and Snake of June was OK, but not amazing or anything.

Also, has anyone seen either of Kei Fujiwara's film Id, or Organ? ASP I'm looking at you.

[atsonicpark]

Tokyo Fist is my favorite of Tsukamoto's films. I used to hate Tetsuo II but it grew on me. I love Gemini a lot, too.. very underrated. The only one I'd avoid is Nightmare Detective.

Yeah, I've seen Organ and Id. They're really really dark and artsy and sickening to look at but I love them. Id in particular is insane. It got a really negative reception, probably because it's so slow and disjointed but there are some unbelievable scenes in it. There's this amazing scene where a girl rips all her guts out, and the background is completely black. Another great scene has to be the scene where a garden is filled with blood from a fountain. Organ's a bit slow but for some reason it has gotten a better reception from most people, perhaps because it's more violent.

[Toilet & Bowels]

Cheers, Gemini is the one I'm most interested in seeing next. Have you seen any of the films he made before Tetsuo? I'd be interested to see those but I don't think they've ever been released in the UK.

[atsonicpark]

I've seen Electric Rod Boy and Phantom of Regular Size. You know, I think they were released in the UK, but they definitely weren't released in America. Same goes for his short movie Haze. Luckily I've seen all 3, via youtube and asian-horror-movies.com.

Electric Rod Boy was way too long but it was really interesting. Phantom of Regular Size is exactly like Tetsuo except weirder, faster, and in color. It was insane and only about 16 minutes long. Worth seeing as a curiosity but nothing to go wild over.

[atsonicpark]

Oh, Hiruko the Goblin isn't too hot either, unless you like kind of a weird horror/comedy mashup thing. But that one wasn't really written, or casted, or looks anything like a Tsukamoto film.

I LOVE Bullet Ballet, but it's probably a bit long and slow for most people... I love Vital, too, though again it's a bit long and slow for most people. Haha. I just love Tsukamoto's style, in general.

[Derek]

Tokyo Fist!

[me.]

Just bought Gemini for 300 yen, it's so long ago since i saw Tetsuo i think a rewatch might have to be done soon.

[atsonicpark]

Here is my review for ID from the imdb:

Id is a film that seems very simple on the outset but the deeper it goes in, the more you start to realize that something is very amiss. The widely-circulated plot summary of this film about a killer roaming around a village doesn't really explain at all what this film is about. And having only watched this film twice, I don't know if I can really think of a better summary anyway. To put it simply, this is film that is not for everyone and you will not walk away from this understanding every little thing that happened. Of course, that's probably the point, and there's a lot to appreciate it here besides all the headscratching moments.

This film seems to be dealing with a lot of religious symbolism that I couldn't hope to comprehend, but it also hits on some interesting themes and ideas. From what I can tell, the story is about a village of people who eat pigs, and the movie seems to hit us over the head with the fact that we are not much different than pigs -- they are of an equal species. And there are many scenes in this film of people eating pig meat. Apparently, if you eat the flesh of your own species, you will go insane. So, I think "symbolically", everyone in this film is insane because they're all pigs themselves, eating pigs. Which isn't really even that deep of a point to make, but it perhaps explains why every single character in this film is nuts.

Anyway, this film is divided into six similar chapters that is in a book called "Id". Three people read the book which has no text in it. The film slowly goes from hilariously bizarre to bizarrely hilarious to disturbing over the course of the six chapters. Lots of scenes of people screaming, being beaten over the head, eating pig meat, bleeding from their heads, looking through holes, and interacting with pigs. Near the end of the film, the gore goes through the roof. And nothing is really explained, again, there's just vague allusions to religion and child abuse and... pigs.

So, why would I bother giving this film such a high score? I won't claim to understand every element, but I think the film was put together well enough that it doesn't just scream "nonsense" at me. I drew my own conclusions and have my own interpretation for what all this means -- I mean, this IS an art film. If you don't like David Lynch, Alexandro Jodorowsky, or others you probably won't appreciate this. There is just some absolutely amazing, beautiful, artful shots here (like a scene where someone gets hit in the head with a baseball bat and the entire screen turns to blood puddles; many scenes where the characters are isolated in rooms that are filled with nothing but blackness; a scene of a woman with hands coming out of her stomach; and an amazing scene where a yard is completely filled with blood puddles and rain before the earth splits apart). The characters are all extremely unlikeable but are hilarious. The film is loaded with gore. I mean, it's always interesting, there's always something cool to look at, and a lot of the film DOES make sense -- just, as a whole, it comes across as a bit of a mess.

The film is kind of slow, and it seems the director knew that because she purposely sped up certain scenes for unintended (? Probably very much intentional actually) humor. And you'll probably walk away from the film somewhat unsatisfied, as a lot of things don't add up. But I for one think this is some kind of masterpiece -- it could've used some tighter editing perhaps, but having watched this a second time just now, I'd be hard-pressed to tell you exactly what COULD be cut out. This is a film that I have some mixed feelings about, but I can safely say that the "artful" portions of it make it more than watchable. As a film, it barely scrapes by, but as an art piece, it's absolutely inspiring.

Watch at your own risk.

[barnaclelapse]

I'd go with Tokyo Fist as well, and I've sadly yet to see either Organ or Id.

[atsonicpark]

TETSUO III!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.nipponcinema.com/blog/asm...etsuo-project/

[atsonicpark]

Phantom of Regular Size is back on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMDaIoqhsYU

MUST WATCH for Tetsuo fans...