Basic Tsukamoto

Basic Tsukamoto is the kind of interview-oriented profile of a director that might be found as a bonus feature in a boxed set. The subject is insanely creative Japanese cult-film director Shinya Tsukamoto, who burst onto the international film scene with his 1989 breakthrough film Tetsuo: The Iron Man, a film that—along with later efforts such as Tetsuo II: Body Hammer and Tokyo Fist—attracted a legion of loyal fans (and invited comparison to the films of David Cronenberg) with its outrageous science-fiction plot revolving around the melding of flesh and technology, as well as generally disturbing sexual overtones and graphic violence. Basic Tsukamoto is an adequate primer on the director's work, featuring an in-depth interview with Tsukamoto covering various aspects of his career, as well as rare clips from the director's earliest 8mm films, and footage from later Tsukamoto films relatively unknown outside of Japan. Larger world cinema collections, as well as Tsukamoto fans, will certainly find this worthwhile, but it's optional for others. Aud: P. (J. Shannon)