Fans of Japanese cinema will be happy to learn that IFC has recently acquired North American distribution rights to director Shinya Tsukamoto’s final two installments of his acclaimed “Tetsuo” trilogy. The second film in the series, “Tetsuo II: The Body Hammer” was made back in 1992, while the concluding chapter, “Tetsuo III: The Bullet Man,” was completed just last year and marks his English-language feature debut. The series tells the story of man, who when angry, becomes a human weapon.
The first “Tetsuo” entry – Tsukamoto’s first film – dates back to 1989, and was credited for reviving Japanese cinema as a daring and innovative brand. The first cut of “Tetsuo III: The Bullet Man,” had its world premiere at the 2009 Venice Film Festival. Following Venice, a re-cut version debuted at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
“As a lover of Japanese action cinema from an early age,” said IFC President Jonathan Sehring in a press release, “I have always admired how that culture has used popular cinema as a way of reflecting real-world anxieties and conflicts. The ‘Tetsuo’ movies are no exception, and I am very excited to bring them to a whole new generation of audiences.”
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
