I was lucky enough to get to see Tetsuo The Iron Man in a theater back in the early ’90s. The tiny Studio I&II Screening Rooms tucked in the back of the Electric Company Mall booked the weirdness from Japan. I’d seen a few stills in cult movie magazines. I was there Friday night for the first showing, Tetuso was as brilliant, wild and strange as teased. It was so strange that I had to come back on Sunday to watch it one more time to see what I really witnessed the first time. It stuck with me with its mecha-nightmare visuals. Writer-director Shinya Tsukamoto had burned himself a spot in my brain. While he did a sequel shortly after the first (Tetsuo II: Body Hammer), I had no idea that in 2009, he returned to the subject with Tetsuo – The Bullet Man until the Blu-ray arrived in my mailbox. While it might not be the same as seeing it at the Studio I & II, my HDTV is about the same size as their movie screen. But would the nightmares that follow be the same size?
Anthony (Eric Bossick) grew up with an American dad and a Japanese mother. He now lives in Japan with a wife Yuriko (Lost In Translation‘s Akiko Mono) and son. While he’s taking the kid for a walk something horrifying happens as a mysterious car creeps after them. While the car seems to be coming after Anthony, it backs up and goes after the son. The wife is horrified that Anthony isn’t tracking down their son’s killer for revenge. Although it turns out Anthony doesn’t need to find him. The killer arrives and shoots Anthony. But instead of killing Anthony, the bullet causes Anthony to transform into a mecha human. Why has this happened? Turns out that this isn’t some random mistake. He’s sent on a mission to discover what really brought his father to Japan.
Tetsuo – The Bullet Man is as intense as the first movie. Probably a bit more intense thanks to director Shinya Tsukamoto playing a pivotal role in the film that I won’t disclose. There’s a frantic nature to the camerawork that adds so much to the craziness of a man being overtaken by his mechanical self. Chu Ishikawa once more supplies the industrial soundtrack that turns clanging and grinding into music. The special effects and creature designs will once more let Tetsuo landscape haunt me at 3 in the morning. The third entry in the series goes a bit deeper as it deals with loss and a crazed sense of true identity. Tetsuo – The Bullet Man is an intense mecha experience. Now I need to watch it again.
The Video is 1.77:1 anamorphic. Tsukamoto has the film made to feel black and white with a grainy element to bring out the mechanical effects on the screen. It has the feel of a Brothers Quay movie. The Audio is DTS-HD 5.1 in Japanese and English depending who is talking. The sound deserves to be cranked all the way up to match extreme imagery. The movie is subtitled in English. There is an option to only subtitle the spoken Japanese.
Audio Commentary with Actor Eric Bossick and Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes get into the cinema of Shinya Tsukamoto.
Tetsuo The Bullet Man Multi Material Version (70:31) has the original soundtrack and dialogue, but replaces the original film with storyboards, behind the scenes footage and other things. You get to see the way the effects were created. It’s a great way to watch a Behind the Scenes documentary.
Promotional Gallery (2:01) are color press photos, posters and more.
Original Japanese Trailer (1:57) lets us know that it played a few major film festivals.
Original US Release Trailer (1:58) has the release when IFC Midnight put it out.
Unearthed Classics present Tetsuo – The Bullet Man. Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto. Screenplay by Shinya Tsukamoto & Hisakatsu Kuroki. Starring Eric Bossick, Akiko Monō, Yuko Nakamura, Stephen Sarrazin & Shinya Tsukamoto. Running Time: 71 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: July 21, 2026.
