FILM
Shinya Tsukamoto probably grew up watching Godzilla tear-ass his way through toy Tokyos. But his own brand of film violence is considerably darker. Exhibit A: the unrated director's-cut DVD of the 1991 Tsukamoto classic Tetsuo II: Body Hammer.
This is the unnerving tale of Taniguchi, a nondescript everyman driven insane when an industrial gang kidnaps his son. Taniguchi is mad, as in David Banner-Incredible Hulk mad: He manifests weapons out of his own body.
In the film's early scenes, the director's handheld camerawork - fast, claustrophobic glimpses of panicked, black-clad people running through blue-hued cityscapes - feels like close-up outtakes from The Matrix. Tetsuo II mixes live action and manga for organic-mechanical imagery, à la David Cronenberg.
The disc lacks behind-the-scenes clips, but Tetsuo II is more about getting random-access primal-scream therapy. "You feel the beauty in destruction," whispers the director, who plays Taniguchi's nemesis. "So go ahead, destroy."
Tetsuo II: Body Hammer: $29.95. Manga Entertainment: www.manga.com.
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