The Legend of the Stardust Brothers

CLASSICS: Rediscoveries & Restorations

New York Premiere

Q&A with director Macoto Tezka

When he was a 22-year-old film student, Macoto Tezka (son of pioneering manga artist Osamu Tezuka) decided to take on his first feature film by teaming up with musician Haruo Chikada and adapting his 1980 “imaginary soundtrack” concept album The Legend of the Stardust Brothers into a movie. The result is a campy Phantom of the Paradise-inspired send-up of ’80s Japanese pop culture and the corporate music industry filled with celebrity cameos, infectious musical performances and seemingly endless costume changes. A complete flop upon release, the film has since been plucked from obscurity and restored with a new Director’s Cut, making it ripe for rediscovery as a cult classic!

1985. 100 min. Directed by Macoto Tezka. With Shingo Kubota, Kan Takagi, Kyoko Togawa, ISSAY.