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Even with a glorious mishmash of a pop soundtrack, it’s not obvious why Makoto Tezuka’s cult musical needs a revival

A curio that’s lain dormant for many years since it first sashayed on to screens in 1985, this Japanese teeny-bop musical supports the argument that not all cult films need to be revived. Ultimately, some were flops the first time round for good reason. That said, lovers of Asian kawaii culture, camp and Japanese bubblegum pop, which all converge in this confection, are likely to be satisfied.

Like so many of pop-tastic exploitation projects (see also the Monkees’ Head), the music comes first and the story splicing it all together a distant second. Musician-impresario Haruo Chikada composed the soundtrack of cheesy, synth-heavy bop and then hired director Makoto Tezuka to string the songs together into a script. Et voila, the confection they came up with this is a...

Makoto Tezuka, also known as Macoto Tezka, was born in 1961 in Tokyo and is a Japanese film and anime director, with his own company, Neontetra. Son of the Manga artist Osamu Tezuka, he co-owns Tezuka Productions and helped in releasing the works of his late father. Some of his works include “Hakuchi: The Innocent” (1999), “Black Kiss” (2004), the anime “Black Jack” (2004).

On the occasion of his 1985’s cult debut feature “The Legend of the Stardust Brothers“ (“Hoshikuzu Kyodai no Densetsu”) being released by Third Window Films we speak with him about the making of that film, the challenges and the outcomes.

The making of “The Legend of the Stardust Brothers” has an upside-down story-line, as you started from the soundtrack. Can you tell us the story of how you found Haruo Chikada (the music’s author) and how you two started to collaborate?

Haruo Chikada is a musician who made that album first.