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{{Infobox film
| name           = 964 Pinocchio
| image          = 964Pinocchio1991Poster.jpg
| caption        = Japanese theatrical release poster
| native_name    = {{Infobox Japanese|hide=no|header=none|kanji=ピノキオ√964}}
| director       = [[Shozin Fukui]]
| producer       = 
| screenplay     = {{Plainlist|
* Shozin Fukui
* Makoto Hamaguchi
* Naoshi Gôda
}}
| story          = Shozin Fukui
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Haji Suzuki]]
* [[Onn-chan]]
}}
| music          = Hiroyuki Nagashima
| cinematography = Kazunori Hirasawa
| editing        = Shozin Fukui
| studio         = Honekoubou
| distributor    = 
| released       = {{Film date|df=yes|1991|9|14|Japan}}
| runtime        = 97 minutes
| country        = [[Japan]]
| language       = [[Japanese language|Japanese]]
| budget         = 
}}
{{nihongo|'''''964 Pinocchio'''''|ピノキオ√964|Pinokio√964|{{lit|[[Pinocchio]]√964}}|lead=yes}}, released in the United Kingdom as '''''Screams of Blasphemy''''', is a [[1991 in film|1991]] [[Japanese cyberpunk]]-[[horror film]] directed by [[Shozin Fukui]].
== Plot ==
''964 Pinocchio'' is a memory-wiped [[Sexual slavery|sex-slave]] [[cyborg]] who is disposed of by his owners for failing to maintain an [[erection]]. He is discovered by ''Himiko'', a homeless girl, while wandering aimlessly through the city. Himiko has also been memory-wiped, but remains fully functional. She spends her days drawing maps of the city to aid other amnesiac people.

Himiko takes Pinocchio home and tries to teach him to speak. After much effort, he has a breakthrough and finally becomes aware of his situation. Himiko and Pinocchio kiss and become physically intimate, triggering something in both of them. Pinocchio's body erupts in an inexplicable [[metamorphosis]], spewing blood, pus, and vomit. This occurrence allows Himiko's memories to return. Meanwhile, Pinocchio’s head director, accompanied by his secretary, plots to kill him.

Himiko pretends to help Pinocchio post-metamorphosis, but later forcefeeds him trash before shackling him to a pyramidal concrete block. Back at her house, she tortures him, accompanied by a partner (who was tasked by the head director to find Pinocchio). Pinocchio eventually regains his memories and escapes, running through the streets at high-speed as crowds of horrified civilians watch.

Himiko teams up with Pinocchio's developers in attempt to put an end on his destructive reign. Pinocchio reaches the factory where he was built and confronts his developers. The head director shouts that Pinocchio must die. Pinocchio [[disembowelment|disembowels]] him before running off, leaving his horrified secretary and partner behind. The secretary starts uncontrollably convulsing. Later, Pinocchio finds Himiko, who commands him to tear off his face, but tears off her own face instead, revealing a large [[Rock (geology)|stone]]-like head. Enraged, Pinocchio [[Decapitation|rips her head off her shoulders]] and places it over his own. The two fuse into a singular entity and declare that they love being together.

== Cast ==
{{expand section|date=April 2025}}
* Haji Suzuki as Pinocchio, a memory wiped cyborg who was thrown out due to him having an erectile dysfunction. He later gets a metamorphosis before setting off in a rampage.
* Onn-chan<ref name="Note012">Used as a pseudonym for the actress in said-film.</ref> as Himiko, A homeless girl who takes care of ''Pinocchio'' and draws maps of the city to aid other memory-wiped people. She later experiences a metamorphosis, causing her to envision a past version of herself stabbing something. After this, she betrays Pinocchio.

* Mitsuji Otsubo as Narishima, a mercenary tasked with capturing Pinocchio under the orders of the head director.

* Kyoko Hara as the Secretary, an assistant to the head director, known for her unsettling and surreal demeanor.
* San’yutei Rakumaro as the Captain, a member of the team pursuing Pinocchio.
* Hisashi Goda as the Hungry Ghost, a mysterious figure contributing to the film's hallucinatory tone.
* Kita Koji as the Magic Man (guest appearance),

== Production ==
''964 Pinocchio'' was created on a low-budget using [[Guerrilla filmmaking|guerrilla-filmmaking]] techniques, with scenes filmed in [[Tokyo]] utilizing reactions from real crowds of people.<ref name="Collider">{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/964-pinocchio-most-distinctive-adaptation/|title='964 Pinocchio' Remains the Most Distinctive (and Disturbing) Adaptation of the Fairy-Tale Classic|date=2022-10-26|website=Collider|access-date=2023-06-09}}</ref> The team had to get permits for most of the scenes filmed on the streets. The famous scene of Pinocchio parting a crowd of people while running through Tokyo was shot in [[Shinjuku]] in a pedestrianised area. According to Fukui, it was one of the few scenes filmed in the city without a permit due to the crew being legally bound to shoot off the road.

After working on [[Tetsuo: The Iron Man|''Tetsuo the Iron Man'']] as an assistant director, Fukui was encouraged by director friend [[Gakuryū Ishii|Sogo Ishii]] to direct a feature. After working on special effects and editing for Ishii's 1989 short film,''The Master of Shiatsu'', Shozin would finally have an idea for a story which would later become known to be ''964 Pinocchio''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Dazed |date=2025-03-18 |title=964 Pinocchio: The story behind the 1991 cyberpunk fairytale |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/film-tv/article/66384/1/964-pinocchio-story-cult-1991-cyberpunk-fairytale-japan-disney-shozin-fukui |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=Dazed |language=en}}</ref>

According to an interview with Fukui on the 88 Films [[Blu-ray]] release, the script was written while he was [[homeless]].

The actress who played Himiko was initially just a crew member until she was cast a week before filming started. She is credited in the movie as Onn-chan, which was a pseudonym created for the film. ''964 Pinocchio'' was the only movie she ever acted in.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Midnight Eye interview: Shozin Fukui |url=http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/shozin-fukui/ |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=www.midnighteye.com}}</ref> The actor who played Pinocchio, Haji Suzuki, had a personal life with his parents being farmers, he had returned to his hometown, got married, and has since taken over the farm.<ref name=":0" />

Due to the limited budget, some improvisations had to be made during filming. Director Shozin Fukui stated in a 2007 interview included in the DVD release that they used an old wheelchair as a makeshift dolly. Filming and editing lasted 6 months each.<ref name="HNN">{{cite web|url=https://horrornews.net/10319/film-review-964-pinocchio-1991/|title=Film Review: 964 Pinocchio (1991)|date=2010-08-09|website=HorrorNews.net|access-date=2023-06-09}}</ref> The smoke bombs used during filming were quoted to have "smelled very bad" and were difficult to control.<ref name=":1" /> Following the release of ''964 Pinocchio'', most of the actors quit all their involvement, indicating they felt that they had completed their performance.<ref name=":0" />

To promote the film prior to its release, Fukui had flyers and posters put up at music venues, movie theatres, galleries, restaurants and event spaces. He even spray-painted promotional material on a car and drove it around the city.<ref name=":1" />

Fukui has cited ''[[Blade Runner]], [[Possession (1981 film)|Possession]]'' and [[The Texas Chain Saw Massacre|''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'']] as big influences on his work.<ref name=":0" />

== Release ==
The film was shown at the [[Rotterdam Film Festival]], which Shozin never went despite the programmer seeing the film and had played it there. Shozin was also even given a photo of the audience at the festival during the screening.<ref name=":0" />

[[Unearthed Films]] released the film on DVD in the United States in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |title=964 Pinocchio |url=http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=626245 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203054100/http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=626245 |archive-date=3 February 2010 |access-date=2011-04-08 |publisher=dvdempire.com}}</ref>

The film was released in a single edition DVD and in the ''Cyberpunk Collection'' alongside Fukui's ''[[Rubber's Lover]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=1368470|title=Cyberpunk Collection (2 Pack)|publisher=dvdempire.com|access-date=2011-04-08}}</ref>

''964 Pinocchio'' was re-issued for the first time on Blu-Ray on February 7, 2023, by [[Media Blasters]], and again for March 24, 2025 by 88 Films, including a booklet essay by Mark Player, Fukui's earlier short films, ''[[Gerorisuto]]'' and ''[[Caterpillar (1988 film)|Caterpillar]]'', along with both a filmed introduction from [[Stephen Thrower]], a new interview with Fukui along with the aforementioned 2007 interview.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-11 |title=Paranoid android on the loose! 88 Films announces cyberpunk-horror film '964 Pinocchio' on Blu-ray in March {{!}} cityonfire.com |url=https://cityonfire.com/964-pinocchio-blu-ray-88-films-screams-of-blasphemy/ |access-date=2024-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211221125/https://cityonfire.com/964-pinocchio-blu-ray-88-films-screams-of-blasphemy/ |archive-date=11 December 2024 }}</ref>

== Reception ==
A ''[[ScreenAnarchy]]'' review stated, "964 Pinocchio is meticulously tailored to weigh on its audience. ... You're sure to be completely exhausted when the end credits finally grace the screen ... the constant presence of screaming, yelling, grunting and whining bears its own unique sense of torture", comparing it to films like ''[[Tetsuo: The Iron Man]]'' and ''[[Electric Dragon 80.000 V]]''.<ref name="screenanarchy">{{cite web |first=Niels |last=Matthijs |url=https://screenanarchy.com/2012/03/review-964-pinocchio-personal-favorites-88.html |title=Review: 964 PINOCCHIO (Personal Favorites #88) |date=2 March 2012 |website=ScreenAnarchy |access-date=26 January 2025}}</ref>

A 2022 retrospective article by ''[[Collider (website)|Collider]]'' described it as "an uncommon and unparalleled riff on the timeless [[The Adventures of Pinocchio|fairy-tale]]".<ref name="Collider" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0225009|964 Pinocchio}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|pinocchio_964}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160302132054/http://www.horrordrome.com/movie/964-pinocchio-1991 964 Pinocchio] at Horrordrome
* {{cite web |url=http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1991/do001940.htm|title=ピノキオ ［ルート］９６４ (''Pinokio［Ruuto］ 964'')|access-date=2007-07-19|language=ja|publisher=[[Japanese Movie Database]]| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070830083912/http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1991/do001940.htm| archive-date= 30 August 2007 | url-status= live}}

[[Category:1991 films]]
[[Category:1991 horror films]]
[[Category:1991 science fiction films]]
[[Category:1991 science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:Cyberpunk films]]
[[Category:Films about cyborgs]]
[[Category:Films directed by Shozin Fukui]]
[[Category:Films set in the future]]
[[Category:Films shot in Tokyo]]
[[Category:1990s Japanese-language films]]
[[Category:Japanese science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:1991 Japanese films]]
[[Category:Japanese body horror films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=964 Pinocchio|access_date=2026-02-24}}