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*New Iron* is a masterpiece of industrial filmmaking that depicts the steel cycle that supported Japan during its period of rapid economic growth with stunning visual beauty.It vividly captures the dynamic process by which mountains of scrap iron are smelted and rolled, transforming into automobiles and home appliances. It is also a landmark work marking the first collaboration between Tomoaki Tsuchimoto and Junichi Segawa—who would later become giants of the documentary world—and a film that vividly conveys the passion and creativity of Japan at that time through the medium of iron.

〈The New Steelworks〉 Aerial shots stretching from Tokyo Tower to the newly constructed steelworks in Chiba unfold across the vast Cinemascope frame. Ore is heated in blast furnaces, transformed into glowing iron, and refined into high-quality steel plates in strip mills—the majestic appearance of the “Kodama” business express train in the final scene stands as a symbol of Japan’s modernization, pioneered by iron.It vividly captures the fervor of an era hurtling from postwar reconstruction toward rapid economic growth, as well as the prestige of the steel industry.