Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:11,478 --> 00:00:16,478
I know an energetic and outrageous
producer, Toshiki Kimura.
2
00:00:30,930 --> 00:00:35,930
We decided to work together to
make something interesting,
3
00:00:42,542 --> 00:00:47,542
that would eventually lead
us to 'Dead or Alive'
4
00:00:57,190 --> 00:01:05,940
I thought doing something about the
Yakuza with him would be interesting.
5
00:01:12,806 --> 00:01:17,806
Daiei, literally meaning 'Big Movie',
used to be a large film company,
6
00:01:26,753 --> 00:01:31,753
although now they have
no theatres or studios.
7
00:01:41,401 --> 00:01:46,373
Only a creative group is left.
8
00:01:47,574 --> 00:01:53,422
At that time I was working
with the video team.
9
00:01:55,381 --> 00:02:00,381
These producers, descendants of the old
Japanese film industry, were in mid air.
10
00:02:11,164 --> 00:02:16,164
Daiei made movies such as 'Zatoichi' and
'Nemuri Kyoshiro' which were all unique.
11
00:02:29,716 --> 00:02:34,716
There was also the 'Gamera' series about
a giant turtle. A change from 'Godzilla'.
12
00:02:47,033 --> 00:02:50,606
And 'Daimajin' about a giant Haniwa -
an ancient terracotta figurine.
13
00:02:51,337 --> 00:02:56,337
Making yakuza films with the survivors
of such a company was very enjoyable.
14
00:03:13,993 --> 00:03:23,812
The work didn't need to be especially
commercial or have great general appeal.
15
00:03:24,370 --> 00:03:28,682
We could make our own decisions,
like casting Kippei Shina,
16
00:03:29,442 --> 00:03:35,290
as we didn't need to worry
too much about the sales.
17
00:03:36,616 --> 00:03:46,298
The minimum target that their sales
team would accept was 3000-4000.
18
00:03:46,826 --> 00:03:52,640
Daiei basically had the same
kind of mentality as me.
19
00:03:53,466 --> 00:03:58,466
I think they took pride in their films, not
just for their own success or for promotion
20
00:04:04,611 --> 00:04:09,611
but because they really
wanted to make movies.
21
00:04:18,858 --> 00:04:24,809
Now they've merged with Kadokawa,
to become Kadokawa Daiei,
22
00:04:24,964 --> 00:04:34,817
and I've made the first movie for them,
a horror to be released next year.
23
00:04:42,682 --> 00:04:47,682
I didn't consciously do that,
but I had to express things in my own way.
24
00:04:57,030 --> 00:05:04,744
You can't shoot a car-chase
in Shinjuku by the script.
25
00:05:04,904 --> 00:05:07,578
Even if you could it would look phoney.
26
00:05:07,874 --> 00:05:11,344
Like in 'Seibu Keisatsu', an urban car chase
27
00:05:11,444 --> 00:05:18,487
suddenly switches to a car crash in the
middle of a field, where a car explodes.
28
00:05:18,618 --> 00:05:20,757
The cars look similar but not the same.
29
00:05:21,554 --> 00:05:25,559
We could've done that,
but I would use bicycles.
30
00:05:26,259 --> 00:05:32,835
Do it on a mid-town pavement and film it
with a hidden camera. Nobody gets hurt.
31
00:05:34,067 --> 00:05:37,674
But use 10 bikes instead of 5 cars.
32
00:05:39,205 --> 00:05:47,386
There wasn't any such scene but
that illustrates how we think.
33
00:05:47,947 --> 00:05:52,947
In a script I can read certain intentions,
but that won't create a Mad Max.
34
00:06:00,226 --> 00:06:03,002
I don't want to have to
fight a losing battle.
35
00:06:04,597 --> 00:06:09,597
You have to do what you can,
you work out in the given conditions.
36
00:06:15,908 --> 00:06:19,287
For instance, you use an actor and
give him a line from the script,
37
00:06:19,345 --> 00:06:25,591
he does it well but it doesn't
sound as it was intended.
38
00:06:26,552 --> 00:06:32,093
You can't blame the actor, and it's too
late to change when you see the rushes.
39
00:06:32,792 --> 00:06:40,267
But you can improve things by
omitting that line or changing it.
40
00:06:40,733 --> 00:06:45,733
You might move him to a different position
as he talks and add a word at the end.
41
00:06:55,948 --> 00:06:57,950
You can achieve what you want without
necessariliy changing the script.
42
00:06:58,951 --> 00:07:03,627
I read scripts like that and that's
the way I have to do things.
43
00:07:12,031 --> 00:07:17,031
Kippei Shina has a warped nature.
He's an edgy actor which is unusual in Japan.
44
00:07:26,012 --> 00:07:32,429
Here, nice and easy-to-handle
actors become popular.
45
00:07:32,718 --> 00:07:33,856
It wasn't like this before though.
46
00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:39,268
The film world used to be capable of
utilising difficult actors, but not now.
47
00:07:39,659 --> 00:07:46,668
They can't afford it any more,
48
00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:53,674
and actors who follow orders and
learn their lines are the ones chosen.
49
00:07:53,973 --> 00:08:03,553
Stars are now managed by agencies.
50
00:08:04,083 --> 00:08:09,083
There are still real actors outside,
but they're too much hassle to handle.
51
00:08:15,261 --> 00:08:20,261
Shina stands somewhere in between.
52
00:08:29,976 --> 00:08:36,359
He's of a similar age to
me and has foreign blood;
53
00:08:37,250 --> 00:08:40,925
he's 'Zainichi' or Japanese Korean,
of which he's strongly conscious.
54
00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:46,320
Zainichi people try to push their way to
the top of the ladder by becoming famous.
55
00:08:54,901 --> 00:08:59,901
Or by passing the national exam
to become lawyers or doctors.
56
00:09:11,751 --> 00:09:17,224
From childhood they try to
overcome their circumstances,
57
00:09:18,224 --> 00:09:23,765
so they're in a position to
express something different.
58
00:09:24,230 --> 00:09:31,842
They even have a particular
kind of facial expression.
59
00:09:32,104 --> 00:09:35,916
The main character in the film
is the son of a couple,
60
00:09:36,809 --> 00:09:42,521
who were Japanese children left behind
in China at the end of World War ll.
61
00:09:42,582 --> 00:09:46,496
This man who doesn't know where he
belongs lets off steam in Shinjuku,
62
00:09:46,819 --> 00:09:50,164
looking for justice for himself.
63
00:09:51,424 --> 00:10:00,640
We thought this had to be Shina Kippei,
although we'd never worked together.
64
00:10:02,201 --> 00:10:07,201
We made two more 'Kuroshakai' titles,
but this one was the hardest.
65
00:10:15,715 --> 00:10:18,491
That wasn't because of me,
66
00:10:19,118 --> 00:10:24,118
but because of his strength, toughness and
sharpness which comes across in the film.
67
00:10:31,397 --> 00:10:40,374
The kind of life actors have lived
is very important in a movie.
68
00:10:51,384 --> 00:10:59,030
As for the themes,
they were the same as before.
69
00:10:59,659 --> 00:11:08,704
On location, I thought how and by whom I
wanted to be recognised with this work.
70
00:11:10,336 --> 00:11:13,943
I was frustrated with the passing of time,
wondering if I was doing the right thing.
71
00:11:14,540 --> 00:11:19,540
The same feeling that I have everyday.
72
00:11:31,991 --> 00:11:36,991
But instead of doing something in particular,
or expanding the breadth of my work,
73
00:11:44,770 --> 00:11:48,912
I pared things down,
to do only what I could do.
74
00:11:49,475 --> 00:11:51,785
My own individuality shows through,
75
00:11:51,877 --> 00:11:58,988
and it's something that other directors
cannot develop.
76
00:11:59,518 --> 00:12:04,934
This work made me realize this.
77
00:12:05,991 --> 00:12:11,771
To think of doing something relevant at a
global level and receiving a positive response,
78
00:12:12,631 --> 00:12:19,014
means delving into the inner self
and expressing something profound.
79
00:12:19,271 --> 00:12:26,086
For other responses, there's Hollywood,
the ultimate entertainment machine.
80
00:12:26,545 --> 00:12:29,492
Japan has no way of taking on Hollywood.
81
00:12:30,182 --> 00:12:36,531
Who thinks of ultimate entertainment
in terms of oriental actors?
82
00:12:37,289 --> 00:12:43,763
The Japanese audience doesn't seem keen
on watching Japanese actors in the movies.
83
00:12:45,631 --> 00:12:49,408
If there are two similar stories,
they pick the foreign one.
84
00:12:50,402 --> 00:12:55,283
In arthouse movies,
the story can be the same,
85
00:12:56,342 --> 00:13:01,342
but they consider a setting in London is
more fashionable than somewhere in Japan;
86
00:13:09,021 --> 00:13:14,198
they like stories about
girls in paris or Germany.
87
00:13:14,794 --> 00:13:23,145
Japanese people have a complex and admire
foreign things - I don't know where it started.
88
00:13:24,970 --> 00:13:29,970
I think the Japanese as a whole are hidden
under a thin film of material or something.
89
00:13:41,353 --> 00:13:46,962
So by observing this, you can create
something uniquely Japanese.
90
00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:56,605
Some people can't accept this and go to
America to try to learn the American method,
91
00:13:56,902 --> 00:14:00,611
and copy it in Japan or somewhere else.
92
00:14:00,973 --> 00:14:03,579
But you should let the Americans do it.
93
00:14:06,478 --> 00:14:13,623
Sometimes Europeans make
strange films in Hollywood;
94
00:14:14,820 --> 00:14:17,096
they're flops, but are interesting.
95
00:14:17,456 --> 00:14:22,428
It's because they can't
stop being themselves.
96
00:14:23,662 --> 00:14:28,662
If you scale things down, you can obtain
the freedom to make your own sort of movies.
97
00:14:34,707 --> 00:14:40,248
For example, imagine a script where a
series of incidents happen to a college girl,
98
00:14:42,848 --> 00:14:48,526
living in a small flat in downtown Tokyo,
and that her room is the only set.
99
00:14:49,989 --> 00:14:54,768
Just with people going in and out,
100
00:14:56,729 --> 00:15:00,040
you can still express something equivalent
to 'Star Wars' in terms of theme,
101
00:15:00,866 --> 00:15:03,745
although each of these films
occupies a different world.
102
00:15:05,104 --> 00:15:13,854
The less the budget,
the more the possibilities.
103
00:15:15,114 --> 00:15:19,654
Maybe you can manage to
create a world inside a teacup.
104
00:15:20,152 --> 00:15:27,502
It's true that I yearn to be famous and to
have large budgets to give me greater freedom,
105
00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:31,601
but at the same time I yearn
for the complete opposite,
106
00:15:32,731 --> 00:15:35,041
and I actually believe there
are more possibilities for me
107
00:15:35,100 --> 00:15:36,704
at the end of the financial spectrum.
108
00:15:37,403 --> 00:15:42,403
However, I won't find the answer by
thinking and discussing these things,
109
00:15:50,349 --> 00:15:54,820
but by being involved in a
wide range of productions.
110
00:15:56,755 --> 00:16:06,403
What amazes me is that when
my work is shown abroad,
111
00:16:06,598 --> 00:16:07,804
it receives a good reaction,
112
00:16:08,834 --> 00:16:13,840
although it's only from the minority
of people who like Asian movies.
113
00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:22,616
But there's still enough of
them to fill up a theatre.
114
00:16:24,249 --> 00:16:33,795
Once the work has left my
hands and goes abroad,
115
00:16:34,927 --> 00:16:38,932
it seems to me to become more
interesting than it was in Japan,
116
00:16:40,232 --> 00:16:45,232
and I can experience it myself as a movie.
117
00:16:52,578 --> 00:16:59,154
Even in a small work
there is something of myself,
118
00:16:59,351 --> 00:17:04,266
but when you simply try to express
yourself, you lose your touch.
119
00:17:05,124 --> 00:17:10,369
You have to forget all that.
120
00:17:10,996 --> 00:17:18,210
If you think, “Last time this sort of thing was
well received, so my work should be like this,“
121
00:17:18,437 --> 00:17:21,145
then it's the beginning of failure.
122
00:17:22,608 --> 00:17:31,153
When you're not consciously asserting
yourself, your true individuality appears.
123
00:17:31,884 --> 00:17:41,134
This work gave me the chance to
think about all these sorts of things.
124
00:17:46,965 --> 00:17:51,243
If you overspend and the production
company goes bankrupt,
125
00:17:52,004 --> 00:17:54,507
you won't ever get a call again.
126
00:17:55,207 --> 00:18:00,281
When I work with a company for the first
time, I work out how sustainable they are.
127
00:18:01,613 --> 00:18:03,286
They may be hoping to pay off
debts from a previous movie,
128
00:18:03,348 --> 00:18:05,055
with the revenue from my budget,
129
00:18:06,518 --> 00:18:10,330
and it can happen that they don't have
any money when the project starts.
130
00:18:11,056 --> 00:18:19,373
This is important for me as a film-maker
and director because I'm a worker,
131
00:18:19,731 --> 00:18:24,731
and although it may not sound artistic,
it's very important.
132
00:18:32,411 --> 00:18:37,411
Perhaps some directors don't care about
the finances, claiming it isn't their role,
133
00:18:43,255 --> 00:18:49,069
but someone has to do it.
134
00:18:49,928 --> 00:18:59,508
If the president of the production
company treats me with affection,
135
00:18:59,671 --> 00:19:04,211
maybe as an interesting
but dubious character,
136
00:19:04,409 --> 00:19:12,988
that gives me a rush and I'll go,
“OK, lets finish this in 5 days.“
137
00:19:13,585 --> 00:19:19,092
Then again, even if I spend
more than the budget,
138
00:19:20,225 --> 00:19:25,732
if the work leads to another
project for the company,
139
00:19:25,931 --> 00:19:35,716
it's a kind of PR for them, so ideally
I like them to see things that way.
140
00:19:36,575 --> 00:19:43,322
But sometimes they're
annoyed with me though.
141
00:19:51,557 --> 00:19:57,530
Working in Japan, I wonder
why we remain uncommitted.
142
00:19:58,030 --> 00:20:04,140
We go for safe stories despite the fact
that there are many exciting topics.
143
00:20:04,369 --> 00:20:09,369
Just by looking at the casting you can
imagine the plot, yet people put up with this.
144
00:20:20,085 --> 00:20:25,085
In Shinjuku, more than half of those who
invested in the area are Chinese, not Japanese.
145
00:20:32,164 --> 00:20:39,742
It's also the place where all the yakuza
groups from all over Japan gather,
146
00:20:40,105 --> 00:20:45,105
and the Taiwanese and Koreans
are becoming involved.
147
00:20:54,853 --> 00:21:04,103
It's felt that movies shouldn't refer to and
should avoid anything that might cause
148
00:21:04,463 --> 00:21:11,438
the Japanese censors to
raise their eyebrows.
149
00:21:11,737 --> 00:21:17,483
Japanese films are turned
out to be like TV dramas.
150
00:21:18,143 --> 00:21:24,526
In fact, TV dramas made into
movies do well at the box office.
151
00:21:24,783 --> 00:21:29,323
It's good to make hits, but the money
made from those should be used to make
152
00:21:29,588 --> 00:21:30,931
films that you really want to make.
153
00:21:31,490 --> 00:21:34,937
But they've become incapable
of doing this sort of thing.
154
00:21:35,227 --> 00:21:43,169
In this film, people of various
ethnic groups appear,
155
00:21:43,702 --> 00:21:50,449
and although the main character has Japanese
blood, he's confused about his identity.
156
00:21:51,176 --> 00:21:56,176
Most Japanese films are based around
the Japanese mentality, it's way of thinking,
157
00:22:02,721 --> 00:22:07,898
because their preoccupation is,
“We're Japanese.“
158
00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:13,960
To raise a question,
to deal with minorities and make it.
159
00:22:31,717 --> 00:22:34,698
There is a Zainichi yakuza,
160
00:22:35,454 --> 00:22:40,454
he insists he's a patriot not a yakuza,
that's where his heart lies, he claims.
161
00:22:51,803 --> 00:22:58,687
This is reality,
the real face of the nationalists.
162
00:22:59,044 --> 00:23:04,044
The real world of Japan isn't as simple
as the picture you see on the TV news.
163
00:23:13,592 --> 00:23:18,592
People make a fuss about kid's crimes,
but to me they're not surprising.
164
00:23:31,510 --> 00:23:36,510
L'm not impressed with current cinema so
I worked with the maverick producer, Kimura.
165
00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:53,160
He's part of the company that make
the TV programme 'Night Head',
166
00:23:59,604 --> 00:24:05,885
which the censors don't like.
167
00:24:07,045 --> 00:24:16,056
'Shinjuku Triad Society' was fun to
make with a variety of people in it,
168
00:24:16,254 --> 00:24:19,360
but we pursued the reality
of what we were doing,
169
00:24:19,925 --> 00:24:28,572
and didn't go into those places
without careful research.
170
00:24:30,001 --> 00:24:39,285
If you make a school drama with disabled
people in, producers tend to avoid them.
171
00:24:40,178 --> 00:24:45,178
Even though they exist and should be
allowed to act if that's what they want to do.
172
00:25:03,768 --> 00:25:11,186
I want to break these boundaries
with sensitivity but ignoring taboos.
173
00:25:12,611 --> 00:25:17,611
If they're not conscious of morals or taboos,
I think films can become pure and simple.
174
00:25:24,656 --> 00:25:29,571
If you deliberately try to go beyond boundaries,
and keep thinking about these things,
175
00:25:29,995 --> 00:25:32,942
the work becomes awful.
176
00:25:33,899 --> 00:25:38,899
If you are sincere and honest
the work becomes clean,
177
00:25:49,614 --> 00:25:54,614
and it gives the audience something fresh.
178
00:26:00,125 --> 00:26:02,731
When people see an actor
with only one arm
179
00:26:02,794 --> 00:26:05,798
they can be made to think
that nobody can beat him,
180
00:26:06,231 --> 00:26:09,872
if he's genuine and not acting.
181
00:26:10,869 --> 00:26:18,310
I also like to cast martial artists, as that
definitely changes the feel of the film.
182
00:26:19,377 --> 00:26:27,421
Not just their scenes but other actors
make changes in the following scenes.
183
00:26:28,687 --> 00:26:37,163
Many male actors want to play
strong men like martial artists,
184
00:26:38,496 --> 00:26:47,780
who train themselves stoically
and become rich.
185
00:26:49,174 --> 00:26:54,174
But their lives turn against them and
they end up as drunks in small towns.
186
00:27:05,523 --> 00:27:08,163
Actors like to portray this type of man.
187
00:27:09,894 --> 00:27:13,933
When they meet a genuine one,
188
00:27:14,199 --> 00:27:19,199
he may not be a good actor,
but he has special eyes.
189
00:27:25,343 --> 00:27:28,415
He may not know that he looks real,
190
00:27:29,781 --> 00:27:34,781
but the other actors admire him,
and they feel the need to make changes.
191
00:27:45,630 --> 00:27:50,630
And they come to realise that being
an actor is also a genuine way of life.
192
00:27:58,376 --> 00:28:03,376
Caesar Takeshi was in 'Full Metal Yakuza'
and 'Shinjuku Triad Society'.
193
00:28:11,423 --> 00:28:21,401
His acting isn't great,
but he has a special presence.
194
00:28:22,567 --> 00:28:26,538
The audience only see him in the film,
195
00:28:26,905 --> 00:28:36,815
but co-actors see him during the
shooting and are influenced by him.
196
00:28:38,416 --> 00:28:45,561
These stimulants are everywhere,
197
00:28:46,091 --> 00:28:51,091
and if you avoid them and
do everything by the book,
198
00:29:07,345 --> 00:29:16,698
the experience becomes
fake and unexciting.
199
00:29:18,556 --> 00:29:23,096
When Yuya Uchida comes to a shoot,
it's a serious business.
200
00:29:23,795 --> 00:29:29,245
The shoot may not work out,
201
00:29:29,968 --> 00:29:35,975
but the staff that experience
this will start to change.
202
00:29:36,741 --> 00:29:40,746
This is one of the good
things about movies.
20227
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.