All language subtitles for Yasushi Shimamura interview

It was shot pragmatically, the camera
became like the eyes of the main character.

It might still be the same, but certainly
at that time if you walked into Shinjuku,

there were many underground worlds there.

It might be a foreigner's world
or a Yakuza's world.

There were so many small
worlds and dramas hidden,

and they could only be seen
if you looked carefully.

Everyone knows what Shinjuku
is like nowadays,

but it was a closed society at the time
and it was difficult to shoot there.

It's a story of the surface and the
underside of this busy quarter,

and the people who live and work there,
such as the Yakuza and the police.

We shot many scenes there.

And it was my job to decide what
scenes to use and how to use them.

I remember it was quite hard.

There were scenes that I wanted to be
longer, but I had to think about the film's length

So I kept what was most important

and for other scenes I used some elements
from them to enhance the overall image.

I wasn't sure how it would
look when it was completed.

I've seen many films about the underground
world of Shinjuku since then.

But I think this film was the
first one to show that world.

Though I'm not going to say the
titles of those other films.

Kabuki-cho is a well-known
Yakuza district,

and it was very hard to shoot scenes
there with a massive camera,

as there were some Yakuza
who would habitually interfere.

The director had a hard time especially.

I really wanted to edit those scenes
to give a sense of reality,

and not to waste any of the
elements that were captured.

Every single corner of the street
was a different Yakuza territory.

But despite the difficulties, we managed
to make a film that showed the real Shinjuku.

I valued all the scenes we shot
and tried editing it sensitively,

as they were not easy to get.

I always try to see characters from a
subjective rather than objective point of view.

I think it's important to maintain a
natural rhythm throughout the film.

It's not like the scenes were
fixed and shot in a studio.

I try to edit to show the rhythm which
came naturally when it was shot.

But it's very difficult to
explain it theoretically.

I have to consider the look of the scene,

and at the same time the sensitivity
and emotion of the audience.

Every scene is different, so they can't
be simply combined according to rules.