Omega Micott's logo just popped up.
It's kind of scary.
Here's the opening music...
Why don't we introduce ourselves first?
I'm the manga artist, Hideo Yamamoto.
I'm the director, Takashi Miike.
It brings back memories, doesn't it?
I don't remember the first time I saw this.
Do you forget things easily?
You could say that.
This is around the end of last year, isn't it?
That's right.
We're just reminiscing now, not doing commentary.
This beginning part is cool.
We had the music first.
His name is Seiichi Yamamoto, he's a crazy guy.
He told me to think different.
I think if the music was different, the edit would be, too.
I always look forward to the opening most when I watch movies.
In this case, the film is not ordinary, so I couldn't wait to see it.
The opening of a movie is often made by a different crew in other countries.
Is that so?
Saul Bass is one of the famous "opening" directors.
The openings for the 007 series have a totally different feel from the features.
There are many directors who create the openings abroad.
I see.
You have to catch people's attention in the opening.
Especially in the U.S., the opening is also a part of the entertainment.
How does a director feel letting other people do it?
If I believe the editor is talented, I would love the person to do it.
It would add a different flavor to the film.
Is it common in Japan?
Not really, a director usually likes to say he did everything himself.
It's not traditional to have a different director for an opening in a Japanese film.
Besides, it costs more if we do it that way.
That's why it's hard for Japanese directors to adapt their style.
The movies directed by music video directors have elaborate openings.
That's true.
But then, often the feature isn't as good as the opening.
It's R-rated from the beginning.
Audiences abroad will understand this.
How's that?
How the title of the movie appears...
They will figure out what this movie is about, right from the beginning.
The movie title appears in sperm.
What's that sperm made out of?
That sperm is...
That's Shinya Tsukamoto's sperm.
Is it real?
Yes, but there wasn't enough, so some staffers contributed.
And our CG team shot it as the base image...
...and they used CG to create the title slowly coming up.
But mainly it's Tsukamoto's sperm.
Did he volunteer?
Well, he occasionally makes a mess on the set.
He'll unload before his scene, so we asked him to put it in a bucket.
I thought it was fake sperm.
I had to fuss over the authenticity.
But that's probably the only part where we used the real stuff.
I wonder if shooting an adult film and a movie like this are similar.
It's very similar.
I've compared notes with people from that industry.
They say the real stuff is the best.
I wouldn't want to be on the set.
An adult film set?
No, when you were shooting that sperm scene.
We couldn't make a mess like this in a rented room...
...so we used real blood and CG blood.
Which is CG blood?
The blood on the walls and ceiling is made of CG.
The blood on the walls is not real?
No.
I didn't know.
We made a bloody room with CG, and inserted the person later.
We'd be in trouble if we did that to a rented room...
...so it was no problem to make the room look clean like this.
I had no idea.
I have to thank the CG team for this.
Usually, CG is meant to create something imaginary.
So people who work with CG aren't used to creating blood with CG.
They had a hard time making the blood on the walls look real.
You wouldn't know how smoke should come out from a slashed-open mouth.
In which of your movies did you use CG most?
I think it's this movie, this film is loaded with CG.
It took about half a year.
Just for the CG scenes?
That's right, because we didn't have that many CG specialists, like Hollywood.
We had a small staff for the CG effects, and each of them worked individually.
It sounds like a lot of work.
It's interesting that they use computers to create CG, but...
...it's really a handcrafted work.
You can't just work on someone else's stuff.
Only the person who's working on it will understand what he's doing.
So in a way, each CG effect has its own personality...
...and I think it's more interesting that way.
There must be 1.8 times more CG effects than I originally noticed.
Probably.
Actually I like figuring out whether I used CG or make-up.
This actor, Mr. Arizono, he's a very strange man.
You can't make this character with CG.
I agree.
Actors are very interesting.
I can't help but just watch the movie.
It brings back memories...
This movie has been shown in many film festivals all over the world...
...and some audiences are repulsed and some are pleased.
The film is shocking people everywhere.
I feel like this movie is starting to grow bigger by itself.
You created lchi...
...it became a film, and now is being introduced to the world.
Well, actually most countries cannot show this movie as it is.
But things are different in Holland.
You can smoke marijuana legally there.
So there's no problem showing the uncut version in Holland.
As it is?
That's right.
In Hong Kong, certain scenes were edited out.
What about in Japan?
It seemed like the MPCEC didn't know what to do.
So they just made it R-rated, so minors couldn't see it.
I didn't want to edit it, so that minors could see it.
Minors should just watch it secretly.
It may be illegal, but I think it's healthier to watch this R-rated version.
I'd get advice to change certain scenes, and I'd pretend that I'm listening...
...but I'd end up ignoring them.
Is there anything you just can't do in a film?
Yes, there're strict rules about what you can't do in a film.
But you can't follow every rule when you make a movie like this.
And the MPCEC understands it, so it was kind of give-and-take.
So minors cannot buy the DVD?
That's a difficult question...
I don't know...
But basically, you can buy anything as long as you pay for it.
I wonder if this film is going to be on the same shelf...
...as an adult video in a video rental store?
Many people in the film industry think it is...
...according to the categorizing rule.
But I think it's totally up to the vendors.
They could put it in the front if they want to sell it.
I don't, and I shouldn't, have control over where the vendors put my film.
We're talking about this movie, which was made a long time ago.
And we talked about making this film a couple of years prior to that.
There's this big time gap...
You can't talk about how this movie came to be made that easily.
Only the people who were involved in the film know...
...what lchi the Killer is really about.
This movie we see here is a final product, but...
...I met a lot of people through this film.
And I felt like we were creating something other than lchi...
...as if we were coming up with ideas for the next film.
I remember talking about this film, eating Oden at a bar.
We'd never thought it would really become a film.
Oomori has a great expression on his face.
He is a strange actor.
How so?
Do you know Mr. Akaji Mano?
He's a great actor.
He's a living legend.
Oomori is the son of Mr. Mano.
I worked with Mr. Mano a while ago.
And when I met him, I told him that it was a pleasure to work with his son.
Then he said to me "Oh right, he's acting, right?"
So I asked Oomori what kind of father he is.
He said, "I don't know. What is an ordinary father like?"
That's why it's so strange that he looks so normal, having a father like him.
Here's another strange actor.
He's my favorite actor.
Quentin Tarantino loves this scene.
This scene?
He is a big fan of lchi the Killer.
I thought you were saying he likes that particular scene.
Yes, he especially likes that scene.
When he came to Japan...
...he said he wanted to meet the guy who yells in that scene.
And Tarantino met Shin Sugata.
I think Mr. Sugata is working with him now.
Really?
Is Tarantino making a new movie?
I think he's shooting a new one right now.
A lot of Japanese actors are in it.
Most of the actors I often use are in that film, including Kitamura.
Kitamura the wardrobe?
No, there's another strange actor, Kazuki Kitamura.
He isn't in this film.
So there are lots of strange actors and Shinichi Chiba in his new film.
When was the last film he did?
What was it?
Jackie Brown?
That's right, but he hasn't made anything in a while.
This film caught his eyes.
I hear he loved this film.
He's a film nerd, I'm sure he watches a lot of films.
You're a film nerd too.
I don't watch movies that much.
I think he likes watching many different films.
I wonder what Asano thinks when he acts.
I don't know, what do you think he thinks?
I asked him before, and he said "Nothing."
I believe him.
I think he can get into the mood of any character, anytime.
He's like blank paper on the set.
I think it's very difficult to do that.
It's hard to have experienced something and not to get influenced at all.
He is very unique.
No one can act the way he is, he is truly scary.
When we started casting, using Asano was one of your demands, wasn't it?
Well, I wasn't really demanding...
But you wanted him.
He'd turned down my offers a couple of times before.
So I was pretty desperate.
He doesn't like violence, so...
That's why he rejected you?
Yes, up until this film.
But this is an extremely violent film.
The violence in this film is totally unnecessary and ridiculously excessive.
He's poking his cheek with a needle, just because he wants to...
...not because he needs to.
You might wonder why he's sticking the needle in his cheek.
There are other ways to make him talk.
Using violence because the story demands it, and...
...using violence because he can, are different.
Asano understood it, and that's why he decided to be in this film.
When I make a film, the producer sometimes says to me...
..."l don't see the necessity of the scene."
What's the "necessity" in a film?
That's true.
I'd explain, "I think he just wanted to hit him."
But some people just don't get it.
Is this needle CG?
The part he's holding is real, he's holding a short needle...
...but the part that comes out from his mouth is CG.
What about the blood from his mouth?
That blood is really dripping down from his mouth.
In this scene, Kakihara looks really cruel...
...but actually we are the cruel ones.
I agree.
It's a real torture for Terashima.
Trying not to hurt him ended up torturing him in a different way.
We started setting up in the evening of the day before...
...and it took 12 hours until he was ready to be hung up.
He couldn't even go to bathroom.
Really? For 12 hours?
Well, it took 12 hours to set up, and 12 hours to shoot, so...
...he couldn't go to bathroom for 24 hours.
We asked him not to drink any liquid 3 days before the filming.
Then we hang him in the air and ask him to act, it's torture.
Yes, it is.
But he looked really happy when we finished this scene.
He looked like he'd accomplished something great.
But it must've been tough.
It looks nice.
This scene is pretty, it's got a lot of colors.
A scene like this could end up looking really cheesy, but it looks pretty real.
Our SFX crew made that melting skin on his head.
So it's not CG.
No, the stretched skin, where the hooks are, are also created by the SFX crew.
And they blended the artificial skin into Terashima's real skin...
...so it wouldn't be noticeable.
And after that...
...we used CG to erase unwanted lines between the fake skin and real skin.
And actors are acting in this scene.
There are so many people with different specialties...
...and different ideas are involved to make this scene.
That's one of the elements of making a scene interesting.
It looks like a lot of work.
Yes, it is.
Don't you get stressed out?
Yes, but it's just a matter of attitude.
If you have a certain image in your head...
...and trying to get the exact same image on film...
...it might be hard, and you'll be stressed out.
But instead, I try to focus on what the film will be like when it's done.
So if I have time, I'll keep shooting, I don't really set a goal for a particular shot.
That's your style.
I'm usually the one who's satisfied most.
Some people might think I'm half-assed.
Our CG crew would want a certain quality in their work.
I'm very lucky to have such hard working people...
...but I would just be impressed if they got 70% of the work done.
I'd be happy with their work, but they wouldn't be.
They would want to make it better.
A lot of people who work with CG are like that.
They are perfectionists and masochists.
They are hard on themselves.
It'd be difficult if we both forced ourselves to work harder and harder.
But we were different, and I think that's why it worked out.
Our CG crew worked harder...
...because they weren't satisfied from just satisfying me.
One suggestive scene after another...
Because it is based on your manga.
This film is truly based on your original story.
I love how you could express things in the manga.
And I wanted to bring that out in the film.
In a way, you can use it as an excuse.
If something didn't make sense, I'd just blame it on the manga.
I see.
If you have any complaints, please tell them to Yamamoto.
As a director, I find it fascinating.
I wonder what the audiences abroad think of these characters.
What were the reactions of the audience abroad?
It's basically the same reaction as the Japanese audience.
Is it?
Some people enjoy it, and some people walk out the room during the film.
My friends told me that...
...they all saw some people who would walk out during the film.
So I think it happens almost every showing, and it's rare if no one leaves.
But if I paid 1800 yen, I would probably stay if the movie sucked.
I just can't understand how people could walk out on any movie.
When I was little...
...I'd always stay after the showing and watch it again.
I used to do that too.
I'd watch the same movie at least twice.
Even if I didn't particularly like the movie...
...I'd always see something interesting, or have time to just relax.
Sometimes I'd just watch the back of the head of a guy...
...who's sitting in front of me.
I like spending time like that in a theatre.
So I don't understand why people would spend money and walk out on movies.
It's probably around here.
Yeah, I think so too.
This scene is edited in the Hong Kong version.
No tongue cutting?
You could see him cutting his tongue, but not the part where he cuts it off.
Very specific.
They just can't give it up.
But when you edit a film for that kind of purpose, it'll change the film's rhythm.
Sometimes it can make the scene even more disturbing.
If you were to do that on purpose, it'd be kind of scary.
Yes, I could make something more disturbing by not showing everything.
But this scene is really shocking.
Asano enjoyed this scene.
But he was also wondering how it was done.
This actress, Alien Sun.
She is a mysterious woman.
She is Miss Singapore.
Really?
But she isn't from Singapore, is she?
I think she is, but she is very famous in Hong Kong now.
Is she in adult movies?
No.
In China or Hong Kong, if there are naked girls, it's considered a B movie.
There's a line.
And as you can see, her face itself is just so erotic.
So, she doesn't really have to take her clothes off to look sexy.
I wonder what kind of private life she has.
What do you think?
It kind of scares me to think about it.
My friends were saying that her body looks really good.
That's a very simple and straight opinion.
There are many different body types...
...and usually everyone has one good part, but her body is so perfect.
Probably her personality, and everything else about her is herself.
Each strand of her hair is herself.
She must have an extraordinary lifestyle to have that kind of aura.
Did you have any difficulty communicating because of the language?
She is very sharp.
So she would understand what I wanted her to do.
And we would work it out.
I didn't really have to explain the idea with words...
...but instead, she would just show it to me from what she understood.
So where she uses Japanese, English, and Chinese, she came up with herself.
She ad-libbed?
Yes, but it's really hard to ad-lib when shooting a film.
It's not easy to satisfy yourself since it's something you made up...
...even though you think you did good.
You always feel like you could've done better.
So I'm sure she did her research and studied a lot.
By the way, that scene he bends a woman's hand backwards, is that SFX?
Yes, a SFX artist named Matsui who's worked with me often.
He's an expert at making body parts that are broken or slashed.
When I told him I want a hand that bends backwards, he grinned.
And he made that one.
I wanted to know how that scene was done.
My staff and I were watching a film and wondering how it was done.
We made those body parts for the mutilation scenes, but...
...tried not to put too much emphasis on the body parts themselves.
We avoided having a close-up on them when they're being mutilated.
They would just be talking, and all of sudden, you see violence in the shot.
We didn't treat violence as something special.
It's not even happening in the center of the frame...
...so some people might not notice it.
If you're only looking at the actors, you'll just feel like something isn't right.
We had this great cameraman...
...who has the exactly same name as you, Hideo Yamamoto.
Certainly the way it was shot is very casual.
Satoshi Niizuma, he's my favorite too.
He's been in your other films, hasn't he?
Actually I only used him in one film, Fudoh.
But his face has such an impact, so...
...some people think they've seen him in other films.
Even if you don't know him, his face makes you feel like you should know him.
As an actor, he isn't famous or great or anything...
...but he just has this strange presence.
He's retired now, but he used to be a kick boxer.
I don't know if he was strong, but he was unbeatable.
So he's become an actor?
Not particularly, I think he's doing a lot of things now.
He does dangerous stuff.
Dangerous stuff?
He's a bodyguard.
Bodyguard?
What kind of bodyguard?
He gets hired to protect certain important people.
I see.
Sometimes he's asked to investigate a stalker.
That sounds like fun.
But people who need that kind of protection could be dangerous.
He might have to protect a yakuza from his rival yakuza.
That's some job.
It's interesting.
I bumped into him in Shibuya once.
It was in a bar, and he was totally drunk.
And he said to me "I'm working", but he was drunk.
He said he had to take the girl who worked there home.
He looked wasted, but when the girl was about to leave...
...he looked totally different and scary.
Are there many jobs like that?
He's been pretty busy, so...
I guess there's a need for bodyguards.
Two hours is pretty long, isn't it?
Yes, but we're lucky that there're many interesting actors in this film.
This is awful, isn't it?
It is...
There is not a normal girl in this film.
They either get raped or killed.
I feel bad for them.
What are you talking about?
You're the one who created this story.
I got really irritated by this girl, Goto, while shooting this scene.
Why?
She was just irritating, and I got even more irritated as filming went on.
It was originally two blows but I made it four later.
Some people just make other people want to get violent with them.
A lot of actors and actresses have this strange thing that...
...makes me want to destroy them.
Makes you want to destroy them?
I don't know how to explain...
They really make me want to destroy them.
I get to this point where I'm so irritated and confused...
...that I even forget why I wanted to do such things to them.
He looks scary.
Not only his face, but he's really a scary person.
I could see that.
He isn't a bad guy, but he is scary...
...because he acts like he's a good guy.
He is also a producer.
He's a very diligent guy, and interesting.
A little while ago, these two had a chance to work together in another film...
Those two in a same film?
I didn't even realize it until I saw both of them on the set.
Well, they've acted together, so...
...I really didn't think I had to tell them anything.
When we started shooting, they suddenly said...
..."Why are you crying?" "I'm not crying"...
...and they went back on acting normally.
They were strange.
This is the scene...
The depth of the blade is nowhere near the depth of the body.
There's no way the blade can cut his body in half.
I think audiences want to see something impossible.
It's not interesting if it's logically possible.
People like it when the weak defeat the strong.
Besides, before you talk about the depth of the blade...
...you have to think how he keeps that blade in his shoes.
Actually, the crew tried to come with the mechanism first.
If they don't understand something, they can't stand it.
I told them the size of the blade...
...then they asked me where it's hidden.
It's impossible.
It's a different story if he doesn't have the heel.
Some people care about realistic details...
...but I just want to make it happen.
So it was brought up.
When I met with CG crew the other day...
...we talked about the blade in the shoes.
What I had in my head was that...
...there is this thin flexible metal plate on the side of the shoes...
...and something releases and the metal plate pops out.
I told them about it, and they were like "Huh."
The blade comes out really fast.
Actually I like the fact that it comes out so fast that you can't see it.
The art director asked me about the mechanism.
When we asked this costume place, Jap Koubou...
...to make lchi's costume and shoes...
...the first thing they asked me was about the blade.
They needed to know, so they could design and pick the material for it.
But I couldn't give them an answer.
I didn't want to reveal the mystery of a hero.
It's a mystery how the blade comes out, but it just does.
I wanted to keep it that way.
We could've probably come up with some logical explanation, just for the film.
...but I decided not to, because I wanted to make it even more mysterious.
I felt like I was making something imaginary, like a Sci-Fi film or fantasy film.
Maybe I wanted lchi to be a hero.
We put the image on the video screen with CG later.
Really?
We shot a version where he was actually in this scene.
He was sitting right in front of Kakihara.
But there was an accident, and the film was damaged.
So you re-shot this scene?
Yes, but we found out that Arizono couldn't make it that day.
He'd already started another project.
We were in trouble.
We had to improvise.
I remembered that Arizono faints and falls when Kakihara cuts his tongue...
...so we decided to put him in the hospital.
And they are having a meeting through a videophone.
There was no choice.
It was trouble.
But that kind of trouble puts us into the position where we have to be creative.
So the more problems we encounter, the more interesting the film can be.
If I didn't hear that story...
...I would just think that the scene was meant to be that way.
Being born into this world itself is an accident to me.
I don't question why I'm here, but I try to think what I can do.
The film becomes more interesting when you encounter a problem.
I had to deal with a lot of difficulties while shooting lchi.
But I realized that when I was trying to overcome the troubles...
...I could get closer to the actors.
We can feel closer when we're struggling together.
You're forced to do something that wasn't planned.
If there was no trouble, it doesn't matter who directs it.
I'm sure it has something to do with personality...
...but when someone is in trouble, that's when you see his true power.
You look like you are good at situations like that.
It's not necessarily a good situation, and sometimes I want to run away.
But I think I'm looking forward to problems subconsciously.
Tsukamoto is making a new film now.
He was invited to the Brussels Film Festival, it's known to show bizarre films.
It's at Brussels in Belgium.
He was a judge for the festival.
The head of the judges was Christopher Lee.
He's a famous Dracula actor from a long time ago.
And in addition to Tsukamoto, there was the guy, Freddy...
Freddy from the Nightmare on Elm Street was one of the judges.
Dracula, Freddy and Tsukamoto were judging the films.
I was at the festival for about a week.
It was really funny watching Tsukamoto.
He was walking around like a somnambulist.
He was a judge, he was forced to watch every film.
He had to see 3-4 films a day...
...and he'd come out the theater exhausted.
And the films they show in Fanta are really bizarre.
He'd have this strange look on his face after each showing.
So I'd go ask him what kind of movie it was.
He'd tell me, "it's a story about a dog that becomes really big."
And the next day, he'd tell me, "A cat was eating people."
He was exhausted.
Were all films like that?
Well, as you could see from the judges,
Fanta film festival is more like a cult film festival.
There are always many hardcore fans in the festival.
There are rooms that you have to dress up in costume to see the events.
This film festival always makes me realize how crazy Europe is.
And of course, lchi the Killer was shown at the festival.
There was a party at the end of the festival.
And you have to wear costumes to participate in the party.
A famous film critic, Tokitoshi Shiota, was there too.
He was a three-eyed monster.
The party was held in the basement of a slaughterhouse.
Of course, it wasn't used anymore. It used to be a slaughterhouse.
They turned the basement of a huge old slaughterhouse into a dance hall.
If you weren't an invited guest, you had to be in costume.
It was great.
I saw Yoda, even Pikachu.
And many costumes are very elaborate.
I saw a couple of Kakiharas in the crowd. They had make-up on their mouths.
Mr. Shiota wanted to be Kakihara first...
...so he went to one of make-up booths at the party hall.
But then he saw a couple of Kakiharas there.
So he decided to become a three-eye monster.
I don't know why he picked that one, but he looked good.
He looks like it's Halloween without any costume on...
...so the third eye made him look even more strange.
Were those Kakiharas wearing the same costume?
They had something red on.
It was right after when it came out...
...so they all had make-up on, but they weren't wearing the same clothes.
But majority of the audience was in their late 40s to early 50s.
I thought they were cool.
Did you decide to do this cheek scene on the set?
No, we had it planned, he has fake stretchy cheeks on.
Really?
Yes, it's all special make-up.
You can't really tell the difference between the fake cheek and the real skin.
That's what's so great about Matsui.
He's a very good special make-up artist...
...but he's almost obsessed when it comes to mutilating body parts.
Look at it stretch, it's awful.
So this scene was originally in the script?
Yes, that's right.
The screenplay was written by Sakichi Sato, he's crazy.
You can't really describe how it stretches in the script.
It didn't say his cheek stretched that much.
He was supposed to pull it as much as he could.
But human skin doesn't stretch that much.
So I thought I would ask Matsui to make it stretch more.
I like how she gets so turned on by stretching it.
I started thinking about many different things watching this film.
I originally created this story, and now I'm watching it as a film...
I remember the process we took.
I can't remember if there was any scene about lchi and a kid in the manga.
I feel like there was, but I can't remember now.
You created the original story, but I usually work with the finished script.
So a lot of film people don't feel like they're creating something new.
Because we start from making the story into a film.
But I started thinking...
...maybe it's more interesting if we come up with the original story...
...and make the film as an extension of the story.
I feel like traditional Japanese filmmaking is running out of options.
Are you planning to do it?
I've been writing a story...
I don't know how to explain...
It's fun, but I really don't know what to do with it.
What do you mean?
I have to explain my story to producers, and I'm getting tired of it.
The story I'm trying to create is very hard for some people to understand.
In your case, you've already gone through the process.
Your work has been accepted by the audience and established fans.
After all that, it's decided to make it into a film.
Making something that has potential to...
...become a film is different than making a film.
Just making films can dull your sense of creating something original.
I have to change the perspective...
...and create something from the very beginning.
Otherwise, it's not going to be my movie.
I realized that when I was shooting lchi.
But when I actually write something, I don't know what to do after I finish writing.
It doesn't move forward from there.
You aren't planning to make it into a film?
I'm planning to make a film based on it, eventually.
Is it hard to develop the story without seeing the reaction from the audience?
It is, and if the producer has an opinion, I have to start it over again.
As I write I'll come up with different ideas and concepts...
...then I have to change the budget and the actors according to the story.
And I have to think if it's worth going through all that trouble.
You found such a perfect apartment.
This place had strict regulations...
...but I wanted to use a building in Shinjuku.
This scene...
This is the face of our AD, Nishiumi.
Awful, isn't it?
He was useless as an AD, so we decided to use his face.
We still work together.
He used the picture of this face for his new year's cards.
Who would want to receive a new year's card with this on it...
...in the beginning of the year, you know?
He's a strange guy.
Most of my crew also act, and they make money acting, too.
Actors are making a film.
And my AD has to be able to act well.
I see.
The professional actors act better when they work with unique actors.
The actors were inspired by that ex-kick boxer, Niizuma.
Because he isn't acting scary, he is scary.
So professional actors give up trying to act scary like him, instead...
...they'll come up with something else to be scary.
Many different elements can make a film more interesting.
You can't do that in a play.
You have to have good actors for a play.
If you have one bad actor, he can ruin the whole play.
It's different in a film.
When actors break the balance in a film, the film can be very interesting.
There will be limitless possibilities of what the film will be like.
That's true.
What's happening now?
This is right before he returns to the office filled with organs.
He can feel it...
You know something is about to happen.
Actually...
...I wanted to have ten times more organs than this.
When I shoot a scene like this, it makes me want to add more.
So we kept adding more organs.
That's a lot of organs...
Organs are very fascinating.
Actually those organs are from just two pigs.
Just two?
Yes, and it was enough to fill the floor of this room.
Originally, I wanted to use one long intestine from esophagus to colon.
But I couldn't find it.
I heard that you poured vanilla extract all over this room.
Yes, the smell was so intense.
I hear a lot of people liked this scene.
He says a human is made of one long tube...
I wanted him to tug it...
...and I'd shoot the beginning of the intestines to the colon.
You like organs, don't you?
I don't hate organs.
One of the differences between my manga and your film...
...was the amount of blood and organs.
I imagine it's hard to draw organs in a manga.
I think so.
I don't think there are any organs in my manga.
Is he burning the body parts?
Yes, on the roof.
Outrageous, isn't it?
And his son is there playing.
They are spending some family time.
I like when there are two completely different elements in a scene...
...and the characters are acting normal.
The music in this film is the same thing...
Usually, the music is composed after the movie is made.
But the composer, Seiichi Yamamoto, didn't watch the whole movie.
He composed the music based on your manga.
He spent a long time composing, there are more than 40 songs.
I asked him to do whatever he wanted, so the music itself has its own story.
None of the music is made for a particular scene.
Because that's not the composer's job, he just creates music.
The music is what he felt from the manga, and we just put the music to the film.
It was really interesting, we put music to each scene by ourselves.
By yourself?
Yes, I got to pick the music, and put it right where I wanted.
I felt comfortable doing it, too.
There he is, Sakichi.
This guy here, looks like a real low-life, kicking the guy on the ground...
...is our screenwriter, Sakichi Sato.
Did he request to do this scene?
No, but we all agreed that only he could do a scene like this.
He was typecast.
Yes, either him, or Jiro & Saburo.
When you shot this scene, you asked me if I wanted to be in the film.
Did you have any idea when I would show up in this film then?
"When" isn't really a problem.
It's the matter of where we are in the film.
What kind of moment we're in.
And we would come up with something for you to do.
When we cast, we're not just filling the spots for the characters...
...but if we see someone different from what we're looking for...
...we want our actors to do it the way they can, and enjoy the role.
And I'd show it to my friends and see the result.
I always make a decision right there on the spot.
I'm not good at planning everything in advance and just following the plan.
We could be more creative when we encounter a problem.
I think that's how a film is made, involving many people.
My publishers and I were talking about this scene the other day.
We were impressed how this event from the past was put into the story.
It's very complex but very natural.
It's at some Chinese restaurant, they are eating ramen...
This is actually the first day of filming.
Normally filming starts with an easy scene.
But because of the schedule, we had to shoot this on the first day.
Everyone, the crew and actors, met at this scene for the first time.
The scene where Kakihara turns around is the very first shot of Kakihara.
This is a very intense scene.
That's why we picked a dingy ramen restaurant.
If this was a couple of days after we started shooting...
...I'm sure they'd act differently.
But I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing...
...and it's waste of time to think about it.
Oomori and I didn't discuss what lchi was like...
...but we just started filming to understand lchi.
I didn't really talk to actors.
Because I didn't know what I wanted, either.
If I directed actors to act in certain ways, it would be boring.
I avoided eye contact with everyone.
So they were a little nervous when we started shooting.
They didn't know what their motivations were.
But knowing what you're supposed to do isn't what actings all about.
This is kind of the point where things start to get crazier.
Not from the view of someone particular...
...you can feel that all hell will break loose soon.
When they walked into the restaurant, they went back to the past.
And this restaurant scene is kind of like a midpoint of past and present.
When I was reading the screenplay, I could tell this was the transition point.
I could see a red line on the script.
I'm sure different directors see the sign on the different spot.
I saw the schedule and we were booked to shoot this scene the first day.
So I thought it was fate.
This scene was shot a lot later, so Oomori already knew what lchi was like.
It looks very natural, even though it was shot days apart.
We don't have the person who records how scenes connect and make sense.
As long as the actors act the way they feel...
...I don't care if the scenes don't connect to each other.
It doesn't matter if the actors didn't know what they were supposed to do.
I'm not too worried about the details like that yet.
And I don't think I'm quite there yet, to think about the details like that.
I should enjoy myself instead of trying to make a film that makes sense.
So I don't think I can become a good director, and I don't wish to be one.
Do you know any other director like you?
I wonder...
But I'm sure there are some.
Usually a director is a very intense person, but you aren't like that at all.
When I try to be very serious, I fall asleep.
Is this the scene where lchi gets another mission?
Yes, Jijii is trying to make him go on one last mission.
But lchi's having doubts about his mission.
There they are, Jiro and Saburo.
This actor, Suzuki Matsuo...
He is unique.
He is very mysterious.
I remember when we were casting, we were thinking about using real twins...
...but then you said "Let's do it with CG."
I thought that was funny.
When I thought of these characters, I didn't think we could find perfect twins.
I see.
Then "twins" became an important element in the story.
And it would be really hard to find twins that could act and be unique.
If Mitoizumi had a twin brother, it'd be perfect, but that's impossible.
It would be scary if there were two of him.
It's a different kind of scariness.
Sabu hadn't been acting for a while before this.
What do you think of him as an actor?
I like him.
He looks very normal.
He was in my films before he started directing.
He was probably frustrated from directing.
He felt that he could've made a better film if he acted himself.
Because he knew exactly what he wanted...
...so he decided to act again.
But his pride had been making him avoid acting.
So I'm glad that he came out of his shell and started acting again.
Are there any bad actors?
I'm sure there are some actors that I don't get along with...
...but I always find something interesting about every actor.
Or maybe I'm just trying to see anything I can in them...
...so that I can respect them.
I'm impressed by a simple thing.
Acting is a strange occupation.
I wonder if they really think about their future.
Maybe that's why I find actors fascinating.
There are many film makers in this film...
...like Tsukamoto.
He usually directs and acts in his films.
I have the actors around me when I make a film...
...but their world is actually far away from mine.
Even if I decide to act in my own film...
...I'll just play some joke character.
It's not the same as what the real actors do.
I don't know how they can do that for a living.
I don't think I can live like that.
So even if they aren't famous...
Actually I respect them even more if they aren't successful.
He's casually walking down the street in that costume...
You can do that only in Kabukicho.
It's a city where anything could happen.
Didn't he stand out?
Not at all.
Some people were saying, "it's lchi"...
...but they didn't cause a scene or anything.
There was a fire in Kabukicho and a lot of people died.
But anything that happens in Kabukicho is very unrealistic.
You can't tell if it's really happening or just a dream.
But the fire actually happened, and many people were burned to death.
To me, that incident was more shocking than September 11th.
September 11th?
The World Trade Center incident.
I know what you mean.
Kabukicho is like a scene from "Alice in Wonderland."
I visit there a lot, but the inside of Kabukicho changes constantly.
I even feel uneasy being there.
Even the people in the city will be different, but Kabukicho is still there.
That's what Kabukicho is like.
I can't take this scene, this sound is a little too much...
Many people can't take it...
Even I thought it was a little too much.
Metal against metal.
That sound...
It sounds a lot nastier than nails on the blackboard.
It goes straight to the bones.
People who barely made it through the "tongue scene" would walk out here.
This is the second point.
But if you make it through this scene...
...you're immune to it...
That's right, and it's just a matter of how you enjoy the rest of the film.
Some people even stop reading manga when there's a scene like this.
I would get drawn in.
If they made it through the scene, they'd be able to read the rest.
But the tongue scene must be the hardest scene.
You can sense an even worse situation coming.
Did you use CG just for the face?
No, we shot Jiro and Saburo separately.
He had to play two roles.
This is a perfect plan.
What do you mean?
Usually if an actor has two different roles, he gets paid for each character, but...
...we only had to pay him for one character.
So if I had everyone act as twins, the cost for actors would be half.
It'll be a story about twins.
They are from the twin planet.
His keen sense of smell...
Originally we were supposed to use a K-9...
It said so in the script.
But it's really difficult to handle a German Shepard.
It would take a long time to shoot.
And we'd have to wait for the dog to do what you wanted it to do.
We had a lot more to do, and couldn't afford the time.
But if we didn't have Matsuo, it would've been different.
You could just put ears on Matsuo, and he would be a dog.
If it were a different actor, we would've had a different result.
Did you consider a different actor for the twins?
We had some, but basically our producer...
...Mataro Miyazaki, did the casting.
You could see the sense of Miyazaki in the casting.
He looks like he could be very anal about those things.
He is.
This scene, where Kaneko snaps...
Was it in the script?
He's being seriously violent, so I think it was...
I heard a lot of people were surprised by this scene.
I think many people felt betrayed.
In the end, Kaneko is a human being.
Many people felt that they could even be friends with somebody like him.
But suddenly his true self is revealed.
Because they trusted him, they were shocked even more.
He gets enraged and kills the girl.
But I could totally understand the mental state he's in.
I'm sure you could.
To me, his reaction was very natural from the...
...scene of him having the conversation with other yakuza in the hallway...
...to him getting enraged.
A situation changes someone's perspective.
Everyone knows their true self, but they pretend that they don't know it.
But your true self comes out once in a while.
If you accept your true self, and watch this film...
...you'll understand the characters' feelings in this film.
They are very honest about what they believe.
They don't lie to themselves.
Everyone in this film is very pure.
So I felt really good shooting these characters.
I didn't have to think about small stuff.
This is a good scene.
It's also a sad scene.
It's like watching wild animals.
We ended up using the teeth that look like animal teeth.
Normal teeth won't work, especially with that kind of scene.
If they were normal teeth, you wouldn't be able to see the teeth...
...and then you wouldn't feel the pain he was in.
He almost looks like a monster, and that was the only way to show his teeth.
The teeth didn't look like that in other scenes...
...so we decided that his teeth would transform when he bites.
CG crew had many questions working on this...
...saying that the scene wasn't making sense.
What does "Kawa" mean?
Actually...
We used the sound effects of crows crying, and they're crying "Kah" there...
...but I've heard crows cry "Kawa."
I'm not really sure if it's a...
...different kind of crow or they cry "Kawa" at a certain time of day.
All I know that there are crows that cry " Kawa."
I thought crows in Japan must be all the same...
...so I tried to find crows crying " Kawa."
But I couldn't find them, and we couldn't get the sound.
You may not notice it but I'm sure everyone must've heard of it.
So when you hear it in this scene, I wanted people to remember it.
That's what I wanted to do, but we just couldn't get the sound.
I just wanted to show that he only loves things that are different from others.
He was looking for the one that cries " Kawa", so he could feed it.
That's the reason behind "Kawa."
I found out that you like crows.
I find them fascinating.
It's scary when they fly to me in a pack...
It gives me Goosebumps.
...but they are part of everyday life.
They are everywhere we, humans, live.
My office is in Shibuya.
When I'm in the office, I'll only hear the sound of cars, and crows.
They're everywhere, but most people don't like them.
We don't even know where they sleep.
I like how they are mysterious.
I have a lot of CG samples of crows.
So I can use crows in my films anytime I want.
She's speaking in English here...
...but lchi understands what she's saying.
In this film...
...there are no translations involved for the characters.
Characters speak their language, and they just understand each other.
If this was a film about the difference in culture, it'll be a different story.
Nationality doesn't matter in lchi, but their personalities are more important.
That's why we took out the language barrier.
Jijii and she have conversation in their own language, Japanese and Chinese.
You may find it a little strange but it doesn't bother you much.
That's true.
Because this film itself is stranger than anything else.
Forget the small stuff.
This room was really small.
It is actually a lot smaller than it looks.
You can see that there are only three Tatami and a half in this room.
The camera takes up a half a Tatami, it's almost impossible to film.
But I really liked this room.
And if it were a normal cameraman, it wouldn't have happened.
But our cameraman, Hideo Yamamoto, said, "I can do it."
When you make a film like lchi, you can't let problems like that get in the way.
It's physically impossible.
We used a crane to shoot the shot.
So you brought in the crane from outside?
Yes, we squeezed a small crane inside.
It was crazy.
It is a real apartment, right?
Yes, it is.
How did you find this place?
I'd explain what I had in my mind to the location people...
...and they would go look for it.
This was actually very close to our office.
The wardrobe person, Michiko Kitamura, has an assistant...
...who lives in this apartment complex.
They had their studio for making costumes downstairs.
There are few areas in Tokyo where you can find an apartment like this...
...like in Okubo, and Nishi Shinjuku.
But they are disappearing.
That's true...
Maybe that's why I wanted to use this apartment.
This complex might not be here next year...
...so I wanted to film in there before it's gone.
There, her foot is gone but you can see the background where her foot was.
Did you add the background later?
We used the shot of the background for where her foot is.
We shot this scene from the same angle twice, with actors, and without actors.
And we took her foot out from each frame...
...and replaced it with the background.
Sounds like a painstaking process.
Normally, people use motion-control to do that kind of stuff, but...
...we're very analog, so we just have to work with what we have.
But the crew always comes up with something.
Even if the method isn't practical...
...the film crew's struggle can create the perfect effect.
If we had everything we needed to make a film...
...the quality of the film might be better and professional, but...
...I think it's more interesting to make a film, struggling and improvising.
You can see how Asano's enjoying his character here.
Did you shoot this later in the filming?
Yes, and this room is a set built on the location.
This office is built inside a bigger room.
We made those walls...
...so this office is inside a bigger office.
Using a place like this is different from shooting on a set built in a studio.
We created this room in a building in the middle of a city.
So it was a different experience for the actors, too.
They would go into a normal building and see the set inside the room.
I think it affects the way the actors feel on the set.
I think so too.
It might not be hard to create the set or the lighting in a studio...
...but you can't feel the reality that you can't see.
Was there a scene of his penis getting cut off?
No, there wasn't.
There was a scene where he was about to, but that's it.
Even if we shot the scene, we couldn't show that in the film.
In the manga, it was explicitly drawn.
But you can't express it like that in a film.
I don't have that kind of skill.
When you make a film from a manga, you try to compete with the original.
But I could be very honest making this film.
To me, your manga is a big brother, and my film is a little brother.
So it was very easy for me to make it into a film.
If I can't express it the way your manga does, I just let the manga win.
It was like my safety blanket, I was very comfortable and felt safe.
If it wasn't based on a manga, I might've struggled more.
I felt like I could be honest with myself.
This is another great scene...
Looks good, doesn't it?
I've seen a lot of commercials that use the same kind of effect.
Switching the face of someone on a different body...
But you could clearly see there's something wrong with it.
That's obviously not his body.
It was as if we put so much effort into it to make it look obviously fake.
And I like it that way.
If you couldn't tell whether it's real or not, you'd be impressed, and that's it.
The CG person who worked on the scene almost had a nervous breakdown.
It took three months to create the scene.
He had to do it frame by frame.
He had to look at the body and Tsukamoto's face everyday for three months.
But when someone is working in that kind of situation...
...the finished project is always great.
If he had better equipment and better material, it would've made his job easier.
But because he was going crazy, this scene became crazier.
That kind of job is priceless.
In the scene, Tsukamoto's character shows his true personality...
I like the way it looks raw.
You said it took 3 months to create the scene, but how much did it cost?
We had a budget meeting, where we put more money...
Isn't using CG expensive?
If we calculated the hours the CG crew spent on the machines...
...we would've needed as much as they spend in Hollywood.
My crew make their money somewhere else...
Putting Tsukamoto's face on top of another body is something...
...you can only do in my film.
That's the CG crew's job, but it's not their normal job.
They are doing this for fun.
So they make money doing other things...
...while I ask them to have fun making my film.
But those people need to make money to eat, before they have fun.
That's right.
People who can make a decent living are strong.
Filmmakers like me don't have time to have fun. We're always busy.
It's boring if we make ourselves busy just to make something.
That's why audiences find my films boring sometimes.
There's no resolution to this problem in the Japanese film industry.
But you look like you're having fun.
I make a lot of films, so I don't have to think about my worries.
I try to think that if one movie doesn't do well, I'd still have money to eat.
But I keep doing it, so that's why I don't make money.
That's how I am, and I can't change that.
If I made one film every other year...
...I'm sure the quality of my films would be different.
But I can't spend two years on lchi.
If I spent two years, that would make me go insane.
You're right.
I have to understand that I'm making something beyond human understanding.
But then there's a question of whether I can make something I don't understand.
So I told myself that I'd make this film to have fun.
For this film, I actually made the time to have fun for myself.
I controlled the time just for myself, and decided to have fun.
I think many film directors make their best work...
...when they are not forced nor pressured to make a film.
I know what you mean.
It's like sex, You'll have better sex when it's unexpected...
...than when you're all tense and preoccupied having sex.
I like the way you described that.
I'd love to have sex unexpectedly.
I'd really like that, unexpected sex.
The crushed face there...
It was in the exhibition of lchi at Parco...
You could see from the other side of the face.
...so everyone could experience the world of lchi.
Were there any other faces?
Shin Sugata's face was there.
I had a ticket, but I forgot to bring it that day, so I paid to get in.
What's that white stuff?
I think lchi ejaculated.
What detailed work.
So he has his penis out?
I guess he came in when lchi was jerking off.
It's getting close to the climax.
I was still writing lchi around this time...
...so the climax of the film was very different from the manga.
I asked you what was going to happen...
...but then you asked me the same question in return.
Yes, I did.
How many endings did you think of for lchi?
I only thought of one.
If Kakihara gets caught right here, I'd just think of what happens next.
Then I don't think about what if he doesn't get caught.
I see.
Is there any reason it's daytime?
It's difficult to shoot a film in the city at night.
You have to think about the light, time and other technical stuff.
But if you use the natural light, it's a lot easier.
Besides, I wanted to shoot lchi under sunlight.
The kids are playing somewhere, and they are killing each other on the roof.
I thought it was very healthy.
They are all outside, under sunlight.
It was really cold.
Middle of December.
It was so cold that it was difficult to just stand still.
Actors are strange.
They look even happier when they're in a horrible situation.
Everything was done according to the script?
Yes, but Sato's script doesn't say exactly what the...
...actors are supposed to say.
How they move or what's happening are very clear in his script.
So if ten people read the script, ten people bring their ideas to the dialogue.
You have to assume how they're feeling.
For example, when you see the kid...
...you'll think about many different possibilities.
You can use the kid to emphasize the violence in this scene.
But also it could be a great moment between father and son.
We didn't try to force the audience to have certain feelings.
So everything is done by the script, but...
...how the audience will feel about each scene might be different.
I guess the theme changes depending on how it's shot.
Yes, we all had different feelings about lchi when we were shooting.
There were some scenes where I explained how I want the scene to be...
...but for the scenes toward the end, I only directed the camera angles.
But I left the crew to think about how they were supposed to feel.
Otherwise this film couldn't be completed.
We weren't trying to achieve one thing together.
He is Kakihara, but also Tadanobu Asano.
How he thinks about his fate is up to him.
That's not something I should be directing.
Did you shoot these scenes many times?
No, most of them are one-take.
Just a single take.
You usually rehearse actor's lines and the camera work, but...
...this isn't the kind of scene you rehearse so many times.
If we rehearse, we would get something we could replicate next year.
But if we just rehearse once or twice...
...the scene and the way Asano plays Kakihara are very original.
That's why we didn't rehearse that much.
Even the cameraman was having a hard time framing characters in the shot.
That was up to them too?
Yes.
Really?
I explain what's happening, but I let them do everything.
I thought the shots were directed.
Well, I told them the angle of the camera and directions, but...
...where the characters will be in the frame wasn't directed.
He is going to sit right here, and the cameraman knows he's sitting...
...but how he sits, or whether he just sits or pauses and sits...
You couldn't expect those kind of things when he was shooting.
But then when the cameraman would have a certain shot right...
...it would look like everything was precisely planned.
I would direct him sometimes but I'd rather let him do what he wants to do.
I love the expression on his face.
I don't want to die like that.
If that wasn't Asano, it would be totally different. Like the way he falls...
And I would have a different feeling for his death.
But it makes me feel excited to see him losing his balance on the edge.
I don't know how to explain it.
He isn't trying to save himself.
He looks curious when he's falling.
That's his desire, he wants to know how it feels to die.
You feel like you're going to fall when...
...you stand on the edge of a tall building.
You want to try to lean over, maybe it's close to that feeling.
He doesn't fall out, but he falls into the pit, surrounded by other buildings.
That's very Kakihara.
He was talking right before he dies, I'd want to faint if it were me.
He is really enjoying it, he's expressing it verbally.
I didn't put any sound when he actually hit the ground...
...but he was acting really cool the moment before he died.
There are so many different poses when someone falls to their death.
Why did you choose that pose?
I wanted him to look like he was running.
Really?
Yes, I want him to die refreshingly.
It's the end, but looks like it's the beginning of something.
It does look like he's running.
We spent a long time on how he should pose.
I remember.
If we shot the scene another day, it would be different.
Some people shoot a couple of different shots...
...but I like having only one possibility, rather than having many possibilities.
These credits are confusing.
I watched it twice, but I couldn't find my name.
Everyone's name is in here.
But if you put them all together, you can't see it.
Too much information can be useless.
It's better if it's going up, but it sucks if your name is one that's going down.
Some of them are upside down, and falling down.
The original authors look forward to seeing their names...
...in the beginning and the end.
So I feel half satisfied.
I'm sorry.
I'll have to pause it to find my name.
But there is another " Hideo Yamamoto", so it might be easier to spot it.
Yeah, but I don't know which one is me.
It says "original story by."
Okay, good.
That's it.