1. Can you tell us a bit about your first 8mm short film: " Panic in High School " that actuated Nikkatsu to hiring you to make the studio remake? The story is the same than the feature film but with a shorten run?

The short film lasts 15 minutes. It is the story of a young boy who kills his teacher and takes flight. The rest of the short turns around the fight between this high school student and policemen. In the Nikkatsu version, there are a lot of other secondary characters and also flashbacks to demonstrate how the main character arrived from there and that was what I didn't want to do. In the short, the high school student kills the teacher without reason, I didn't want to give any reason but Nikkatsu made me to do it for feature film direction. I have been affected by the lack of freedom in this film and so I decided never to work with any of the major studios again.

- Besides the name of the high school is the name of the island where you have grown up, Kyushu Island.

The shoot took place in Tokyo not in Kyushu and it's the reason why I named the high school Kyushu to recall my childhood memories. Moreover the language you hear in the film is a dialect of Kyushu.



2. Can you explain us why the "Burst City" version screened in festival is not at all the same than the two-hour version I saw on Laser Disc?

(Laughs) The two-hour cut you saw is an unfinished version. As the release date had been decided well in advance and that I ran out of deadline, I had to provide an unfinished cut of which I am not satisfied with. Today, Toei refuses to rent or lend copies for foreign parts; it's the reason why each time we project the film in performance I remix the film and soundtrack. So the montage is never the same and changes according to my mood.

- How was the shooting, there was a lot of punks and bikers in the film. It mustn't be easy to direct?

To tell you the truth, I used actual bikers in "Crazy Thunder Road" but not in "Burst City". In "Burst City" it was music bands and their fans who acted in the film.



3. Regarding " Shuffle ", how was the encounter with Otomo after the film shooting, was he annoyed when he discovered that you have used his manga as a base for your film?

I didn't know Otomo-San at all; I never met him before the shooting. He drew "Shuffle" at the beginning of his career when he was not well known. At this time, I was young myself and as nothing feared me I shot the film without authorization. The original title of the manga was "Run". To broadcast the film, I had to ask him the authorization and then I met him. He liked a lot my film and there was even talk of writing a screenplay for one of my films but finally this project never comes true.

- At the beginning of the film, the hero shaves his head while preparing himself to murder Yakusa who exploits his girlfriend, can we associate this gesture with the punk culture or is it only to pay homage to actor Robert De Niro in "Taxi Driver"?

No, just because it was in the original work of Otomo-San, so you better ask him (Laughs). Myself, I like a lot "Taxi Driver" so perhaps for this ceremony, Otomo-San was influenced by the film. However in the same scene, the character encircles his belly with fabric and put newspapers inside, this was not in the original manga, that was my idea because I though that if the character existed in reality he would use this ritual practised by Yakuza, well second class Yakuza. This is a ritual used by this kind of Yakusa before to fight.


4. When we watch " Angel dust ", we don't recognize your style, so punchy at your debut, why this radical change, is it your cinematographic break of 10 years the reason?

My first movies form a part of what I call my Punk- period and that's why I am seen as a "Punk director". After "Crazy Family" the situation was difficult in Japan and though the film ran well abroad, it was not very well-known in Japan. I was working on "Gojoe" screenplay but I couldn't find any fund to produce it and investors didn't believe anymore in me. During these 10 years, I felt like doing a feature film but I just could do four short films. That's the reason why when I found investors to produce "Angel Dust", I had to do some concessions with the integration of the feminine character and the love story; I would never do it some years before.



5. Can you talk now about "Labyrinth of Dreams" (Yume No Ginga), based on Kyusaku Yumeno's short story. In the story, Tomiko, the heroine becomes pregnant of the murderer and commit suicide while in your film you decided to stop before, why this choice?

That certainly comes from my personal tastes; it's true that is different from the original story with an ending where Tomiko doesn't commit suicide. I think it comes from my movie behaviour; I always try to do films which open the way and leave open the issue rather than films which finish up, that are an end in themselves. The keynote of the film is the women's lifeforce, it's a different interpretation of the original work. In my film, this woman is pursued by the murderer and at the end kills him but she will survive. It's my way to show the women's forcelife but also perhaps my fear towards women. If my film ended with Tamako suicide like the book, I would not be able to bring out my keynote.


6. The film " Gojoe " seems to be close to your heart, can you talk a bit about the shooting and the way you staged the fights?

We shot the most part of the film in a forest in the north of Japan; it was really wonderful even though the heat was hard to bear for actors with their costumes. For the fights, more besides Hirofumi Nakase who is a Mifune Toshiro disciple, I hired a Chinese Choreograph. This was not common at these times in the Japanese cinema, so I could give a very unique style to the fights. In addition the actors had a certain experience with Chambara, Asano has been acting in "Tabou" of Oshima-san and Daisuke Ryu has been acting in several films of Kurosawa Akira. However several months before the shooting they had an important preparation to be able to achieve the choreographic demands regarding the fights.



7. In " Electric Dragon 80,000 V ", during the final fight, we can see Tadanobu Asano executing the same motions than Bruce Lee, is it a simple wink to the character of Dragon or do you really admire Bruce Lee?

(Laughs) Both, in fact Bruce Lee is one of my favourite actors, if he was still alive; I really would like to make a film with him (Laughs)


8. When I saw " Angel Dust " and "Electric Dragon ", I was wondering how you shot in a densely populated town as Tokyo without being disturbing, I think specially at the scenes of the subway or near Tokyo Dome in "Angel Dust" and the scene where Tadanobu Asano plays guitar in the street in Electronic Dragon.

To tell the truth we shot it with the snatch, in Tokyo it's very difficult to have permission so we shot it without authorization (laughs). The crew hates this kind of shooting (laughs)



9.You look attached to the actor Tadanobu Asano who also plays in your band and who is really the fashionable actor in Japan for both independent and commercial movies, how was your first encounter?

I met Asano on the "August in the Water" casting. I couldn't take him for the lead role because he was already too old; he was no more a high school student. Nevertheless I found him absolutely great as actor and it's the reason why I wanted to work with him in my next film: "Labyrinth of Dreams".


10. What are you thinking about DV that is a way for young directors to do films at lower cost? If it had existed at this time perhaps would you have used it?

Yes, of course if Dv had existed at this time I would have used it without doubt. Besides, my last film was shot on DV.


11. What are you thinking about Japanese filmmakers today? Do you recognize yourself more through a cinema in the style of Takashi Miike, Kyoshi Kurosawa or perhaps another filmmaker?

I don't recognize myself through the films of the others filmmakers, but I like Kurosawa films (Kyoshi). In effect, I am rather indifferent to the work of the others but however I pay attention of what happens in the manga environment.

- And what type of manga do you like more Shônen series as we find a lot today or more adult series?

I especially like a type of manga that succeeds to do what the Japanese cinema currently fails to do, like Urasawa Naoki or Inoue Takehiko's works. There are very talented authors.



12. Can you talk a bit about your last film Kyoshin: Mirrored Mind?

It's the film shot in DV I talked about previously. I saw to the production and shooting myself. We were two to do all from the beginning to the end of the project. The production crew was very limited. There were more actors than crew on the set. It's a very small film, the ambiance is very quiet and the content is modest. I enjoyed myself a lot during the shoot, I felt really free.


13. Today, you have the opportunity to review a lot of your movies, how do you regard your past career?

I am just ashamed (laughs). It's for that I never stay in the movie theater (laughs).


14. What are your next film projects?

Currently, I have four projects in progress since "Gojoe". A Science-Fiction, a Thriller, an action movie and a film about the nature, this is a very particular film that requires a shoot abroad. These films are really more expensive than my previous one, and it's the reason why it will take quite a long time before they take shape, I must collect fund overseas.


Our warmest thanks go to Sogo Ishii for answering our questions.

- Official website : http://www.ishiisogo.com/

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