Sadistic and Masochistic Page #4

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Doing exactly what I say

is not always the best thing.

A movie set can be a very strange place.

Reality and movies are different-

in opposite corners.

You don't have to be realistic.

Movies should push the limits

and exaggerate reality.

Let me give you an example.

When you stab someone in a movie,

the blood spurts out.

It doesn't really matter

if that doesn't happen in real life.

Because when you put it

on the big screen, it works.

I learned that at Nikkatsu.

We created a character

who could never really exist.

There is no real Naomi Tani,

so we created a fictional one.

WET VASE:

The lustful stares

gave that scene a tremendous impact.

It changed her.

Actually, it's quite a romantic story.

But that never happens in the real world.

Hello. It's me.

Can I come see you?

Yes, as soon as possible.

No, nothing in particular. Not really.

I'm all wet. I'm soaked through.

May I?

Please?

Some actresses would say...

they didn't understand what I wanted.

They'd want me to show them by example.

So I'd act it out,

hoping they'd do it better than me.

Naomi was never like that,

but many are.

So I have to be ready for that

at all times.

Yes, he'd act out what he wanted from me.

YUKI KAZAMATSURI - ACTRESS

Facial expressions too?

Yes, he did. Especially expressions.

Did that help you in your roles?

Well, yes. It sure did.

For an outsider to look in and see that-

a male director showing an actress

how to writhe-

it must look very funny.

But I was eager

and tried to imitate him faithfully.

I really tried my best

to act how he wanted me to.

I used to prefer being surrounded

by all the staff on the set.

But alone in a darkened studio,

doing the voice-dubbing afterwards,

was so embarrassing.

I really hated that.

It was so difficult for me.

And it's very hard to get the timing right,

but I soon learned.

Matching the voice to the screen is hard.

FUMIO HASHIMOTO - SOUND MIXER

Konuma would show them how to dub.

He'd act out what he wanted from them.

I think that made it easier for them too.

Konuma was a good director

for everyone to work with.

When I made the first Azuma film,

it was all in my head.

Of course, she had no experience with it,

so I had to project to her

how an enema felt.

I hooked up earphones for her

so she could hear my voice.

Then I went through the scenes

and showed her how.

Every moan and groan.

The enema scene?

- Yes.

- You did it?

Everything.

That was the only way.

You couldn't explain it.

If she'd had no experience,

all I could do was show her my way.

Did this require much preparation for you?

Would you rehearse it the night before?

I had to. No way we could do it

without preparation.

I don't mean the timing.

More the emotions.

Was he ever too persistent for you?

Not at all.

But comparing Konuma

to other directors,

there was an undercurrent there,

a definite difference.

Or maybe only I thought so.

What do you mean?

Well, obviously S and M.

Sadism or masochism?

I always thought he had

a masochistic element in him.

But I did read an interview

where he vigorously denied that.

But he knows more about S and M

than most directors.

Act a reality, and it becomes a lie.

It's exactly the same with S and M.

There's only a fine line between them.

Very well put.

And you're quite right.

At the cusp,

they're almost interchangeable.

They can go either way.

You put it so well.

I just have to agree with you.

But no way am I a masochist.

Nor am I a sadist. No, no. Not at all.

But if they say I'm not one or the other,

I get annoyed.

You gave Mori a hard time.

What? Did I?

Was she sadistic?

Sure she was.

And look, Mori is a classic masochist.

He's a masochist?

If some second-rate actress attacks him,

Mori will strike right back at her.

But if it's a quality actress,

he will take that punishment.

I guess he's both S and M.

He told us your criticism

really hurt him.

He was serious about it.

Of course,

he wasn't thrilled at your criticism.

But he had a satisfied look on his face.

That's just Mori for you,

whereas I'm the opposite.

The director Sone

is noted for his hard-core sadism.

But Konuma is more soft-core sadism.

We called him the snake of Mt. Hachiman.

A soft, clinging snake?

Exactly.

Sone can really

bring out the dark side in people.

You can see that in his film,

The Red Classroom.

He's really a master at doing that.

But with Konuma-

As I said earlier,

he always has an element of softness.

Deep down in him, it's dark

but surrounded by softness- like a doughnut.

With Sone, it's all dark.

That's the difference.

Now, Tanaka

has a different aura of darkness.

Colors can express the differences.

One's a mixture of red and black.

The other's red and blue.

- Sone is a mixture of red and black?

- Yes.

- And Tanaka is red and blue?

- Yeah.

What about Konuma?

He's like Sone.

- Red and black.

- Exactly, surrounded by a lighter glow.

Some spark of light in there.

He never coached the big stars.

But with the new ones,

he would act it out for them with feeling.

In my case, I've worked

with so many new actresses.

Some of them had no experience at all.

Like Runa Takamura.

They didn't know much.

It was hard work.

I just had to jump in and do it.

NAOSUKE KUROSAWA - ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

I remember this one here-

she was on the verge of suicide.

If I was in her shoes,

I don't know what I'd have done.

One time, no one expected her

to come back to the shoot.

He gave her such a hard time.

He really did.

I expected her to kill herself.

ASAMI OGAWA - ACTRESS

They say he was very hard on you.

Would you agree with that?

I thought that was normal.

It was my first time in a movie.

When he rejected all your work

and yelled at you,

didn't you ever get upset

or begin to hate him?

By the end of the day,

I was always exhausted.

EROTIC DIARY OF AN OFFICE LADY

There is too much sadness

Around me

I'm leaving on a journey.

To some place far away

Filling my pockets with memories

I got on a train alone

Outside the train's window

An image slips by

Of who I was until yesterday

A bitter life

To which I will never return

I must say good-bye to this city too

You're very good

at shooting love scenes.

As a director,

I'm pleased to hear that.

I always prepped the actresses

to make them comfortable.

We didn't record sound.

She could play her own music.

She brought some jazz tapes in with her.

I didn't mind at all.

There was one incident with her-

She got very angry.

On the set, for the shot,

we'd move her body, change positions.

While filming, that is.

We really had to.

Her legs were wooden

when we did upper-body shots.

Without actual sex,

her acting couldn't carry it.

So when we tried to fix it,

she didn't like that at all.

Is that so?

The poor AD- assistant director.

"Get your hands off me,"

she screamed at him.

She wanted to do that by herself,

I guess.

I worked as Konuma's AD

on three productions.

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