Sadistic and Masochistic Page #5

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He doesn't say much.

He's the quiet type.

You'd never know

if he walked into the editing suite.

I'd feel a slight breeze,

and there he'd be-

standing silently, watching.

AFTERNOON AFFAIR - KYOTO HOLY TAPESTRY

Papa, let's play Ping-Pong!

We filmed some extraordinary things.

- Wasn't that your plan?

- No, not at all.

There were a number of themes.

Shogun's Harem

was an extraordinary slice of life.

From my point of view-

How can I put it?

I wanted to make films

that focused on the woman's story.

Lots of directors

were making action films.

My theme was the ordinary woman.

We ended up doing

all kinds of different scenarios.

First I was painted all over with blood.

We were on the top floor

of a block of apartments.

In that scene,

I was just about to jump off.

Konuma said,

"If you fall off, I'll follow you."

I couldn't believe it. I was petrified.

Just the thought that I could really fall-

It was very scary.

So he made you even more scared?

He just made it worse.

I had to concentrate on not falling.

I joined Nikkatsu

because I wanted to make Roman porno.

Konuma was already

a top director there.

He worked all through the Roman porno era,

a total of 18 years.

He made 47 films.

Amazingly, he never made a movie

in another genre.

Masaru Konuma and Roman porno-

they sustained each other

like a pair of sweethearts.

It wasn't like that.

More of a conditioned reflex.

After doing it for 10 years,

it just became automatic for me.

He focused on visuals.

He always placed the audience first.

He never cared about box office,

but he really cared about

pleasing his audience.

I was amazed he could stick to that.

HARUHIKO ARAI - SCREENWRITER

He'd insist that I write the visuals

into the script.

His requests were always abstract.

He'd say, "Be more impressive."

Then he wouldn't mention it again.

- Make it impressive?

- That's all he'd say.

Working with Arai,

I'd watched a lot of movies

as I was growing up.

I'd take the audience's view

when I'd argue with him over a point.

Arai would say,

"The audience never knows!"

Then he'd try to make me

be more specific about my requests.

Roman porno was the swan song

for Nikkatsu Pictures.

You get people like Konuma

on other movie lots.

He's a typical film artisan,

but he's not the type of director who

shares his vision with the cast and crew.

He's a genius at digesting the crew's input

and turning it into product.

In that sense,

he really is an exceptional director.

TATTOOED CORE OF FLOWER

How do you do? I am Nakata.

Thank you for coming.

I'll accompany you in Tokyo.

- Was it a good flight?

- Yes.

NAOMI TANI - ACTRESS

In one of Junichiro Tanizaki's novels,

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