Original subtitles

Shochiku Fuji Co., Ltd.

Okay, let's get started.

This is the audio commentary.

My name is Ken, and I was the assistant property master.

The other person with me is the main attraction, of course.

That's the director, Mr. lida.

I'm the director of this film, George lida. Nice to meet you all.

It's been about 20 years since I last watched Battle Healer.

I chose green for the credits.

Did you have a reason?

No. I just like green. That's all.

In those days, it was difficult to make colored text look really crisp.

There was a lot of opposition to the idea.

- Really? - Yeah.

But when I said I'd make everything green,

even "Shochiku," the distributor's name, they agreed.

It was new and different at that time.

This takes me back.

How did you record the sound?

Well, we couldn't do it at the same time as shooting.

Oh, I see. I get it.

- Yeah. - I miss those hard days.

This was the first day of shooting, wasn't it?

It was the very first scene we shot.

We argued a lot about this scene.

We had a very low budget. It cost a lot to do special effects.

We wanted to shoot this scene on location, at night.

But we had to shoot it in the studio.

So this scene was filmed on a set.

How long was the lane? Wasn't it really short?

- The car wasn't moving, right? - No. We were just shaking it.

It was a real pain. I didn't know that filming was so expensive.

Or that shooting on location was such a big deal.

- I see. - Yeah.

You can do it if you try hard.

Wasn't that the studio that had a fire?

- Right. - It smelled burnt.

Oh, yeah, I remember that. Because of the fire...

we weren't allowed to use any lights.

What did you imagine when you pictured this?

This stomp.

What was your intent? Was this your first joke?

This scene? Well...

I actually wanted to show a real truck rolling over.

But doing it in the studio would have cost too much.

We argued a lot. We compromised on the use of a miniature.

- That was the reason? - Yes.

It's easy to tell it's a miniature, so you overdid it, right?

- Yeah. - I see.

By the time the audience realized it was a miniature,

- it was being stepped on. - Right, right.

- I wanted to use a real truck. - I see.

Can't you sieep normally?

It was so dark and smoky when we filmed this scene.

It made me really nervous.

Didn't you visit a shrine

just before filming started?

You have a good memory!

- Yeah, I remember a lot. - You really do.

At that time, computer graphics really didn't exist.

So I had to insert lights in the scene using double exposure.

- We also used matte paintings. - That's right.

I believe the assistant director actually drove the truck.

He covered all the windows in the truck with black paper.

Then he made a small hole in the paper.

He peeked through it as he drove.

- I don't remember that. - Oh, yeah. He did that.

I wish I could have added a background here.

- Like a night sky or something. - Yeah, that would have worked.

Right. I don't have any healers.

- There's a wall right behind them. - Yeah.

But I don't think we have a kotatsu.

It was a different time.

But here's onel Look!

The camera lenses weren't very good.

I wanted to have the kotatsu much further away.

That was how I imagined it.

But I couldn't do it.

- This is the first matte painting. - That's right.

At the time, the use of mattes got a lot of attention.

- That's a set. We made one tree. - That's right.

I intentionally made this scene blurry.

It's a composite scene with a matte painting, right?

Sunplaza Nakano was a perfect fit for this character, wasn't he?

- He performed better than expected. - How did you cast the film?

At the time, Bakufu-Slump was very popular--

Let me start over. There was this band called Bakufu-Slump.

At the same time, coincidentally, my friend and I

were trying to get a comedic horror film made.

The story featured a man-eating kolalsu.

We kept trying to get the screenplay made.

But it wasn't working out.

That truck is crazy, loo.

Here we go! Isn't this a highlight?

- Oh, yeah. It uses "go motion." - That's right.

It took a whole day for Nobuaki Koga to film this scene.

Yeah.

This was the last scene we shot in the studio, right?

This is our epoch-making opening.

This uses props, not computer graphics.

- It'd be a piece of cake now. - It'd barely take a second.

- Yeah, we did a lot by hand. - Just about everything.

- What were we talking about? - Bakufu-Slump and the kotatsu film.

Right, so when I pitched the story to Amuse Productions...

Bakufu-Slump was still pretty much unknown.

But they liked them. They said if we used the band,

they'd invest in the film.

So, I went to see them play.

They suggested Pappara Kawai for the main character.

- He's the guitarist, right? - Yes. We still hang out.

Didn't they reunite last year?

- Yes. I went to their concert. - Oh, yeah?

So, anyway...

- we decided to use them. - I see.

I rewrote the screenplay and added that scene for Nakano.

- Oh, I didn't know that. - Yeah.

Just when we were about to start filming...

their song Runner became a big hit.

So, it was good timing for everyone.

They were a rookie band, and I was a new director.

Somehow our fates transpired to bring us together...

and make this low-budget horror film.

But by the time the movie came out,

Bakufu-Slump was really popular.

They were huge.

This movie wound up being viewed

as a promotional project for Bakufu-Slump.

- It was kind of a shame. - I see.

But I have to admit that was how it looked to me, too.

I thought this was a comedy-horror movie made for Bakufu-Slump.

They sang on the sets of TV shows.

That's right. Best 10 came to the set.

Yeah, that's right.

Americans probably don't know that show.

I guess this bit really isn't that helpful, then.

Americans won't know what we're talking about.

The apartment building set was huge.

It was! We built a lot of rooms.

Yes. It took a lot of effort.

When we were filming this,

some of the staff were a bit doubtful.

- Oh, the long pause? - What was your intent?

Did you plan that long pause?

Or did it just come to you as you were filming?

I thought it would be funny.

You filled the pause with music.

Was that part of your original idea?

I thought it was important. I wanted to emphasize the pause.

I see.

If the music wasn't there,

people might have thought the movie had stopped.

Did you consider that possibility?

- Did that occur to you? - No, it didn't. I was fearless.

If I weren't, I couldn't have made a movie like this.

That's true.

This type of movie is accepted these days.

But when I made this movie,

the Japanese film industry didn't have a lot of different categories.

They didn't have categories like horror or comedy.

That's true. A lot of films were neither here nor there.

- Yeah. - They were somewhere in between.

So it would have been hard to make a science fiction movie.

- At that time, I mean. - That's true.

Still, my intention was to create

a film like Sam Raimi or John Landis might make.

That was my intent, anyway.

And you achieved that goal.

But audiences must have been so surprised at that time.

They might have been confused about the concept.

"A kotalsu that eats people?"

And then there are the people in the building.

Did he lend it to you?

All of them are crazy.

I enjoyed making this movie.

I got a childlike pleasure out of it.

- Yeah? - Yeah. That's what I remember.

Wasn't it frantic work?

It wasn't like that. It was liberating.

I was like a kid enjoying a playground.

That shows how strong you really are.

This was your first time directing.

That must have taken some courage.

I told you that I was fearless. I still am.

That's served you well.

- I don't think so. - Really?

- But you used matte paintings. - Yeah, but...

the movie was a fiasco, financially.

That's the audience's fault.

Are you bragging about it?

On a certain level...

I wanted to make the old couple subplot end happily.

But, I was young and immature,

and didn't have the resources I do today.

That's Shigeru Muroi.

I must say that Ms. Muroi

was very sexy in this movie.

Part of that was the role.

But I think part of it was how you directed and shot her scenes.

- We were pretty friendly. - I see.

- Are you still friends? - Yeah.

This was before her TV show, I Like Cats After All.

- Really? - Yeah.

We're almost done.

Right about the time that this movie was released,

that show became a bit hit.

I see.

Here's Ogura again.

Ogura was also with the Amuse talent agency.

Did you decide to cast him in the film early on?

I think so.

And that dummy was made the very first time he and I met.

- I still remember that day. - The dummy is going to move.

- Is that the dummy? - Yes, itis.

Ogura actually looks a bit like a stuffed toy.

- That's the real Ogura. - Oh, I see!

And the expression on his face!

We decided the dummy's face had to have that expression.

So as soon as we met him, we asked him to make that face

so we could make a plaster cast of it.

He made that face the whole time.

- He was covered in plaster. - Yeah?

His mouth had to be open,

so it was pretty tough for him. And he drooled and told us:

"Sorry, but my face feels really tight." I wanted to laugh.

It was really funny, but we had only just met.

So I knew we'd get off on the wrong foot if I laughed.

- It was hard not to, though. - That was the first time you met?

- Wow. - Yeah.

The dummy's role is over for now. It'll be back later.

That's right.

This is Furuchi, the main character.

The part played by Pappara Kawai.

You chose the name "Furuchi” for a reason, right?

All the names relate to the movie industry.

- For example, Michio Furuchi is-- - Lucio Fulci.

His girlfriend, Kurumi Sano?

- That's a nod to Sam Raimi. - As I expected.

Sam Raimi, huh?

This is Furuchi's neighbor. His band is Bloody Savie.

Right. Inspired by Tom Savini.

This is absurd. Really.

There's a bass player, a guitarist, and he's the vocalist.

But the drummer is actually

the drummer from Bakufu-Slump, Funky Sueyoshi, right?

- Because drumming can't be faked. - I see.

His character's name derives from Toby Hooper, right?

- Tobi Futa. - That's right.

That was it.

This movie's actually pretty well done.

It is.

It was quite a lot of work.

The seal on the kotalsu.

When you see it...

you want to take it off.

But it doesn't come off easily.

The louder the music gets...

the harder he works to get the seal off.

Then he stabs his neighbor.

You can't tell from this angle,

but from the side you can see he's right up against the wall.

- And then you see the backbend. - How ridiculous.

- It's ridiculous? - It definitely is.

- But this was your idea, lida. - I know, but it's ridiculous.

Quch.

That must have hurt.

Not much blood, though.

I've worked with a lot of actors since I made this movie.

Whenever I meet someone new,

I tell them about my first film, Battle Healer.

I tell them it's about a man-eating kolalsu.

Producers and some staff know the film.

But the younger staff and actresses are like, "Oh, really?"

They say they want to see it. So I show it to them.

After that, nobody mentions Battle Healer again.

That's the last I hear of it.

Seriously.

Have you talked about the movie recently?

- Recently? I always talk about it. - You still do?

This is your debut movie.

Many debut films are more commercialized.

Hey, where is Sabii-san?

Here he comes!

He breaks right through the wall.

What bold action you took!

it was an accident.

- Kishitani also became a superstar. - Yes, he did.

- He's in Turandot now. - What is that?

An Amon Miyamoto production. Kishitani plays the main character.

He's reached the pinnacle.

Here it is.

This is so ridiculous.

- We called it the Hellraiser scene. - That's right.

This is the scene. I mean, look at this.

You paid tribute to a lot of famous movies, didn't you?

- In different ways. - Definitely.

The scene where Sabii comes through the wall is from Blade Runner.

it was an accident.

So silly.

They were Deckard and Rutger Hauer in your mind.

It's embarrassing to remember all the things I did in this movie.

I didn't remember about Blade Runner. That's right.

it's good lo hear lively young people.

The commotion is supposed to be coming from the second floor.

But the set was all on one level, right?

Yeah, you're right. We changed the decorations.

So, this room we're seeing

might have been the same one as Bloody Savie's room.

You remember a lot!

I often slept in that room because I missed the last train.

In that very room.

- It was a studio in Nikkatsu. - That's right.

This scene...

the audience can't possibly imagine what's about to happen.

- Shortly after this-- - Well...

- It's a funeral scene. - Did you come up with the idea?

That storyline was based on a true story.

The old couple who didn't want to cause any trouble?

They really existed.

Do us a favor.

There's a doctor, Dr. Nishimaru, who wrote an essay about them.

I changed things around.

But they really passed away like that.

- Really? - It really happened.

Wow.

- And you decided to use it? - That's right.

- You read about it before this? - Yes.

And when you made this movie, that story came to mind?

- Yes. - I see.

...your childhood friend.

But she might have plans tomorrow...

Do it or I'll kill you.

I haven't worked with Kishitani at all since then.

He was a member of Settai.

It was a performance group.

He's a talented acrobat.

He moves really beautifully.

He also did a lot of stage comedies.

The way he played this role--

he did it very comically. Was that your idea?

- Or did he come up with that? - He came up with it.

- So it was his idea? - Yeah.

Wow. This was also a tough scene to film.

We put the rushes on a monitor, and then filmed the monitor.

It was pretty unbelievable.

If we were to make the same scene today...

we wouldn't do it like this.

Yeah. Everything is CG these days.

- Everything was low-tech then. - Was this a nod to Star Wars?

- No, to Terminalor. - Oh, I see.

But the way the plug moves--

it reminds me of an X-Wing fighter flying over the Death Star.

You used two wires, right?

- Yes. Weren't they piano wires? - That's right. Piano wires.

The kotatsu found the outlet.

I was nervous shooting this scene.

- That it wouldn't look good? - Not that.

I was worried because everything was so low-tech.

But watching it now, it looks really good.

The way I imagined it looked more like today's CG stuff.

I see.

But things weren't always possible, so I had to make changes.

- Without betraying your vision. - That was why I was so nervous.

I see what you mean.

This kind of thing is precious.

We built the stairs and the hallway.

Beyond them, there was nothing.

The stairs are pretty impressive.

The building's called "Kirin Apartments.” Who named it?

It was like that in the script. Oh, why was it called Kirin?

Yeah, why Kirin?

- I thought it had a meaning. - I'm sure it did. But I forget.

I wanted to insert musical scenes.

You see scenes like this everywhere these days.

- But not at that time. - I see.

Because we're so crazy

If I shot this scene today,

I would use two steadicam cameras

and do a lot of takes. Lots and lots of takes.

But I couldn't do that at the time.

It really is amazing.

The sound doesn't match.

Yeah, it's a bit off.

"Please unplug.”

Because we are so young

You mixed a lot of cuts together.

I could do this so much better today.

You think so?

I don't know. Maybe not. I'd ask someone else to shoot this scene.

- A music video director? - That would work.

This is the scene where it finds the outlet.

And here's Okura in her latex.

Saying "Yeah, yeah!"

This song was already out.

While you were directing, you chose this song.

So it fits into the movie really well.

This is what I made, huh?

The kolalsu starts eating the electricity.

The band and the kolalsu both groove on the electricity.

The kolatsu gets stronger, in little spurts.

That's what the meter is meant to show, right?

After all, it has no face.

Wow, it's boiling.

Because we're so crazy

The special effects team shot that boiling scene on another day.

I wanted to use dubbing, like in Streets of Fire.

I was really into dubbing,

but I got a lot of grief about it.

People complained that they could tell he wasn't really singing.

By the way, did you give back the soldering iron?

The way they talk is heartwarming.

1 will definitely return it lomorrow.

Let's talk about casting.

For example, this couple.

When you considered who to cast for these two characters,

did you plan to hold auditions?

Or had you already made up your mind to have these actors?

Not everyone auditions.

Especially not senior actors. The seasoned ones.

So, you used actors the producers chose?

Well, when you want someone to play an old woman,

there are only a few professional actresses who are good enough.

- So, I chose one of them. - Oh, I see.

After finishing this movie,

I traveled around and learned a lot.

The movie industries in Hollywood and Japan are pretty much the same.

I had the opportunity to see casting being done

while I was in Hollywood.

I've been there for the discussions,

and I don't know how this will sound to Americans,

but if Dustin Hoffman refuses a role,

they ask Robert De Niro.

If Gene Hackman says no, there's a certain person who's next.

Aside from that, there's a lot of discussion

about how much the actors would be paid.

- It's the same as in Japan. - I see.

TV is different.

They hold auditions, and look for actors who are really talented--

not just famous actors.

Watching this after all these years,

the movement of the plug looks perfect to me.

- Oh, yeah? - Maybe I'm a little biased.

This corridor was used for both the first and second floors.

For the first floor, there was an entrance at one end.

When it was redressed as the second floor, we added a wall.

We changed it as needed for the scene being filmed.

The way this set looks is interesting.

The set decoration team--

they did a great job creating that mess.

- Was that Hasegawa? - Yes.

The fridge is not a fridge.

It's a photo storage area. The idea was...

that Furuchi worked at a used appliance shop,

so he'd have all sorts of devices and stuff laying around.

That was the concept behind his room.

So he had plenty of household appliances.

He already had a comforter.

Nobody... None of our staff...

Yeah?

None of them had any experience making a film like this.

- Right. - Nobody.

And before this film, I had mostly done

love stories and human dramas.

So, we were all equally in the dark.

Look at Kawai.

How old was he?

Probably 25 or 26 years old.

- Now he's completely bald. - Really?

He always shaved his head, didn't he?

He always had a little ponytail, though.

These days, he doesn't even have that anymore.

My original idea was for his face to look strange when he was dead.

What?

I mean, he was meant to look dead when he was asleep.

- Like a zombie? - Yeah, but it didn't work very well.

Well, his eyes are white.

We made white contact lenses for him to wear.

You'll be a joker as of tomorrow.

Then I'll be a hero!

Did you ask him to do that?

- That was Kishitani's idea. - Really?

I like it.

- This was right by the studio. - Yes.

That's Akira Emoto.

This room was next to the studio where we filmed the opening scene.

- This set is pretty cool. - It really is.

Since the walls already looked old, we could create the appearance

of a real used appliance shop just by adding old furniture.

The shop name, "Hama Electronics,” was a nod to Hammer Films.

The clock breaks all of a sudden.

That's because I like The Exorcist.

- The Exorcist? - Yeah.

I like the scene where the clock suddenly stops.

It makes you feel that the battle is about to begin.

I love that scene.

Oh, well. Nobody knows what I'm talking about.

I'm kind of an idiot, huh?

it's ominous.

Emoto is really something.

He creates his own atmosphere...

on top of what the director comes up with.

Did Emoto suggest any ideas?

I mean, did he come up with his own ideas during filming?

Let's see--

Is he the type of actor who tries things

without much input from the director?

No. I felt he and I had the same vision.

Everybody did a great job.

- The art department made that. - Yeah.

They even created breakers.

That's ridiculous.

This is a composite scene, right?

It barely works. I added the fire afterwards.

Okuyami Funeral Home

Here's the funeral home guy. He's played by Kenichi Ishii.

Sure it's not Sam Raimi?

- Sam Raimi? - Doesn't he look like him?

There's no point talking about Sam Raimi now.

I think he looks like him.

You said before that this is a true story.

To what extent is it true?

They electrocuted themselves,

but they made all the arrangements first.

- They left a note? - Yes, they did.

So, they contacted an undertaker

and asked him to come over that day? Wow.

That's what the essay says.

Of course...

I doubt they put up black and white curtains.

This was scary.

Putting cloth over Imafuku and Hara's faces, I mean.

Is it really them under the blankets?

I'm not sure. I shot this scene,

where their faces were covered, several times.

1 will do my best...

I understand how you felt.

When you're in your 20s,

you can do these things because you don't understand.

The older you get,

the more real death becomes to you.

Then, the way you film changes,

and the movies you create also change.

"...and Mrs. Hideko Shinden.”

But some people are very consistent in the type of movies they create.

It amazes me.

Maybe they haven't lost anyone close to them.

I don't know.

Hurry home.

I watched The Departed the other day.

To make a movie like that at his age--

maybe he can still do that because he's American.

That was a remake.

The characters played by Ogura and Muroi

are named Mannen Shinden-- that's the name, right?

And Hideko Shinden.

The first is a pun on "Shindenmannen,” meaning "I'm dead," right?

What about Hideko? Is it a pun on the word "awful"?

I'm not sure.

That's what I thought it meant.

...is Mr. Mannen Shinden there?

- Here's the human puppet scene. - That's right.

Was this a difficult scene?

- I didn't actually see it filmed. - Really?

This seemed like an interesting idea when I wrote the screenplay.

But actually filming it was really hard.

I have sad news.

This is the real Ogura, not a dummy, right?

...Tight side of the first floor...

1 kind of regret it, to be completely honest.

Please be strong.

You're being tricked!

You know, it's actually pretty well done.

This is...

You said it was difficult, but I think it looks good.

...a small gift from us.

It's rigor mortis.

Oh, Hideko's back.

He disappeared!

- This editing is great! - You think so?

- The timing is awesome. So rhythmic. - You think so?

Yeah. This has great timing.

B movies are amazing, aren't they?

They are. Ishii said, "He disappeared!"

You idiot!

But he didn't.

Is this Ogura or the dummy?

- It's Ogura. - Really?

- I don't know. I don't remember. - That's funny.

Mr. Michio Furuchi.

This is his room.

This scene should have moved faster.

- You think so? - Yeah.

Pardon me.

He's the first victim.

Is he? Yeah, you're right.

The real story is about to begin.

Pardon me.

Now, this scene...

this really feels like a horror movie.

When I read the script for the first time,

this scene...

Then I'll wait here...

quickly became my favorite.

I love this scary atmosphere.

These kinds of sequences

weren't really seen in Japanese films at that time.

Scenes like this, where a victim is about to be attacked--

they are really scary.

This is so ridiculous.

The kolatsu seduces the victim with tea and a clementine.

That's how it lures him in.

When he reaches for the clementine, his hand is gone!

This is really scary.

It's scarier than Jaws.

It's funny.

I thought there would be a lot of scenes like that.

Scenes where people were pulled into the kolalsu.

Why do you wear such a hat?

- This is the only location scene. - That's right.

I see.

The tone is so different from the previous scenes.

It's like a different film.

This reminds me of how I felt when I was 29 years old.

- It does? - Yeah.

I was so desperate.

Then, as I was making this...

I realized you should not be desperate when making comedies.

- You need to be confident. - That makes sense.

We see him bald for the first time.

Before this, Kawai wore a wig in every scene, right?

- And this is his real hair. - Yeah. We worried about it.

- You had Sabii shave him. - That's right.

He can't work at an appliance shop with hair like this.

Is he your type?

Is that so?

- Kaoru Okunuki is also-- - She's still an actress.

- She does films, TV dramas. - Everyone in this is still active.

Everyone in Baltle Healer is still around.

And Bakufu-Slump reunited just last year, as it happens.

This is for you.

What's this?

It's nothing. No big deal.

The costumes are so '80s.

That brand was popular.

Listen To My Heart Tonight

Kirin Apartment 6:00 p.m.

I doubt anyone would do it,

but it would be fun if someone remade this movie.

Would you do it?

No way. A younger director should do it for me.

It's not a bad idea.

Using a lot of CG.

You can touch me.

Hama seems to know everything.

He could tell by the shape of the seal.

Hama is like Father Karras.

- Father Karras, right? - Well--

- No, it was Max von Sydow. - Right. That's right.

I'll go lo Kirin Apartments.

Emoto is so young.

There's a painting of a Kirin on the wall.

Now I remember! "Kirin Apartments” is a pun on "killing."

I see. So that was the reason.

Did you request the Kirin painting?

No. The art director just painted it.

- Akira Takahashi painted that? - Yeah, that's right.

...piece by piece!

Didn't he win some kind of award?

- I think he did. - What was that movie?

- I think it was Fall Guy. - Yeah, Fall Guy.

This staircase...

It links this movie to Fall Guy.

What was your initial reaction

to the design of the apartment building?

There were stairs right by the entrance.

Didn't you picture something smaller and shabbier?

I definitely did. I envisioned a much smaller building.

- Is this Takahashi's design? - Yes, itis.

Teenage girls will like it. Then the second one is a love song...

I like these stairs.

That reminds me.

About one month before we started filming,

there was one day of work I was really nervous about.

I was spending the day working with Takahashi and Mizuno.

I admired them so much.

I was so nervous about working with them.

Still, it was just one night.

- The set is awesome. - Yeah.

There was more beyond this point...

but it wasn't used during filming.

- There was? - Yeah.

Turning right, you would see a washing machine, I think.

We filmed the kolalsu here at one point.

Yeah, near the end.

In this part of the set,

beyond the corner to the right,

there were a lot of bird cages at one point.

They hung from the ceiling.

- Do you remember that? - Yes, I do.

Why didn't you use those?

- Well, it was... - What happened?

My initial vision involved collections of things.

But then I changed the concept.

So I got rid of the scene with the hanging clocks.

- It happened several times. - Oh, I see.

That kind of thing increased expenses, too.

This is the scene

where Hama starts studying the kolalsu.

- Look at this. - The kotatsu is sleeping?

- It's sleeping. - Yeah. It's snoring.

We put an air pump under a board and pumped air in and out.

From today's perspective, it's preposterous.

It's only about 20 years ago.

That tabletop was actually a matte painting.

The matte painter did a great job.

I always wanted to take ideas from comics and cartoons

- and use them in live action. - Yeah.

Japanese stuff like Osamu Tezuka

and foreign stuff like Tom and Jerry.

Like when a character runs away

and leaves only an afterimage behind.

I wanted to use those kinds of animation effects in my movies.

In animation, when a character is asleep, it looks like this.

The hand is the kotalsu's leftovers.

I remember this scene.

He thinks he dropped it.

Of course he does. Who else could have dropped it, right?

He doesn't know about the kolalsu yet.

"Oh, my God!"

This character's name is Osamu.

- I think that was it. - Really?

Does that mean something, too? It must mean something.

- Do all the names have meanings? - Yeah. Yeah.

We almost got caught.

The building has a low voltage. That's whal saved us.

But...

if the kotatsu keeps on absorbing electricily...

You can't see it, but there's a fish tank here.

Just to the right.

There was no water in it.

Just an Ultraman action figure.

The art department people had a lot of fun.

Is it bad?

One of the people in that department, Keiichi Hasegawa,

has written a couple of Ultraman screenplays.

- Really? - Yeah.

Wow! He must've loved Ultraman. He put those figures everywhere.

He's also written for the Ultraman TV series.

And Godzilla-- the one directed by Shusuke Kaneko--

that screenplay was also written by Hasegawa.

Oh, really?

Here's another scene with the unstable plug movement.

- You must have been nervous. - Yeah, I was so nervous.

We shot this scene so many times, and...

- It didn't work as you wanted? - Well...

I knew each shot would be more or less the same,

but I was trying to view the takes objectively.

So I shot it repeatedly.

Furuchi lives on the second floor. On the third floor...

- Yasuko Tomita! - The wire is going toward her, right?

So, how'd this casting work? How'd you pick her?

Since Amuse was an investor,

they offered Yasuko Tomita as a guest star.

- Amuse's actors were predominant? - Yeah.

Just as there were members of Bakufu-Slump.

- There's Yasuko Tomita! - Yeah.

Oh, did you see what she has in her hand?

Wow.

I'm embarrassed.

I asked her to hike up her skirt a little under the kotalsu.

- A sexy shot? - Right, but...

she was very reluctant to do so. I thought, "Really?"

Forget about it. it must've flown away.

1 think so, too.

That was the first time I met her.

Have you worked with her since then?

I haven't. I see her sometimes, though.

At that time, she was--

how should I put it?

- She was really popular. - Right.

If you didn't have the crest, you'd be dead.

Why is that?

- I had it all planned out, huh? - Yes, you did.

Like here, where he picks the wrong tool.

This calligraphy pen.

- Was it real or fake? - I think it was real.

Hama-san has an idea for the kolatsu and the seal.

Bam!

When we were rehearsing,

Emoto didn't slam Kawai's head like he did here, right?

- Emoto was a bit of a sadist. - I thought so, too.

- He had a violent side. - He did.

What about our jobs?

He looks so happy.

He felt it would only be funny if he really went for it...

so he really did smash Kawai's face into the kolalsu that hard.

One of my friends keeps it.

That's the seal of the kotatsu.

The kolatsus have now been switched.

That's why they went to the third floor earlier--

to switch the kolatsus.

it's important to solve this myslery. Bring it back immedijalely.

Though we made a fuss, it was a simple ending.

As for the main kolalsu,

its heater was designed...

to look like it could become a mouth.

- Instead of a traditional hexagon-- - We used a round shape.

That was custom-built, right? That shape wasn't on the market.

I should have made the middle act much shorter.

- I can see my immaturity. - You want to fix it now?

- On the right is Bakufu-Slump's-- - He was a bassist at the time.

He was going to join the band.

The former bassist had just quit.

Who's in the poster?

He played keyboard in Bakufu-Slump.

He co-wrote the script.

Oh, it's Tanaka from the art department!

We tried hard lo enjoy...

Was he laughing or crying?

The students' favorite teacher is going to leave.

The students are crying. All the teachers are laughing.

- But Yuji Miyake is crying. - You'll see why soon.

- Why is he crying? - It's coming up.

Mr. Sakakibara.

The music teacher is going to have a farewell concert,

so these students are making flyers.

Kurumi is one of them.

While she smiles, Miyake is headed this way.

Hey, Sano.

It was great to have him in this scene.

"Are you okay, sir?"

She goes to give Miyake a hand, but then, "Oh, no!"

At that moment, something happens.

The invitation to Bloody Savie's concert

is substituted for the teacher's farewell concert flyer.

That's funny.

- You wrote the script. - That's right.

Oh, this is it.

This explains why Miyake is crying.

...Slarts at 6:00 p.m. loday.

If you would like to go, please slop by the student union.

An invitation...

She's cute. Kurumi.

It's so simple, isn't it?

Sorry.

Look! Miyake likes the teacher, too.

That's right. The teacher who's leaving is bisexual.

Exactly.

I didn't realize I'd been using this kind of scene for so long.

He's lost his kotalsu, he has a headache,

and he's pretty upset, so he wants to take a nap,

but of course that's not what's actually going to happen.

Where's the kolalsu? It's hanging from the ceiling.

- That was a miniature, right? - Yeah. Yeah.

You have to realize.

...should I start checking?

This was my first script, and when I wrote it,

I didn't know that having the kolatsu fall from the ceiling

would be such a pain and such a headache.

When it came time to film it,

the whole staff turned pale. They had no idea what to do.

I didn't mean to create trouble. I regretted that idea.

One idea was that problematic?

No!

- That wasn't the only one. - Oh?

Well, for one, there's a scene

where a lot of girls gather in the apartment building.

Take care of yourself.

I wanted the girls

to break through the walls to get into a very small room.

The girls would come through the walls and pillars.

And then the concert would start.

That was what I wanted.

But the staff refused. They asked me:

"Why are your ideas so difficult?"

When the staff said they couldn't do it,

that's when you realized it was probably impossible?

Yes. It would've been very difficult.

If this scene went faster, it'd be a lot more fun.

A mannequin is thrown in this scene, right?

It actually hit an actor, right?

Right here, you can hear someone calling for an ambulance.

There was a prop room right behind this set.

I came out of there when I heard "Get an ambulance!"

That's also a matte painting.

An actor went to the hospital,

and one of the producers stood in for them.

That's right!

If you look closely,

you'll notice one person who never looks at the camera.

That's the producer.

He was chosen because his build was the most similar to the actor's.

We went on filming but made sure his face couldn't be seen.

It's the man on the left. Definitely the one on the left.

- The blond one. - He was an assistant director.

The assistant director looked like the actor.

- We had him dye his hair blond. - Wasn't it Hiroyuki Yokoyama?

Kurumi-chan is coming here tonight.

The actor got a bloody nose.

- But thankfully, he was okay. - That's right.

The best way lo gel a girl...

The guy strangling Furuchi is the drummer for Bakufu-Slump.

The character's named Tobi Futa, which, again, was from Toby Hooper.

I think the other band members' names also have meanings.

His name was Kawa-- Kawabe.

- That's right. It was Kawabe. - You have a really good memory!

He was in the script as "Futoshi Kawabe."

It was meant to be "Carpenter," as in John Carpenter.

- So that's another one. - That's right.

This may be hard for foreigners to understand.

There are always at least two ways

to pronounce kanji, or Chinese characters, in Japanese.

So, if you read that name another way, it sounds like "Carpenter."

I hope that makes sense.

But I don't think young people know about Tom Savini.

- Even young Americans? - I don't think so.

- This was also a difficult scene. - You used a lot of matte paintings.

Who played this doctor?

This is Tatsuo Kamon.

I like his songs. I still listen to his music.

He's also been in the business for a long time.

Everybody is still famous.

He did this well.

This might not be very interesting to the audience,

but anyway, at the time, he was quite popular.

- He was on TV a lot. - Yes, he was.

Nakano and I liked his songs very much.

The press conference for the movie was the second time we met.

Kamon came in looking very serious.

So Nakano and I asked him why he looked so grim.

And the two of us started teasing him a little.

It turned out he was really nervous.

He started trembling and blushing.

- We were so surprised. - That's not how people imagine him.

- He was really nervous. - Just out of his element?

I don't know. Kamon seems to get nervous easily.

Even though he goes nuts on stage and sings those crazy songs?

-Here itis. - It's an optical composition, right?

- It was such a pain to create this. - It was all done by hand, right?

They said they couldn't do it on such a small budget.

But I begged.

Here it is again.

- It's all done by hand. - So low-tech!

All of the animation was created by Koga.

it tricked me!

"Oh, no!"

The kotatsu comforter

is covered in a cat pattern.

And even the pattern is evil.

The comforter cats now look like goblin cats.

- We did a great job. - I don't know what this is.

That was the mouth and a leg.

This is the first scene after the kolalsu gets bigger.

Furuchi-kun, wait for me!

This is so ridiculous.

He blacked out. His eyes are white again.

He's making something.

It's amazing that some movies get greenlit at all.

A movie like this, you mean?

A kolalsu comes to life and eats people,

only to be defeated by an electrician.

The room got bigger. How did that happen?

It just did.

Sabii tore down the wall

so he could combine his room with Furuchi's, right?

What selfish tenants they are! Definitely pretty unusual.

I'll rock you tonight!

- Kishitani is crazy. - Oh, yeah. This is too much.

- That dance was his idea? - That's right.

- It was fun. - That's so Sabii.

He's a real actor.

How can I get nervous?

Some people couldn't do that even if I asked them to.

And he did this willingly without you wanting or asking.

it's so great!

A sea of women al the entrance!

A sea... of women?

Why?

There were so many girls there.

Remember, it's because the flyers and invitations were switched.

I wanted to have even more people.

- Even more than this. - You thought there were too few?

But I was asked, "How much do you think that will cost?"

How did you get these people?

They're Bakufu-Slump fans.

...the concert hall...

By this time, Bakufu-Slump was incredibly famous.

So when they put the word out, hundreds of fans showed up, right?

- For free. It was amazing. - That's right.

That looks like plenty to me.

- Yeah. There were a lot of them. - There really were.

...this way!

The fans acted better than the pros.

The ones closest to the cameras

were the professionals, right?

- Right. - I thought so.

So behind the professional actresses, all of the others were fans.

What are you doing?

I can't take it anymore!

Don't be childish.

- This is Hideko's new boyfriend. - That's right.

- Byel - Wait, Osamu!

Please slep forward.

What is that?

Please proceed.

This is funny, how they're all crying.

This way! Please!

The script is pretty well-organized.

Let's go!

You're impressed?

So now Hama's creation is finally ready.

Meanwhile...

- This was done by hand, too. - What did you call it?

It's a reflective material called Scotchlite.

It reflects back all the ambient light.

We taped the sheets onto wires.

And man, that glue! It dried so fast.

So we'd have to put it on just before shooting started.

My hands got the worst of it. They'd be just covered in glue.

Hardened glue.

The kolatsu is rising.

- That's a miniature. - That's right.

The plug has also changed into a scary looking plug.

This looks like it did in the storyboards.

The floor collapses. Or did he fall into the hole?

The kolatsu is not here.

Mr. Sakakibara...

They're just bait for the kolalsu.

The audience must be worried. The kolalsu is now a monster,

and hundreds of girls are gathered at Kirin Apartments.

The concert is about to begin.

Hi, everyone.

He only expected Kurumi to be there.

- But there are a lot of girls. - He's very nervous.

He never imagined there'd be such a large audience.

I haven't worked with Kishitani since this movie,

- but I still see him sometimes. - Is that so?

I would love to hear his stories about this movie.

- He likes this movie a lot. - Really?

At a radio event a long time ago,

Baltle Healer was screened, and I was invited as a guest.

- The show was All Night Nippon. - I didn't know that.

Listen lo my heart.

Only for you...

tonight.

He's pretty confused, but he starts the concert anyway.

I got this idea when I went to a Bakufu-Slump concert.

Nakano asked, "Are you happy?" like an MC will do.

- So you decided to use that? - Right.

I thought it would be funny if everyone cried

when he asked, "Are you happy?"

Are you...

The song he's going to sing--

- it's a Bakufu-Slump song, right? - Right, right.

Oh, yeah! When we shot the scene, the kotalsu wasn't completed yet.

That's right.

The kolatsu was supposed to come out from behind the curtain.

This was the first day the kolalsu was on the set.

I remember filming this scene with a moving camera.

- Wasn't it the middle of the night? - Yes.

We argued about how to shoot this scene.

I remember it was very late.

Hama is so cool in this scene.

He's really stepping on it, isn't he?

He's going more than 100 kilometers per hour.

- Is this an homage to Blow Out? - Only in your mind.

Like John Travolta is coming to save you.

I'm just kidding, of course.

This is the kolalsu's point of view.

First, just the plug shows itself.

Only Furuchi notices it.

- I see what we were trying to do. - Yeah.

Here it comes! What a strange shape!

It should have been much bigger, but we just couldn't do that.

A party with your prince

The close-ups of the kotalsu were filmed later, right?

- Oh, that was another take. - After the kolatsu was completed.

He thinks the girls like their music. This is a classic joke.

They like us!

"They like us."

When nobody's there, it looks lonely.

- They're moving fast. - Yeah.

It was quite dangerous.

Did they really trip and fall? Or were they acting?

Some of them really fell.

This scene was added later.

The smoke from the kolalsu

was much worse than its teeth.

Everyone kept coughing.

She's quite calm, ‘cause she just had an idea, right?

It's a man-eating kotalsu!

Stop it!

Starting with this scene,

the movie began to have more and more green.

Like the opening credits. Everything was green.

It was so green on set that my eyes hurt,

but onscreen it looks pretty natural.

Or rather, it creates a scary atmosphere.

Blue is generally used to create that effect.

But I wanted green.

Yeah, blue is used a lot for that.

But here it's green. That's a miniature.

This is the miniature for Kirin Apartments.

I created all the miniatures for this building.

That's awesome.

Kurumi!

In this scene...

Somebody! Help!

they're trying to feed the leftover body parts to the kotalsu.

They think they can get rid of them all...

and that will be that.

They try to cover up by acting surprised...

but Furuchi leaves without doing anything.

"I don't understand, and I can't help anyway."

Hey, he's being eaten. That's the real Ogura, by the way.

- Is it really? - I think so.

- He's so happy now. - "Yahoo!"

Shigeru improvised her lines at this point.

We did it!

What did she say? It was so funny.

"Thanks to you."

The kolatsu spat out the upper half of his body. And it's not done.

Here's the lower half of the body. It's back together again.

I think I was the one throwing the two parts.

The lower part kept landing too far away from the upper part.

I remember throwing it over and over again.

The bed is already made.

No!

- Slop it! - Let's go.

He knocked Sabii out.

- You coward! - Thanks. Lel's go!

Those are miniatures.

He really stood up like that all by himself, right?

He's very strong and flexible.

1 love you.

Here's the seal.

The kolatsu's tentacles have grown. It's dragging him by the leg.

So close! If it had swallowed the seal at this point...

things would have gone differently. The tentacles are extending again.

I was told it didn't look like the tentacles were grabbing the leg,

so I tried lots of things to make it look like they were.

- But it doesn't look real. - No, it doesn't. Not at all.

I was behind the kotalsu, moving its mouth.

The smoke hurt my eyes.

To this day, I still think of that. Whenever I smell smoke.

To this day.

Here he comes.

This costume-- it's kind of like--

it reminds me of armor, or a kabuki costume.

Did you mean to create that impression?

I think so.

The initial sketched design was very interesting.

- Who designed it? - Hmm...

Someone in the art department? It wasn't me.

No, it wasn't you. Hmm, who was it?

- Wasn't it outsourced? - Yeah, that's it.

There's no camera back there, so this involved lots of takes.

Just getting him to put that on--

- it was a lot of work. - Of course.

- The bigger the better, I thought. - Right.

I wanted it to be even bigger, but it was too difficult.

Initially, there was no stand for the armor.

- He just carried it on his back. - There was nothing holding it up.

But he complained that it was too heavy to work with.

I see.

This scene was also shot in the middle of the night. After midnight.

- This is so ridiculous. - It goes back and forth.

I remember this.

I glued wires to the armor.

And then I pulled on them.

- When his face was covered... - Yes?

The assistant director stood in, right?

- Emoto got so tired. - That's right.

Someone said, "Just close his visor."

Were these scenes filmed on location?

I composed these "location" scenes using double exposures.

Here's the same matte painting as before.

Same view of the town.

The seal is out there.

Hama-san! Here's the crest!

I don't need it!

They're fighting pretty well for how little space they have.

- Hama is winning now. - That's right.

I'll finish it off!

It looks like Hama has won this battle.

But wait!

The plug in the old couple's room

was never unplugged, even though it was supposed to be.

So, the electricity

came on again the same hour as before.

Unfortunately, as a result,

Hama's armor shorts out.

It's destroyed now.

- That's right. - Yeah.

I always wanted to do an action scene like this.

There's some good foreshadowing.

Furuchi-kun!

And now he's desperate...

...you found the crest?

and the armor is no longer working.

Then do something with it!

It's now awkwardly-armored man versus man-eating kolalsu.

The seal is the only way to defeat the kolalsu.

The mouth on that thing is pretty creepy looking.

It doesn't move right, but it's creepy.

The kolatsu's legs--

there were many cuts where its legs didn't look alive.

Editing that scene was quite tough.

Four or five people controlled the legs.

It usually involved piano wires, as I recall.

This is a cool scene.

This was the last phase of filming, right?

Yeah, I think so.

We shot the close-up inserts of the seal

on another day.

- Did we? - Yeah.

We were initially even closer than this,

but the way the seal went into the kotalsu didn't look quite right.

So, we redid the seal,

and filmed it again with a more monstrous-looking kotalsu.

Oops, it broke.

From this angle, the kotalsu looks pretty big, doesn't it?

It's breathing weakly.

It's suddenly been seized with cramps.

I got it.

And this is the end for the kolatsu.

Did you plan it like this?

Had you pictured the ending for the kolatsu?

- Yes. - I see.

They didn't kill the kotalsu in a straightforward way.

They happened to find its weakness.

Well, it's a more authentic-feeling kind of ending, isn't it?

This is also a composite scene.

We used a special type of mirror. What was it called?

- A two-way mirror? - That's it!

We used a two-way mirror.

Koga did a good job.

It's not just sunshine. It's bright and dark at the same time.

So, when the electricity turned back on,

the two of them came back to life?

- They were dead, but came back? - That's right.

The kolatsu is back to normal!

Some moments are great, others are stupid.

It's like a turtle.

Can't turn itself over on its back.

It wouldn't be dangerous if it were turned right-side up?

- The seal's not embedded in it. - Right.

Scary.

- That could be the sequel. - Yeah, based on this scene.

Who would turn it over?

Right, this is a kotatsu.

- Would you write the script if asked? - No, I wouldn't.

- Because you don't want to? - No, it's not that. It's just--

there's got to be someone more qualified to do it.

...a kotatsu is absolutely the best healer in winter.

The tone of the movie is back to as it was in the beginning.

The Buddhist monk comes back.

Does he think he exorcised the kolatsu?

- I don't remember. - You don't?

Anyway, here's Nakano again.

This is his second scene.

He was only in the opening and the ending.

As the vocalist, he's the star of Bakufu-Slump,

but he's not in the film very much.

it's ominous.

He looks up at the sky...

and turns around.

- This shot was filmed outside, right? - Yes.

Did anything fall from the sky?

It was just outside the studio, right?

- It's gone now. - The light looks natural here.

Something is falling.

Did you always plan to make these titles three-dimensional?

- I think it was Koga's idea. - I see.

We used the same props here and in the opening.

The End.

The background music is Bakufu-Slump's

Under That Big Onion.

- It's still a karaoke favorite. - That's right.

You mentioned this before, but their song...

Runner-- that one became a huge hit.

When this was released,

they were already famous, right?

That's right. They were really popular.

That's right.

This song and Runner--

they're still used in commercials.

They were really something.

I hope people from overseas

are intrigued enough to look up some of their videos or something.

They are uniquely Japanese. No other band is like Bakufu-Slump.

Oh, I see. This is-- never mind.

To wrap up...

the audience--

the people watching this commentary

must have bought the DVD and watched the movie,

and now they're watching it again.

And listening to this commentary.

The director-- the director and I

would like to express our appreciation.

Thank you so much!

Shimada. There's Tadayuki Shimada.

He's the one who wanted green lighting to match the credits.

I'd wonder whether most people have turned this off by now.

Hey, are you still watching?

I'd like to know how many Americans will watch this commentary.

- I'd be really curious to find out. - Yeah.

Say thank you to them.

If you ever meet me somewhere, please let me know if you saw this.

Thanks again for watching.

- I can't help reading the names. - I understand.

The audience has no idea who they are,

but these people are really talented.

And it brings back memories.

- Oh, there's my name. - Yeah. Hey, there's Chiharu!

- Shinada... - Yeah.

That's right.

Wow.

It's been 19 years, hasn't it?

19 years since we made this.

Wow. You're right.

- Thank you so much. - Thank you.