Yukari Oshima
"Millionaires Express" HKL Interview:
Then there was Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, the first director I worked with. He’s also an actor. He remains my favourite director to this day. The first
time I worked with him as director was „Millionaires Express”.
The Sammo Hung Kam-Bo films I’d seen before „Millionaires Express” were
comedies. I thought he was a humorous, fun… My impression was that he
was light-hearted, but he turned out to be very strict on set. He
directed very carefully and the comedy image was completely wrong. I
thought this was a person I could respect and I really came to like him
as a director. He’s very intelligent and grasps things quickly. He can
do comedy and serious films. He’s a cool, intelligent director you feel
respect for.
They all… There’s not just one director. There’s Sammo Hung Kam-Bo and several fight directors and other directors. It’s not just Sammo Hung Kam-Bo’s opinions. The other directors tell Sammo Hung Kam-Bo their opinion or speak to us. Then there’s a crew, the lighting people and cameramen. They know their marital arts well. They will say if it went wrong. It’s not only the directors who says that… What the director said most often was to make it tighter. He wasn’t satisfied with just a scowl. I’d tell him I couldn’t make my face any scarier. But he kept saying „More, more, more.” They kept asking to do retakes. Again and again. When I went „I can’t do it any better” he finally approved. He wanted it tight and somehow cold and tight. A very sharp… like the cutting edge of a Japanese sword… A sharp edge. And then he asked me to really kick hard. It was all right to hit the others. They were specifically prepared for it. He told me to really hit hard and not pretend. Having studied karate, I told him it was dangerous, but he said it was all right and he took responsibility for it. There are people I kicked who broke jawbones and teeth. I apologized sincerely. In the end I got scared and couldn’t kick. At times like that the director would say it was OK, because he wanted to make a good movie. He told me to do it for real and that he would say when I couldn’t. I said „I understand”. I was told to really hit people. And to make it sharper and sharper. I was acting and doing the action scenes and was told these things every day.
Then there was Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, the first director I worked with. He’s also an actor. He remains my favourite director to this day. The first
time I worked with him as director was „Millionaires Express”.
The Sammo Hung Kam-Bo films I’d seen before „Millionaires Express” were
comedies. I thought he was a humorous, fun… My impression was that he
was light-hearted, but he turned out to be very strict on set. He
directed very carefully and the comedy image was completely wrong. I
thought this was a person I could respect and I really came to like him
as a director. He’s very intelligent and grasps things quickly. He can
do comedy and serious films. He’s a cool, intelligent director you feel
respect for. They all… There’s not just one director. There’s Sammo Hung Kam-Bo and several fight directors and other directors. It’s not just Sammo Hung Kam-Bo’s opinions. The other directors tell Sammo Hung Kam-Bo their opinion or speak to us. Then there’s a crew, the lighting people and cameramen. They know their marital arts well. They will say if it went wrong. It’s not only the directors who says that… What the director said most often was to make it tighter. He wasn’t satisfied with just a scowl. I’d tell him I couldn’t make my face any scarier. But he kept saying „More, more, more.” They kept asking to do retakes. Again and again. When I went „I can’t do it any better” he finally approved. He wanted it tight and somehow cold and tight. A very sharp… like the cutting edge of a Japanese sword… A sharp edge. And then he asked me to really kick hard. It was all right to hit the others. They were specifically prepared for it. He told me to really hit hard and not pretend. Having studied karate, I told him it was dangerous, but he said it was all right and he took responsibility for it. There are people I kicked who broke jawbones and teeth. I apologized sincerely. In the end I got scared and couldn’t kick. At times like that the director would say it was OK, because he wanted to make a good movie. He told me to do it for real and that he would say when I couldn’t. I said „I understand”. I was told to really hit people. And to make it sharper and sharper. I was acting and doing the action scenes and was told these things every day.