MT: It happened by accident. The film school I went to was set up by Shohei Imamura. It was a private institution - there weren't any entrance exams. I was running away from school, I didn't want to study or grow up, and it was easy to get into this place.

C: What sort of movies had you liked?

MT: I actually wasn't intending to make films, I wasn't going to be anything creative - it was purely a way of avoiding becoming an adult and working. I wasn't a film fan as such before. Yes, I used to watch popular movies that everyone else used to see - I used to like Bruce Lee - but I wasn't really into films.

C: Did that change on the course with Imamura? Because you worked as his assistant after that.

MT: It didn't change at all! As I said, I was just there to escape, so I didn't go to school very often. It took me 7 years to get through the course, because I didn't study, I didn't go to class, and I had no intention of making films whatsoever. In my final year, when we were doing our graduation films, there were adverts at the school, recruiting assistants. Anyone who was serious about cinema was busy making their films; I wasn't serious at all, so that's why I had time to answer the ad, and go along.

C: What was Imamura like to work with?

MT: When I worked with him, he was such a selfish authoritarian. He did what he wanted, he got what he wanted, he ordered everyone about. But then, it was all his own money, so it was his responsibility. I think as he gets older, he's different - he's perhaps not as sure as he used to be about what he wants. Maybe he listens to other people more now.

C: How does that compare to your own style of directing?

MT: The big difference is that I haven't gone out and found the money for my films, whereas he did. With the films I make, producers get a script, they get the money, they get the director - so it's not my responsibility.

C: Do you try to control all the aspects of the film, or are you quite collaborative?

MT: When I'm shooting, I do control it, I try to get what I want. But I don't think, "This film has to be good!" I only think about enjoying making the film, rather than making a good film. Something doesn't need to be 100% perfect; it can have nice aspects, things you can enjoy.

C: How many films have you made so far?

MT: If you include video releases - which are the same length as features - about 40 in the last 10 years. I'm making more now; when I was a newcomer, I didn't get so many opportunities.

C: And all of these are films where producers would give you a script; none of them are things you've originated?

MT: I think more than half originated from the producers. But some are ones where I've had the idea and developed it together with the producer. I think I've finally reached the position where I can have more say; I think it's from now that I can make more of what I want to.

C: One thing you seem to enjoy is taking generic material and doing weird things with it.

MT: It's not intentional that I add twists to it! For example, yakuza gangster films - I don't set out to say, "Yakuza films are like this, I want to do something different." But maybe my idea of a yakuza film is different to most people's. I don't set out to be different - it just happens that way. I make what to me is a normal gangster movie.

C: In Dead Or Alive, at the end, the big battle between the cop and the gangster seems to take the convention of the final battle, and push it to a surreal point.

MT: In the script, the last scene was very different. There were the two of them, with one gun each, pulling the trigger at the same time, and that was the end. But when I was shooting, it just felt that it ought to get a bit more out of hand.

C: It certainly does. How about Audition? A lot of critics feel it's different to your other films - do you agree?

MT: Yes, I think it is different, because it's about ordinary people, which the others aren't. The main character's a man who works at a company, and who's just looking for a little happiness.

C: For the first half, it seems like an ordinary family story, but halfway through it mutates into extreme horror. Are you trying to lull people into a false sense of security?

MT: People coming to see this film will expect something to happen, because that's what they've been told to expect. If you call something horror, people these days expect things to happen in the first 10 minutes - but I wanted to make them wait, just like the character in the film. He falls in love, but he's waiting for the phone call, and the audience are also waiting, thinking, "What's happening? Something's meant to be happening, but it's not." I wanted them to be in exactly the same position as the character.

C: In the torture scenes, the needles below the frame are like having needles stuck into your own eyes.

MT: Yes, I did want the audience to feel it. Particularly Japanese men, wanting to have a nice wife, a pretty wife, and to be happy - it's something they all want to do. I knew by getting them to sympathise with the character, I could make them feel the pain that he's going through.

C: Can you tell me about your use of sound to create atmospheres? Like the noise of the piano wires…

MT: When things are being severed, I'm using meat with a similar-type bone. When we were recording the sound, rather than turn up the recording volume, we put the microphone very close, almost in the hole - I wanted the audience to feel the vibrations, coming through.

C: Are there any influences which are important for you? I thought David Cronenberg might be one.

MT: I don't think it's any film of Cronenberg's in particular, because I haven't seen any of them more than once to really study them. But I'm very impressed by their power, and by his energy - to be able to spend so much money on films which are obviously not going to be commercial, I was very impressed that he actually managed to do it.

C: Do you feel close to anyone else making films in Japan at the moment, or do you feel out there on your own?

MT: Perhaps the Japanese don't have that much individuality. Of course there are differences, but their films are more or less similar.

C: Even someone like Takeshi Kitano?

MT: I still don't see that many movies - I've only seen two of his. But I do have some connections with him. My cameraman on Audition worked with him on Hana-Bi.

C: Any other influences?

MT: (grins) I like Monty Python.

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