12:00 JST, October 11, 2024
Action movie star Yasuaki Kurata, who has appeared in many Hong Kong kung fu films, was the featured guest at one of the talk events I organized last summer. I held the event to mark the release of the remastered 2K version of his 1974 film “Kaettekita Dragon” (“Call Me Dragon”), and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his triumphant return to Japan from Hong Kong that same year .
Kurata walked onto the stage with his back straight and looked younger than 78. He has fond memories of the past and discussed various topics during the event, from what happened on set to a short film he recently made.
He said he found “Call Me Dragon” the most difficult to film of the more than 100 foreign films he has worked on. While the film’s main selling point is the action scenes featuring Bruce Leung and Kurata, there was apparently no choreography for action scenes. So the two actors worked together to be in sync during their fight scenes.
“[When Leung’s outer edges of his fist and foot] came within a hair’s breadth of me, I retreated, then it was my turn to attack. We repeated that many times,” Kurata said. This is impossible unless both actors are highly skilled. Nowadays it is unthinkable to film scenes this way.
The filming of the climactic scene in the film took a month. “At that time in Japan, we were sternly told if we made mistakes and ruined a scene because film was expensive. In Hong Kong I was told I could use as many rolls of film as I needed,” Kurata revealed. Sometimes actors were told to take action after the camera started rolling. What luxury!
“Call Me Dragon” was also made before wires had been developed to suspend actors in the air, let alone computer graphics, and a trampoline was the only thing available on set. To compete with Bruce Lee’s films, which were very popular at the time, the creative team of “Call Me Dragon” came up with iconic action scenes. One such battle takes place in the air, between buildings, where Kurata and Leung had to climb two walls by applying pressure to the walls with their hands and feet. There’s nothing more boring than describing the scene, so I recommend those of you who haven’t seen it yet to watch the movie.
Anyway, close-ups of the actors were also shot in the air, while today such shots would be shot on the ground. “No, we never did that,” Kurata said. ‘It would have been a disaster if we slipped and fell. Safety rope? No. But I was young,” Kurata said with a chuckle. While filming the scene where Kurata receives the final blow from Leung, Kurata was knocked down more than ten times and ultimately suffered whiplash.
The approximately three-hour event was packed with unparalleled stories. The audience was incredibly enthusiastic, including myself. We were joined from the halfway point by Eiichi Kikuchi, the costume actor for “Kaettekita Ultraman” (“Return of Ultraman”); Koji Nakamura, a student of Kurata and the suit actor for Ultraman TV shows during the Heisei era (1989-2019); and Kenji Tanigaki, another student of Kurata who is now one of Japan’s most important action film directors.
“Our master’s fighting moves are something people pay money to watch. It is what our audience wants to see,” Tanigaki said. “The films we make have flavor added, but our master’s action movements are raw and natural. It’s great that he can present his actions as they are.” Tanigaki’s emphatic statement was impressive.
We can enjoy a film made 50 years ago and restored thanks to advanced technology of the 21st century.
Yet there is more to the images in the film than just technology, and that something has the power to move our hearts. I think it is very important to appreciate and cherish that something.
Suzuki is a senior specialist of Yomiuri Shimbun and an expert on tokusatsu superhero films and dramas.
