I think my way of showing violence is unique from that of other filmmakers, in that when I show it, it hurts. It happens unexpectedly and looks painful. That's how it is in real life, and that's how it should be expressed. I don't glamorize it, nor do I depict it without necessity or inevitability.
Takeshi KitanoI paint for the sheer joy of painting. I have never sold any of my paintings. I'd rather give them to people for free.
Takeshi KitanoI do all these various activities like painting and writing, comedy and films probably because not that I'm good at everything but because I'm not good at any of these things.
Takeshi KitanoI thought maybe I could become like the next Van Gogh. I bought a sunflower and painted it, and it looked like the work of a 6-year-old.
Takeshi KitanoFor me comedy and violence has a lot in common. Just as you expect, comedy always lurks behind the most unexpected of circumstances.
Takeshi KitanoHaving total freedom to direct my own movies is more difficult than those I was hired for, where the framework has been already furnished. Unlike with my own work, I don't have to deny or feel embarrassed at the straightforwardness or orthodoxy of the directorial style, because I can say in excuse, "This is how I was asked to direct by those people."
Takeshi Kitano