SADAO IIZUKA RETURNS! The Toho SFX Tech Talks Mysterians!

SFX guru Sadao Iizuka holds court outside DeNs Cafe in Sagamihara in Kanagawa Prefecture. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday, September 26, I returned to DeNs Cafe in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, to attend a dinner with Sadao Iizuka, the optical photography veteran who worked on the SFX of many classic Toho films, beginning with the original Godzilla (1954).

Unfortunately, I missed the Q&A portion of the event. (I have to work, you see.) To make matters worse, the focus was on The Mysterians (1957), one of my favorite of all Toho SFX films! But, to make up for missing it, I did get to see a demonstration of how Mogera's eye beams were animated in the film. Fascinating stuff!

Toward the end of the evening, I joined Iizuka-san on the patio of the cafe, and he and I talked about Toho SFX. I only wish I could have understood a lot more than I did! Still, it's always a blast to speak with someone who made my favorite childhood movies. Thank you again, Iizuka-san!