Sunday, May 22, 2016

SADAO IIZUKA ON KONG AND GORATH! The Optical SFX Wizard Tells All About These Toho Classics!

Toho and Tsuburaya Productions optical photography expert Sadao Iizuka answers questions about his career. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today I returned to DeNs Cafe in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, for the first time in several months. Because of my work schedule, I had to miss the last several events featuring Sadao Iizuka, the veteran optical effects expert who worked on numerous Toho films. 


The topic of this event was Iizuka-san's work on King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) and Gorath (1962). Unfortunately, I missed this part of the presentation. But I made it in time for the dinner portion of the event. During this time, I talked with one of my friends about a variety of topics, everything from Hammer horror movies to the upcoming Godzilla Resurgence.


I had a great time catching up with many familiar faces, but I wish I'd made it to the main presentation. There's always next time, and more events are on the way. I just hope everything works out next time!


Iizuka-san is well known for animating Godzilla's atomic ray, King Ghidorah's gravity beams, and Ultraman's trademark Specium Ray. But those accomplishments only begin to scratch the surface of a career that began in 1954 and continues to this day!

No comments:

Post a Comment