Saying "Sayonara" to Jupiter!

 Eiichi Asada (left) and Kunio Miyoshi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Sunday, September 1, I had the privilege of taking in a screening of Toho's Sayonara Jupiter (1984) in 35mm. Naturally, I'd only ever seen it on home video prior to this screening, so I was looking forward to taking in all the details that you can only see in 35mm screenings. Naturally, the special effects looked great, and despite a few clunky effects, they really hold up after all these years. They do fall short of those in 2001: A Space Odyssey, but not by that much.

One such detail I noticed was that the last name written on Carlos' name tag changes at one point. At the beginning and end of the film, the character's name is listed as Angeles. In the middle of the movie, however, the name on his badge was completely different, and it was so unusual that I can't remember the exact spelling of it. (Suffice it to say, though, it was nothing like "Angeles.") I also noticed for the first time that Webb's initials are E. T. (Gee, I wonder where they could've gotten the idea to use those letters...)

Eiichi Asada. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

 Eiichi Asada has enjoyed a lengthy career in Japanese SFX, dating back to the early 1970s. He was an assistant director on Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), Submersion of Japan (1973), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), Espy (1974), Conflagration (1975), Zero Pilot (1976), The War in Space (1977), Deathquake (1980), The Imperial Navy (1981), Sayonara Jupiter, and Godzilla 1985 (1984), among others. He was the special effects director on Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004).

Kunio Miyoshi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Kunio Miyoshi was an assistant director on Conflagration and Deathquake, as well as chief assistant director on Sayonara Jupiter, Reiko (1991), Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993), Orochi the Eight-Headed Dragon (1994), Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), and Rebirth of Mothra (1996). He went on to direct Rebirth of Mothra II (1997).

What a treat it was to see Sayonara Jupiter on the big screen -- and in the presence of such great guests!

REBIRTH OF MOTHRA II! The Director Joins SFX Alums for a Special Screening!

 Director Kunio Miyoshi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I attended a special screening of Rebirth of Mothra II (1997), which was the first time I'd seen the film in many years. Overall, it was OK. I expected worse, and even though it bored me to distraction a few times, I still had a good time with it.

The guest of honor was Rebirth of Mothra II director Kunio Miyoshi. Prior to his helming Mothra II, e was an assistant director on Conflagration (1975) and Deathquake (1980), as well as chief assistant director on Sayonara Jupiter (1984), Reiko (1991), Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993), Orochi the Eight-Headed Dragon (1994), Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), and Rebirth of Mothra (1996).

Toshifumi Shimizu. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Production manager and assistant director Toshifumi Shimizu was another guest. He worked on every Godzilla movie in the Millennium series as either assistant director or visual effects supervision assistant.

From left to right: Yosuke Nakano, Kunio Miyoshi, yours truly with a shooting script, and Toshifumi Shimizu.

SFX assistant director Yosuke Nakano was another guest, as well. I really regretted having to leave the event a bit earlier than I usually do, but that's life. As brief as it all was for me, it was a heck of a good time.