A Special Evening with the Actor Behind 'Megalon's' Goro Ibuki!

Katsuhiko Sasaki. Photo by Brett Homenick.

 

On Saturday, March 16, I was lucky enough to have dinner with Toho actor Katsuhiko Sasaki, the star of several 1970s-era tokusatsu productions at the studio. Sasaki-san is best known for headlining Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) and Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975).

We met at Futako-tamagawa Station and headed to a restaurant that Sasaki-san is quite fond of. We spent at least two hours there, and the conversation covered a wide range of topics. I was especially interested in Sasaki-san's memories of filming Evil of Drcaula (1974) and how unexpectedly difficult and dangerous it was. The fight scene with Toshio Kurosawa was already tough, but having to film the scene in which Sasaki-san's character drowns was much more dangerous. 

Katsuhiko Sasaki signs autographs. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Sasaki-san also reminisced about his father, actor Minoru Chiaki, and how director Akira Kurosawa scouted him while watching him perform onstage as part of the Bara-za theater company. Sasaki-san enjoys Ikiru (1952) among his father's Kurosawa's films.

I must say that Sasaki-san was quite generous when it came to signing things. I brought a bevy of Megalon-related items to sign, and Sasaki-san graciously signed everything I wanted. Definitely a one-of-a-kind gentleman!

In particular, I was extremely glad to add his signature to my Blu-ray sleeve of Megalon that already featured that autographs of Yutaka Hayashi and Hiroyuki Kawase. With Sasaki-san's signature, I now have the autographs of all three leads of the film on that Blu-ray cover. Suffice it to say, it's one of my favorite pieces.

I should also point out that Sasaki-san paid for our dinner, which, again, was very kind of him. It's this level of generosity that I will miss after I leave Japan. 

As we were walking back to the station, I reminded Sasaki-san that Megalon was my first Godzilla movie, to which he patted me on the back. It was a small gesture, but, when considered through the prism of my personal history with the genre, it means a lot. This was truly an evening I'll always remember. Many thanks to Sasaki-san for making it possible!

YOSHIMITSU BANNO TALKS SMOG MONSTER! The Toho Director Answers Questions at a Recent Fan Event!

Director Yoshimitsu Banno speaks about his lengthy Toho career at a fan event in Tokyo. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On the heels of executive-producing the recent Godzilla from Legendary Pictures, filmmaker Yoshimitsu Banno attended a fan event in Tokyo and answered questions about his work at Toho Studios.

Appropriate posters on display for the occasion: The Last Days of Planet Earth (a.k.a. Catastrophe 1999, 1974) and Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1971).

Banno-san directed co-wrote Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1971), and co-wrote and assistant-directed The Last Days of Planet Earth (1974). Banno-san was also an assistant director for Akira Kurosawa on four films: Throne of Blood (1957), The Lower Depths (1957), The Hidden Fortress (1958), and The Bad Sleep Well (1960). Following his work with Kurosawa, Banno-san assistant-directed a myriad of films at Toho, everything from Crazy Cats comedies to war films starring Toshiro Mifune.

During the interview, Banno-san touched on these and other topics. He seemed in great spirits, and after the worldwide success of the recent Godzilla movie, how could you blame him? Toward the end of the presentation, the interviewers showed some slides from Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, to which Banno-san offered his memories. Some of the photos were brand-new to me, which was great to see.

Banno-san spoke for two hours, and it was an enjoyable time. In particular, I liked watching Banno-san's reactions to the production photos from Smog Monster that were displayed on the big screen. Full marks to all involved!

Notes on Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, Last Days of Planet Earth

Your humble blogmeister poses with director Yoshimitsu Banno on January 3, 2012, in Tokyo.

Over on a horror-related message board, tokusatsu fans were discussing Yoshimitsu Banno's role as screenwriter and assistant director on Toho's 1974 disaster epic The Last Days of Planet Earth (a.k.a. Prophecies of Nostradamus).

On my most recent trip to Tokyo, I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Banno over drinks. We discussed a variety of topics, and I made sure to ask him about his involvement in the ever-controversial Last Days.

Mr. Banno, to this day, remains very active in the movie business.

I was particularly impressed with the information Mr. Banno gave me about Last Days (as well as Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, his best-known work by far). I posted the following on the board, but I felt I should also share Mr. Banno's memories with you, my loyal readers:

He told me he wrote the screenplay for Last Days of Planet Earth over the course of about 10 days in a Shibuya hotel, with an assist from Toshio Masuda (though Masuda wasn't present the whole time). He mentioned the Ben Goto book as a basis for the screenplay but not (for what it's worth) The Last War. Mr. Banno doesn't remember what scenes he directed except for (as mentioned above) the scenes in New Guinea.

As an aside, he also said that he wrote the script for Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster in about one week with Takeshi Kimura in a cheap hotel in Nagano prefecture. This was, of course, after Kimura turned in a poor first draft that Mr. Banno rejected. (Kimura apparently never gave his all to novice directors.)

One more thing. Mr. Banno cast Hiroyuki Kawase in Smog Monster after auditioning about 50 or 60 child actors. He had nothing but praise for Kawase's acting ability, and he even said that Kawase was the best actor in the movie when it came to dubbing the lines for scenes shot on location.

More information on Mr. Banno will be posted on this blog in the coming days. Stay tuned!