Special Effects Shooting!

Yoshihiro Mori. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today I was pleased to attend a special event with a new special guest whom I'd never met before. The guest was cinematographer Yoshihiro Mori whose career in SFX productions spans several decades and covers some of Japan's most famous creations. 

Yoshihiro Mori began his career in the late 1950s at Toho, working on such tokusatsu classics as The Three Treasures (1959), Battle in Outer Space (1959), The Secret of the Telegian (1960), I Bombed Pearl Harbor (1960), and Mothra (1961). After working at the studio as an assistant cameraman, he quit Toho to join Toei and later worked at Tsuburaya Productions during the studio's heyday, lending his talents to Ultra Q (1966), Ultraman (1966-67), Kaiju Booska (1966-67) Ultra Seven (1967-68), Time of the Apes (1974-75), and Megaloman (1979), among many others. 

As if Mori-san's participation weren't enough, we were joined by a surprise guest: actor Shinya Ono. Ono-san was a regular on the TV series Wild 7 (1972-73) and Strada 5 (1974), both of which feature tokusatsu elements. Mori-san also worked on Wild 7 as a cameraman.

With Shinya Ono.

It was a wonderful event with friendly guests. It was also interesting to hear many firsthand stories about tokusatsu shooting.

SETSUKO HARA: 1920-2015

Japan's biggest female motion picture star of all time, Setsuko Hara, died of pneumonia in Kanagawa Prefecture on September 5. She was 95.

The late actress often collaborated with celebrated filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu and starred in such pictures as Late Spring (1949), Tokyo Story (1953), Late Autumn (1960), among other works. Hara can also be seen in the Toho classics The Three Treasures (1959) and Chushingura (1962).

She announced her retirement from acting around the time Yasujiro Ozu passed away in 1963, after which she lived a reclusive life in Kamakura, Kanagawa. Not much was known about her life in the 50-plus years since her retirement, and the fact that the media in Japan are only learning about her death now says it all.

Rest in peace, Setsuko Hara.

SADAO IIZUKA TALKS SHOP! The Optical FX Veteran Dissects The Three Treasures!

Sadao Iizuka discusses his optical SFX techniques during a Q&A session. Photo by Brett Homenick.

October 31 saw another event at DeNs Cafe in Sagamihara, Kanagawa, with optical photography veteran Sadao Iizuka. Iizuka-san worked on the original Godzilla (1954) and went on to animate King Ghidorah's gravity rays and Ultraman's Specium Ray. Suffice it to say, his credits in tokusatsu are legendary.

The focus of this talk was the optical effects in Songoku: The Road to the West (1959) and The Three Treasures (1959). Iizuka-san demonstrated how many of the optical effects in these two films were accomplished. To say the least, it was an eye-opening discussion.

After the Q&A wrapped, the attendees sat down for dinner. Iizuka-san happily answered any and all questions from his fans during the meal. He also signed many autographs from those in attendance. Famed illustrator Yuji Kaida (and his wife Aya) were among those at the event, adding a bit more star power to the occasion.

When Iizuka-san stepped outside for a break, I took this photo with him. As you can see, it's a pretty standard photo op. But, seeing as how it was Halloween, I had another pose in mind.

There I am, fully dressed as President Ted Thomas, standing next to a legendary Toho SFX technician. It was a great evening with many friendly people, as the events in Japan always are. It's great to see Iizuka-san get his due among fans who know and appreciate his work.