Sci-Fi Director Bert I. Gordon Passes Away at 100

With Bert I. Gordon in April 2010.

Bert I. Gordon, the legendary director of numerous sci-fi films from the 1950s through the '70s, passed away on March 8 at the age of 100. I don't have much to add here, except that I met him once in April 2010 at a convention in Los Angeles. I was excited to meet him, as his I grew up with several of his films.

Our meeting, however, was rather disappointing. He seemed disconnected and uninterested, even though I bought his book, which I thought should've earned me at least some fake enthusiasm. He smiled for our pictures, though, but that was all. Still, I guess I'm glad that I met him, but that's about all there is to say. 

RIP.

Godzilla Series Actress Machiko Naka Passes Away at Age 86

Machiko Naka in October 2021. Photo by Brett Homenick.

It's being reported by film researcher Toshiaki Sato that former Toho actress Machiko Naka passed away on March 4. She was 86.

Machiko Naka was born on October 12, 1936, in China under her real name Machiko Nakabayashi. After the war, her family moved to Hiroshima in 1947, and she would join the Takarazuka Revue in 1957. In 1960, she signed a contract with Toho where she became best known for playing Yuzo Kayama's younger sister Teruko in the Young Guy series. 

Nami Tamura, Hiroko Sakurai, Machiko Naka, and Yasuhiko Saijo celebrate Saijo-san's birthday in February 2016. Photo by Brett Homenick.

But she became best known around the world for playing Ichiro's busy mother in Godzilla's Revenge (1969). She only appears in two scenes in the film, but her second scene is one of the most emotional of the Showa era.

Naka-san also appears in episode 22 of Ultra Q (1966), episode 2 of Ultra Seven (1967-68), and episode 36 of Ultraman Tiga (1996-97). 

In between Machiko Naka and Nami Tamura in February 2016.

I was fortunate enough to meet Naka-san several times over the years. Before I ever met, I was able to do an interview with her via correspondence, which you can find here. 

Teruyoshi Nakano and Machiko Naka in November 2017. Photo by Brett Homenick.

In October 2021, I conducted a much more in-depth interview that should come out sometime later this year. Last fall, I contacted her manager about doing a photoshoot with Naka-san but was told that she was not doing so well at the time. Given her age, I was worried about the seriousness of her condition, and unfortunately it seems that it was as serious as I feared.

With Machiko Naka in October 2021.

I'll certainly miss seeing her at events and other such gatherings. What a sweet lady she was. RIP, Naka-san.

UPDATE (3/12): Naka-san's official website confirms that she passed away on March 4 due to old age.

Her website also announced that it will close on March 25. Such a shame. It would have made a wonderful memorial to her life and career.

FLASHBACK: The 'Godzilla: Final Wars' World Premiere in Photos!

If you look closely, you can see Godzilla in there somewhere. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I don't think I've ever shared my photos from the Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) world premiere that took place in November 2004 in Hollywood at what was then known as Grauman's Chinese Theatre. It's not a surprise why I haven't shared them, though. I started this blog in 2009, a full five years after the premiere -- old news. Besides, I used a disposable camera for my photos, which wouldn't have turned out all that great even if I had unlimited access to the event. So, suffice it to say, the pictures I took didn't turn out that well, and I've never been in a hurry to share them.

In fact, the only one I know I've posted before was the photo I took of Don Frye when he happened to be stopped in front of me by a fan who wanted a picture with him. After he was done, I was going to ask The Predator for a pic, too. But whoever was using the guy's camera had zero idea how to work it, so Don had to wait what seemed like forever, frozen in a pose with his fist up. When the guy still couldn't get the camera to work, Don's handler whisked him away, and I lost my opportunity for a photo with Captain Gordon himself. Ah, well. Little did I know then that I'd end up interviewing him twice and arranging his appearance at some Chicago con in 2008. 

Anyway, I recently had another look at the pictures I took at the event, and I guess some of them aren't quite that bad. Besides, they are a part of history, so they are worth posting for that reason alone. The ones worth sharing are below, with a caption to explain what you can see in the pics if you look carefully enough. Enjoy!

Producer Shogo Tomiyama addresses the audience with Godzilla standing behind him. Photo by Brett Homenick.

You can kind of see Shogo Tomiyama in there between the head and the hat in the foreground. Photo by Brett Homenick.

A happy fan poses with the Godzilla float. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The recently unveiled Godzilla star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame -- and almost completely in frame! Photo by Brett Homenick.

Yours truly with Godzilla's star. I really didn't want to touch the ground but had no choice to keep my balance.

Don Frye being asked to pose for a photo that would never get taken. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Japanese media on hand covering the event. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Attending a Screening of the Toho Actioner 'Espy' in 35mm!

Signage for Espy at the Laputa Asagaya. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Earlier tonight (Monday, March 6), I took in a screening of Toho's Espy (1974), a fun sci-fi/action flick that doesn't get the attention it deserves, in 35mm. The screening took place at the Laputa Asagaya as part of its Science Fiction Film Festival program. The theater was quite packed, which I wasn't expecting. I guess more people were interested in the film than I thought. Unfortunately, though, this is the last film in the festival's lineup.

The print wasn't exactly in great shape, but the theater alerted patrons to that ahead of time by posting a notice in the lobby to a bulletin board. As expected, it was quite faded and contained its share of jumps and splices. I noticed that many of the splices happened during Kaoru Yumi's racier scenes, which I can't imagine could be a coincidence.  

This is the same print I saw around 2015. It opens with the Toho logo taken from a print of The Last Days of Planet Earth (1974) before quickly cutting back to Espy. Naturally, I have no idea what happened to the print to result in that situation, but it certainly is interesting.

I've always enjoyed the film, and I had a lot of fun watching it again. One of my favorite parts was seeing the German Shepherd Cheetah (at least that's his name in the dubbed version) sit next to Shigeo Kato, who is playing a security guard. It was also great seeing the late Steven Greene on the big screen, playing the prime minister of Baltonia, whom I was privileged to interview about two years ago.

I'd say there's a (very slim) chance that I might attend another screening by Friday, which is when the festival officially ends. I guess we'll see how it goes. If I go again, I'll be sure to post about it here. Otherwise, I can't say enough good things about the Laputa Asagaya's Science Fiction Film Festival, and it certainly is depressing to see it end. I wish it could have gone on all year!

Revisiting Machida's Tsukushino Park Road!

Tsukushino Park Road. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Friday, March 3, I had the opportunity to pay another visit to Tsukushino Park Road, which is right next to Tsukushino Station in Machida, Tokyo. The area was used as a filming location in Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) for the scene in which Yutaka Hayashi and Hiroyuki Kawase pick up a model jet from a hobby shop. This was my third visit to the area, and, while it seemed some construction was going on, it still pretty much looked the same, which was nice to see. Here's what I saw. Enjoy!

DEEP DIVE: Did Teruyoshi Nakano Work on the Bloodthirsty Series?

Teruyoshi Nakano in May 2017. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was browsing Wikizilla the other day and noticed that one of the editors removed the Bloodthirsty trilogy -- consisting of The Vampire Doll (1970), Lake of Dracula (1971), and Evil of Dracula (1974), all of which were directed by Michio Yamamoto -- from Toho special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano's filmography, due to a lack of proper citation.

I thought that was rather interesting, as I didn't realize Nakano-san's involvement was that poorly documented. But it did remind me of the time I asked Nakano-san about it in person. Thankfully, I took contemporaneous notes of his comments, and, after doing some digging for them, I finally found them and had a chance to look at them for the first time in a long time.

My notes are below, slightly edited for clarity:

5/27/2017 - Teruyoshi Nakano worked on the Bloodthirsty trilogy for free and no credit because he was friends with Fumio Tanaka. 

Fumio Tanaka, of course, produced the Bloodthirsty trilogy. And there you have it, straight from the source.

A Double Feature at the Laputa Asagaya!

Signage for the Laputa Asagaya's Yuzo Kawashima Retrospective. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight -- that's Thursday, March 2 -- I returned to the Laputa Asagaya a bit earlier than I expected. A new film program has started, the Yuzo Kawashima Retrospective. As you've probably gathered, the retrospective focuses on the career of director Yuzo Kawashima. Tonight's film was a 35mm print of Romance Express (1961), a comedic ensemble featuring several notable Toho performers. I've wanted to see the film for a while, having seen some publicity stills that make the flick look like a lot of fun. The timing was good, so I went to the theater to check it out.

Publicity material for Romance Express (1961) in the theater lobby. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The film stars Frankie Sakai, who in the story is in a relationship with the leading lady, Reiko Dan. Sakai plays a cook working the dining car of a Kodama limited express train, and Dan plays a waitress who also works on the train. There's a bit of a love triangle involving Yumi Shirakawa, who plays a train attendant.

Reiko Dan wants to marry Frankie Sakai, but, because she wants to open a bento shop after they get married, Sakai isn't sure about the proposal. So he has six and a half hours -- the time it takes for the train to travel from Tokyo to Osaka -- to make his decision.

In addition, a lot of assorted kookiness takes place on the train, including the shenanigans of a lecherous company president, a loud, drunken weirdo, and pickpocket gang. As if that weren't enough, there's also a bomb scare to top things off. 

If that sounds even remotely serious, don't worry; it's not. In fact, Frankie Sakai has a slapstick fight with the pickpockets toward the end of the movie, complete with over-the-top, cartoonish sound effects. It's all done for entertainment and laughs. The movie is presented in black and white, but I think a movie this metaphorically colorful would have easily benefited from some literal color.

Oh, and I briefly spotted Shigeo Kato standing on a train platform and Haruo Nakajima as the Kodama driver. Fun stuff!

A Romance Express poster in the theater lobby. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Another note of interest is that the score was composed by Riichiro Manabe. Kaiju fans typically don't think of Manabe as having scored Toho movies during the golden age, but here's an example of his having done just that. The score itself matches the light-hearted tone of the proceedings, and it even reminded me a bit of the score to Roger Corman's The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) in places. 

The last scene takes place completely without dialogue. The camera is positioned outside the train, so the audience can only see the action take place inside the train, but it follows the characters as they move around inside. In this scene, Frankie Sakai gives Reiko Dan his answer about their getting married. It's all cleverly done, and it's a fun visual experience.

After the movie, I decided to hang around and catch another screening of Goke Body Snatcher from Hell (1968) -- again, in glorious 35mm -- as part of the Science Fiction Film Festival. Even though I literally just saw it a few days ago, I was up for another screening. I don't have anything to add to my blog post from a few days ago, other than to say I never got bored watching it again so soon after the last time and enjoyed it immensely again. What a great film!