SciFi Japan

    Director Norman England at work on the new Japanese special effects documentary BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE. Photos courtesy of Ed Godziszewski. © 2008 Toho Co., Ltd./Classic Media, Inc.

    Godzilla - Toho

    Director Norman England Talks About the New Japanese FX Documentary Author: John “Dutch” DeSentis Special Thanks to Keith Aiken and Ed Godziszewski Last month, Classic Media released the documentary BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE: The Art of Japanese Special Effects as part of their RODAN and WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS Toho Master Collection DVD set. Part two of SciFi Japan`s conversations with the brains behind the new film brings us to director Norman England. Fans will undoubtedly know Norman’s name as he has over a decade of Godzilla and Japanese cinema journalism under his belt for publications such as Fangoria, Hobby Japan, Japanzine, Starlog, Flix, Japanese Giants, and The Japan Times. He has also played bit parts in the J-horror film STACY (2001), Masaaki Tezuka`s GODZILLA: TOKYO SOS (2003), the WWII sci-fi tale LORELEI: THE WITCH OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN (2005), the hit

    Writer/Producers Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski detail the making of the new Japanese special effects documentary BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE. © 2008 Toho Co., Ltd./Classic Media, Inc.

    Godzilla - Toho

    A Conversation with Documentary Writer/Producers Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski Author: John “Dutch” DeSentis Special Thanks to Bill Gudmundson and Matthew Buzzell A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE Tuesday, September 9th saw the release of Classic Media’s final two movies in their Toho Master Collection DVD series: RODAN and WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS, which if you don’t have by now then you might want to get on that. For those that do have it, you have no doubt seen the extra treat that is included with the movies; BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE: The Art of Japanese Special Effects. Shot in Japan in 2007, the documentary is a very enlightening film for those unfamiliar with just how tricky the craft of Japanese special effects is. It was directed by longtime Godzilla set journalist Norman England and features interviews with many of the most recognizable

    Japanese poster art for the remake of SANJURO. © 2007 Kadokawa Haruki Corporation/ Toho Co., Ltd./ Avex Entertainment Inc./ TV Asahi /Asahi Broadcasting Corporation/ Nagoya Broadcasting Network Co., Ltd./ I.N.P. Inc./ Fields Corporation/ Tokyo FM/ Quaras Inc.

    Godzilla - Toho

    RSVP for Free Tickets to East Coast Premiere Source: New York-Tokyo press release On October 15th, the media company New York-Tokyo is hosting a free screening of the 2007 remake of Akira Kurosawa`s classic SANJURO (Tsubaki Sanjuro). The film will be shown at the ImaginAsian Theater in New York City. For complete details, please see the following press release from New York-Tokyo... SANJURO EAST COAST PREMIERE * FREE SCREENING Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 Doors Open 6:15pm, Screening starts 7:00pm The ImaginAsian: 239 East 59th Street, NYC RSVP to newyork-tokyo.com/wp/sanjuro Japan | 2007 | 119 min. | Japanese with English subtitles This is a remake of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune`s SANJURO (1962). Originally, SANJURO was the first title ever in the motion picture history of Japan. This remake was planned and realized from the masterworks of director Kurosawa. "This is a dream and this

    Promotional art for the IMAX film GODZILLA 3-D. © 2005 Toho Co., Ltd./Advanced Audiovisual Productions

    Godzilla - Toho

    The History of Yoshimitsu Banno’s Proposed IMAX Godzilla Film Author: Keith Aiken and Ed Godziszewski Source: Advanced Audiovisual Productions, Inc., Kerner Productions, Monster Zero News, Sake-Drenched Postcards, various Additional Material by: Steve Ryfle and Robert Saint John SPOILER WARNING: The following article includes story details for a proposed new Godzilla feature. In March 2004, Toho Co., Ltd. announced that their Godzilla series would be going on hiatus following the 50th anniversary film GODZILLA: FINAL WARS. Thirteen Toho monster movies in as many years had led to audience burnout and decreasing ticket sales, so the studio realized the time had come to take a break and let demand build again before making another Godzilla film. While Toho’s decision made good business sense, it was nonetheless a disappointment for many Godzilla fans who had grown accustomed to seeing a new release every year. Then in August of that

    A whole season of movie history as restored versions of all 28 Godzilla movies air in high definition for the first time. © 1973 Toho Co., Ltd.

    Godzilla - Toho

    All 28 Godzilla Movies Restored in High Definition Author: James Ballard Official Website: Japanese Movie Speciality Channel The king of all monsters is back, as you`ve never seen him before! All 28 movies from the iconic Godzilla series have been painstakingly restored for the first time in high definition (HD). The new HD telecines have undergone serious restoration, including color and contrast correction, and will air in HD for the first time on the Japanese Movie Speciality Channel (Nihon Eiga Senmon Channeru) in Japan throughout October to December this year, with new Godzilla-related programming airing in the months prior. The restoration of the films was part of the "G PROJECT", a collaboration between Toho and the Japanese Movie Speciality Channel. First airing on August 15th, with repeat showings throughout August and September, is the Japanese Movie Speciality Channel`s original program GODZILLA X HI-VISION: THE SHOWA MONSTER

    Japanese poster art for ALWAYS- SUNSET ON THIRD STREET- 2. © 2007 Always2 Film Partners

    Godzilla - Toho

    Who Will Get to See ALWAYS 2 (and Godzilla’s Cameo) for Free, Courtesy of NYAFF and SciFi Japan? Source: Subway Cinema/New York Asian Film Festival Special Thanks to Madalena Tran and Grady Hendrix Thank you to everyone who entered New York Asian Film Festival and SciFi Japan`s contest for free passes to ALWAYS- SUNSET ON THIRD STREET- 2. The screening takes place at Japan Society on Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 8:15pm. Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues), New York, NY 10017. The following randomly drawn entrants correctly answered all contest questions: Scott Jones Michael Calhoun Andrew Wong Congratulations to the winners! Each of you has won a pair of ALWAYS 2 tickets. Your passes will be available "Will Call" at the Japan Society box office on July 6, 2008. You must present proper identification in order to

    Poster art for Rialto Pictures` 2004 theatrical release of GODZILLA. Photo courtesy of Lee Kaplan and Rialto Pictures. © 1954 Toho Co., Ltd./© 2004 Rialto Pictures

    Godzilla - Toho

    A Look Back at GODZILLA`s 2004 Theatrical Release Author: Steve Ryfle with Bruce Goldstein Pressbook Editor: Bruce Goldstein Source: Rialto Pictures The following production notes were created by Rialto Pictures for their 2004 theatrical release of GODZILLA. The text is © 2004 Rialto Pictures and © 1998 ECW Press. Godzilla ®, Gojira ® and the character design are trademarks of Toho Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. 50th Anniversary Release! The Complete, Uncut Original! 40 Minutes of Unseen Footage! GODZILLA Rialto Pictures Presents the Landmark Monster Movie in Its Original Japanese Version, Never Before Released in the U.S. Uncut, uncensored, and undubbed, the original “Monster of Mass Destruction” returns to the big screen like you’ve never seen him before, fully restored with 40 minutes of unseen footage and completely revised subtitles. See where it all began, with this influential classic that has spawned scores of sequels and

    Ryuhei Kitamura`s samurai action film, AZUMI gets its American Premiere at the Egyptian Theatre with the director in attendance. ©2003

    Godzilla - Toho

    AZUMI Plays to an Appreciative Audience Author: Richard Pusateri Source: AsiaVision The American premiere of AZUMI was almost sneaked onto the Egyptian Theatre on Tuesday night, July 25, 2006, by AsiaVision. The presentation was originally described as an advanced screening of the 2003 teen samurai adventure AZUMI. However that night, the presentation was described as the “American premiere” with surprise guest director Ryuhei Kitamura. Mr. Kitamura spoke briefly to the audience before the screening describing how his self-produced gore-fest VERSUS lead to being chosen to direct AZUMI by producer Mata Yamamoto. During his comments, Mr. Kitamura affectionately teased Mr. Yamamoto, who was also in attendance but did not address the crowd. In July, AsiaVision brought AZUMI to high profile presence at Anime Expo in Anaheim California and two weeks later at the San Diego ComicCon. Mr. Kitamura was present at both promotional events. While there was

    Godzilla gets caught in an ice storm in SON OF GODZILLA, showing this month on Turner Classic Movies. © 1967 Toho Co., Ltd.

    Godzilla - Toho

    Source: Turner Classic Movies Godzilla makes his first appearance on Turner Classic Movies this month when the cable channel airs SON OF GODZILLA at 2:15 pm EST on Thursday, July 31. SON OF GODZILLA (1967): Scientists get caught in the middle when Godzilla fights to protect his newborn son from prehistoric monsters. 86 mins, Eastmancolor, Letterbox Format Director: Jun Fukuda Cast: Tadao Takashima (Dr Kusumi) Akira Kubo (Goro Maki) Beverly Maeda (Reiko Matsumiya) Akihiko Hirata (Fujisaki) Yoshio Tsuchiya (Furukawa) Kenji Sahara (Morio) Susumu Kurobe (Pilot) Director Of Photography: Kazuo Yamada Writers: Shinichi Sekizawa & Kazue Shiba Producer: Tomoyuki Tanaka Editing: Ryohei Fujii Music: Masaru Sato Art Director: Takeo Kita Visual Effects: Eiji Tsuburaya & Sadamasa Arikawa Sound: Shin Tokai Production Company: Toho Company Ltd

    Catch Godzilla on the big screen this weekend in San Francisco. © 2001 Toho Co., Ltd.

    Godzilla - Toho

    Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Baragon return to California Source: San Francisco Bay Guardian This weekend’s “midnight movie” at San Francisco’s Landmark Clay Theatre will be GODZILLA, MOTHRA, AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK (Gojira, Mosura, Kingughidora: Daikaiju Soshingeki, 2001), the popular Godzilla film from director Shusuke Kaneko (the Gamera trilogy, DEATH NOTE). GMK will be shown both Friday, November 17 and Saturday, 18 at 11:59pm. The Landmark Clay is located at 2261 Filmore (at the corner of Clay) in San Francisco, CA 94115. Tickets can be ordered from Moviefone on their website or at 771-FILM #096. For additional info, contact the theater at (415) 267-4873.

    Catch GODZILLA VS DESTOROYAH and GMK on the big screen this weekend! © 1995/2001 Toho Co., Ltd.

    Godzilla - Toho

    The Dryden Theatre screens GODZILLA VS DESTOROYAH and GMK this weekend Source: John Yeara Official Site: George Eastman House Godzilla returns once again to the Dryden Theatre in Rochester, NY: FRIDAY, AUGUST 11 DOUBLE FEATURE: Two films for one regular admission price! 7:00 PM – GODZILLA VS DESTOROYAH (Gojira tai Desutoroia, 1995) A monster spawned from the Oxygen Destroyer challenges Godzilla, who is on the verge of a nuclear meltdown! Director Takao Okawara, 103 minutes, English language version 9:00 PM – GODZILLA, MOTHRA, AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK (Gojira, Mosura, Kingughidora: Daikaiju Soshingeki, 2001) Godzilla returns to symbolic roots as he faces off with three guardian monsters in this acclaimed film. Director Shusuke Kaneko, 105 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles The double feature will be introduced by Rochester’s local Godzilla authority John Yeara. John will briefly discuss the most popular actors and actresses from the Godzilla series,

    The original Japanese GODZILLA will be playing at the Dryden Theatre this Friday night. Photo courtesy of Rialto Pictures. © 1954 Toho Co., Ltd./© 2004 Rialto Pictures

    Godzilla - Toho

    The Dryden Theatre Celebrates the 10th Anniversary of Rialto Pictures with GODZILLA on December 7 Source: John Yeara Official Site: George Eastman House GODZILLA (Gojira) returns to Rochester, New York this week with a special screening of the original, uncut Japanese version of the 1954 classic. The film is being shown as part of the "Ten Years of Rialto Pictures" tribute at the historic Dryden Theatre. Founded by Bruce Goldstein in 1997, Rialto Pictures specializes in re-releases of classic movies. Starting with the Mike Nichols hit THE GRADUATE (1967), the company has released some of the most acclaimed films in international cinema— Jean-Luc Godard`s CONTEMPT (Le Mepris, 1963) and BAND OF OUTSIDERS (Bande a Part, 1964), Federico Fellini`s JULIET OF THE SPIRITS (Giulietta degli Spiriti, 1965) and NIGHTS OF CABIRIA (Le Notti de Cabiria, 1957), Jean-Pierre Melville’s LE CERCLE ROUGE (1970), Carol Reed’s THE THIRD MAN

    Godzilla returns to the big screen! The New York Asian Film Festival is offering SciFi Japan readers a chance for free tickets to the New York premiere of ALWAYS- SUNSET ON THIRD STREET- 2. Godzilla is © Toho Co., Ltd. © 2007 Always2 Film Partners

    Godzilla - Toho

    See the Award-Winning Film (and Godzilla’s Cameo) for Free, Courtesy of NYAFF and SciFi Japan Source: Subway Cinema/New York Asian Film Festival Special Thanks to Madalena Tran and Grady Hendrix ALWAYS- SUNSET ON THIRD STREET- 2 (Always-Zoku San-Chome no Yuhi) 2007, 147 min., 35mm. Directed by Takashi Yamazaki. With Hidetaka Yoshioka, Shinichi Tsutsumi and Koyuki. In Japanese with English subtitles. Co-presented with JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film. New York Premiere. Another lavish blockbuster from Japan, but this time around the residents of Third Street return and the good times are killing them. Tokyo`s hosting the 1964 Olympics, the economy is booming, houses are filling up with modern appliances but something`s gotten lost in the shuffle. Will Third Street be destroyed by Japan`s bubble economy? Or maybe it`ll be destroyed by Godzilla? Seriously… The sequel to the 2005 blockbuster ALWAYS- SUNSET ON

    Godzilla fans can vote on which of these four new monsters will make it into the new GODZILLA: UNLEASHED video game. Top row: Magmouth and Firelion. Bottom row: The Visitor and Lighning Bug. Photos courtesy of Atari, Inc. © 2007 Atari, Inc.

    Godzilla - Toho

    Godzilla Fans - Vote Now! Source: Atari, Inc. Special Thanks to John “Dutch” DeSentis Atari and Pipeworks present the first ever GODZILLA: UNLEASHED New Monster Vote. Now is your chance to shape the future of Toho`s Godzilla universe and help bring a completely new monster to life. Running until April 4th, IGN is hosting the vote where fans get to choose one of four new monsters to be created for the GODZILLA: UNLEASHED video game that will be coming out fall 2007 from Atari. For more information and to vote now please visit the IGN website. The art team responsible for designing the new monsters explained, “Throughout the entire process, our underlying goal was to arrive at monsters that we felt were fresh, would fit into the Godzilla genre, and would fit into the group factions as delineated in the design doc for the game. We initially

    On August 3, the Egyptian Theatre will premiere BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE. The all-new documentary features exclusive interviews with filmmakers behind Japan`s greatest monster movies and shows. Top row: Toho President/Executive Producer Shogo Tomiyama, GODZILLA star Akira Takarada, MOTHRA star Hiroshi Koizumi, Tsuburaya Dream Factory President Akira Tsuburaya, Godzilla series FX Director Teruyoshi Nakano. Bottom row: Original Godzilla suit actor Haruo Nakajima, Ultraman series Producer/Director Takeshi Yagi, the Toho special effects art staff (Toshio Miike, Akinori Takagi, Yasuyuki Inoue, Toshio Aoki), Millennium Godzilla suit actor Tsutomu Kitagawa. © 2008 Classic Media, Inc.

    Godzilla - Toho

    BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE and Two Toho Classics at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood! Source: American Cinematheque Special Thanks to Ed Godziszewski and Steve Ryfle Japanese giant monsters return to Hollywood with a great Toho triple feature at the Egyptian Theatre. First up will be the premiere screening of Classic Media`s brand-new, Toho authorized documentary BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE. Filmed entirely on location in Japan, BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE includes exclusive interviews with filmmakers, special-effects artists, monster suit actors and the stars of GOJIRA, MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA, INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER and other classic films. Featuring appearances by Akira Takarada, Hiroshi Koizumi, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Shogo Tomiyama, Haruo Nakajima, Kenpachiro Satsuma, Tsutomu "Tom" Kitagawa, Shusuke Kaneko, Teruyoshi Nakano, Akira Tsuburaya, Ryuji Honda, Shinichi Wakasa, Yasuyuki Inoue, Toshiro Aoki, Akinori Takagi, Toshio Miike, Shiro Sano, others, plus original music by GMK and Gamera composer Kow Ohtani. After

    The series starts this Saturday with a double feature of 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH and SON OF GODZILLA. © 1957 Columbia Pictures

    Godzilla - Toho

    Official Site: Detroit Film Theatre Special Thanks to Kyle Byrd Starting this Saturday at 2:00pm, the Detroit Film Theatre in Detroit, MI presents seven consecutive weekends of monster and fantasy movie matinees on the big screen. The first half of each double feature will be a restored 35mm print of one of Ray Harryhausen`s classic stop-motion animation films, followed by a bonus second movie from Toho Studios. From the theater website: Saturday, June 16, 2:00 PM 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (USA—1957—directed by Nathan Juran) An American rocket ship returns from a trip to Venus, splashing down near the coast of Sicily. Along with its sole human survivor is a very much alive Venusian monster known as an Ymir, which soon grows to mammoth proportions in Earth’s atmosphere. Hopped up on his diet of sulphur and none too pleased with being poked and prodded by

    Godzilla faces off with Kumonga in SON OF GODZILLA preproduction art by Yasuyuki Inoue. Illustration courtesy of the artist. © 1967 Toho Co., Ltd.

    Godzilla - Toho

    An Appreciation for an Unappreciated Film Author: Aaron Cooper Special Thanks to Bob Johnson and Jim Ballard Contents: SON OF GODZILLA: THE SCORE Certain films get very little respect, and not always for the correct reasons. Some of us at SciFi Japan decided to take a fresh approach at lesser appreciated films and at least argue the merits of why they deserve another glance. Why is a film like SON OF GODZILLA so reviled by fans? Perhaps it is the introduction of an offspring for the monster, or how that offspring is portrayed? Or the wildly different Godzilla design used for the suit in this film? Perhaps the South Seas Island backdrop is disappointing for those wanting more urban destruction? Maybe it’s a foggy nostalgia mixing Saturday night creature features with Saturday morning cartoons? It seems many people

    The original Japanese version of MOTHRA plays Rochester, New York next month. © 1961 Toho Co., Ltd.

    Godzilla - Toho

    The Dryden Theatre presents two Toho kaiju films on the big screen this July Official Site: George Eastman House On July 27, Godzilla returns to Rochester, New York for the third year in a row as the historic Dryden Theatre hosts a Toho kaiju double-feature. From the Dryden Theatre website... FRIDAY, JULY 27 DOUBLE FEATURE: Two films for one regular admission price! 7:00 PM - MOTHRA (MOSURA, Ishiro Honda, Japan 1961, 91 min., Japanese with subtitles, 35mm) Two identical six-inch princesses (who sing and talk in unison) are kidnapped from their remote island home by an evil showman. They are pursued all the way to Tokyo by their protector, a giant caterpillar that smashes buildings, spins a cocoon, and becomes a giant moth. Perhaps the only contender for Godzilla’s title of most-beloved Japanese monster movie, MOTHRA, shown here in its original Japanese-language version, is a true classic.

    Ad for the Austin Wind Symphony`s 'Creature Features' concert. Advertising art © 2007 Austin Wind Symphony

    Godzilla - Toho

    Concert Features Akira Ifukube’s Music for KING KONG VS GODZILLA Source: The Austin Wind Symphony Just a reminder for all the Godzilla fans in Texas that The Austin Wind Symphony`s "Creature Features" concert will take place this Friday, October 19th. The show starts at 8:00 p.m. and will be held at the Bethany Lutheran Church in South Austin. For directions and a list of the pieces being performed visit the "Creature Features" website. The concert will feature music from JAWS (1975), BATMAN (1989), GREMLINS (1984), PSYCHO (1960), BEETLEJUICE (1988), JURASSIC PARK (1993), plus a special tribute to STAR WARS. It will be of special interest to Godzilla fans as it includes a world premiere performance of a suite of music from KING KONG VS GODZILLA. Prepared specially for The Austin Wind Symphony, the suite will include some of the most recognizable pieces from the incredible 1962

    Tadao Takashima and his frequent co-star Yu Fujiki woo the natives of Faro Island in KING KONG VS GODZILLA. © 1962 Toho Co., Ltd.

    Godzilla - Toho

    Author: Oki Miyano and Keith Aiken Source: NTV, Sports Hochi On June 26 at 9:00pm, Japan’s Nippon Television Network will air a 2 hr drama entitled BATTLE AGAINST DEPRESSION- THE STORY OF THE TAKASHIMA FAMILY: SIX YEARS OF LOVE AND FIGHTING. The television movie chronicles actor Tadao Takashima’s (KING KONG VS GODZILLA, ATRAGON, FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD) long struggle with depression. Born July 27, 1930 in Kobe, Takashima was a talented jazz drummer and musician before switching to acting. He joined Shintoho in 1951 and appeared in such movies as YOUTHFUL JAZZ DAUGHTER (Seishun Jazu Musume, 1953) and FEARFUL INVASION OF THE FLYING SAUCERS (Sora to Guenban Kyonu Shingeki, 1956). After moving to Toho Studios, Takashima was paired with Yu Fujiki (GODZILLA VS THE THING) for a handful of musicals and salaryman comedies. In 1962, director Ishiro Honda chose the duo for leading

    Page 51 of 52

    SciFi Japan
    4WeHelp Movers Cincinnati
    Copyright © 2025 | SCIFI JAPAN
    © 2025 Your Company. All Rights Reserved. Designed By JoomShaper