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Varan
is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that first appeared in Ishirō Honda's 1958 film '' Varan the Unbelievable'', produced and distributed by Toho. The creature is depicted as a giant, dinosaurian, prehistoric reptile capable of gliding flight. It later appeared in the 1968 film '' Destroy All Monsters'', the ninth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise. The original concept that would later become Varan was developed by Ken Kuronuma, with the design conceived by special effects artist Eiji Tsuburaya, and Keizō Murase, who envisioned the ''kaiju'' as being a hybrid of Godzilla and a ''kappa'' of Japanese folklore. Suit actor Haruo Nakajima, having already portrayed Godzilla four years prior, was the first suit actor to portray the ''kaiju'' in the original 1958 film. Additionally, fellow suit actor Katsumi Tezuka performed some of Varan's water scenes. While relatively obscure compared to most of Toho's ''kaiju'' library due to only having a major role in a single film, Var ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varan The Unbelievable
is a 1958 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, it stars Kōzō Nomura, Ayumi Sonoda, and Koreya Senda, with Haruo Nakajima as Varan. In the film, a reporter's investigation into two mysterious deaths in Japan's mountains leads to the discovery of a giant lake monster, wrecking its way towards civilization. In 1957, Toho was approached by American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres (AB-PT) to co-produce a new ''kaiju'' film for television. It was intended to be a three-part film, each 30 minutes with fade-in/outs for commercial breaks. However, AB-PT collapsed during production and Toho altered the film's status from a television film to a theatrical feature. As a result, the crew faced difficulties and filming lasted 28 days. The film was theatrically released in Japan on October 14, 1958. A heavily localized version, with new footage starring Myron Healey in the lead, was releas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reptile
Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocephalia. About 12,000 living species of reptiles are listed in the Reptile Database. The study of the traditional reptile orders, customarily in combination with the study of modern amphibians, is called herpetology. Reptiles have been subject to several conflicting Taxonomy, taxonomic definitions. In Linnaean taxonomy, reptiles are gathered together under the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), which corresponds to common usage. Modern Cladistics, cladistic taxonomy regards that group as Paraphyly, paraphyletic, since Genetics, genetic and Paleontology, paleontological evidence has determined that birds (class Aves), as members of Dinosauria, are more closely related to living crocodilians than to other reptiles, and are thus nested among re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Destroy All Monsters
is a 1968 Japanese epic ''kaiju'' film directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects directed by Sadamasa Arikawa and supervised by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film, which was produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd, is the ninth film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, and features eleven monster characters, including Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah, Anguirus, and Minilla. The film stars Akira Kubo, Jun Tazaki, Yukiko Kobayashi and Yoshio Tsuchiya. In the film, humans have achieved world peace by the year 1999, and various giant monsters are confined to an area known as Monsterland. The monsters are freed from the area and are mind-controlled by aliens known as Kilaaks, who send them to attack major cities. When the monsters are freed from the Kilaaks' influence, the aliens send Ghidorah to challenge the other monsters. ''Destroy All Monsters'' was released theatrically in Japan on August 1, 1968. The film was released by American International Pictures with an Englis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keizō Murase
was a Japanese suitmaker, stuntman, sculptor, modeler, and film director. He is particularly well known for his work in giant monster films, including '' Mothra'' (1961), ''King Kong vs. Godzilla'' (1962), and '' The Mighty Peking Man'' (1977). Life and career Murase was born in Ikeda, Tokachi, Hokkaido, Japan on October 5, 1935. In 1958, Toho hired Murase to sculpt the Varan suit for ''Varan the Unbelievable.'' An amateur photographer, Murase extensively documented his work which was published in his 2015 autobiography, ''Monster Maker: Keizo Murase''. After working for Daiei Film on ''Gamera'', he, Masao Yagi, and Akira Suzuki founded the modelling company, Ex Productions, he later left in 1972 to form his own company, Twenty. Murase died from cirrhosis of the liver on October 14, 2024, at the age of 89. Filmography Film * '' The H-Man'' (1958) * ''Varan'' (1958) – Varan sculptor / Miniature construction * '' Mothra'' (1961) – Mothra imago sculptor * ''King Kong ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ishirō Honda
was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 46 feature films in a career spanning five decades. He is acknowledged as the most internationally successful Japanese filmmaker prior to Hayao Miyazaki and one of the founders of modern disaster film, with his films having a significant influence on the film industry. Despite directing many Drama (film and television), drama, War film, war, Documentary film, documentary, and Comedy film, comedy films, Honda is best remembered for directing and co-creating the ''kaiju'' genre with special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya. Honda entered the Japanese film industry in 1934, working as the third assistant director on Sotoji Kimura's ''The Elderly Commoner's Life Study''. After 15 years of working on numerous films as an assistant director, he made his directorial debut with the short documentary film ''Ise-Shima'' (1949). Honda's first feature film, ''Aoi Shinju, The Blue Pearl'' (1952), was a critical success in Japan at the time and would lead ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Katsumi Tezuka
was a Japanese actor. He is best known for playing monsters in several Toho science fiction and horror films directed by Ishirō Honda. Life and career Tezuka was born in Tokyo, Japan on August 31, 1912. His first credited role in a motion picture was in the 1940 film ''Haruyo Izuko''. He played a number of monster roles as an assistant to Haruo Nakajima was a Japanese actor and stuntman. A pioneer of suit acting, he is best known for playing Godzilla in 12 consecutive films, starting from the original ''Godzilla'' (1954) until '' Godzilla vs. Gigan'' (1972). Nakajima also played various other .... Filmography Film References Sources * * External links * * 1912 births Year of death missing Japanese male film actors {{Japan-film-actor-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eiji Tsuburaya
was a Japanese special effects director, filmmaker, and cinematographer. A co-creator of the ''Godzilla (franchise), Godzilla'' and ''Ultraman'' franchises, he is considered one of the most important and influential figures in the history of cinema. Tsuburaya is known as the having pioneered Japan's special effects industry and introduced several technological developments in film productions. In a career spanning five decades, Tsuburaya worked on approximately Eiji Tsuburaya filmography, 250 films—including globally renowned features directed by Ishirō Honda, Hiroshi Inagaki, and Akira Kurosawa—and earned six Japan Technical Awards. Following a brief stint as an inventor, Tsuburaya was employed by Japanese cinema pioneer Yoshirō Edamasa in 1919 and began his career working as an assistant cinematographer on Edamasa's ''A Tune of Pity''. Thereafter, he worked as an assistant cinematographer on several films, including Teinosuke Kinugasa's ''A Page of Madness'' (1926). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haruo Nakajima
was a Japanese actor and stuntman. A pioneer of suit acting, he is best known for playing Godzilla in 12 consecutive films, starting from the original ''Godzilla'' (1954) until '' Godzilla vs. Gigan'' (1972). Nakajima also played various other ''kaiju'' in Toho's ''tokusatsu'' films, including: '' Rodan'' (1956), '' Mothra'' (1961) and '' The War of the Gargantuas'' (1966) and also appeared in a minor roles in Akira Kurosawa's '' Seven Samurai'' (1954), '' Yojimbo'', and '' Stray Dog'' (his film debut). Career Nakajima was born in the city of Sakata in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, on January 1, 1929. His first credited role in a motion picture was in the 1952 film '' Sword for Hire''. He began his career as a stunt actor in samurai films and he acted in a small role in the 1954 film '' Seven Samurai'', portraying a bandit slain by master swordsman Kyūzo ( Seiji Miyaguchi). He was considered by many to be the best suit actor in the long history of the Godzilla franchise. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Godzilla (franchise)
is a Japanese Monster movie, monster, or ''kaiju'', franchise centering on the Godzilla, titular character, a prehistoric reptilian monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation. The films series are recognized by the ''Guinness World Records'' as the "longest continuously running film series", having been in ongoing production since 1954, with several hiatuses of varying lengths. There are 38 ''Godzilla'' films: 33 Japanese films produced and distributed by Toho, Toho Co., Ltd., and five American films; one by TriStar Pictures and four films (part of the Monsterverse franchise) by Legendary Entertainment, Legendary Pictures. The original film, ''Godzilla (1954 film), Godzilla'', was directed by and co-written by Ishirō Honda and released by Toho in 1954. It became an influential classic of the genre. It featured political and social undertones relevant to Japan at the time. The 1954 film and its special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya are largely credited for establishin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Kuronuma
was the pen-name of novelist, science fiction, and mystery writer in Shōwa period Japan. His real name was . His father, Sōda Kiichirō (左右田喜一郎), was an economist and a banker. Kuronuma was the writer of the ''Kaiju'' classic '' Giant Monster of the Sky: Rodan'' (known in Japan as ), a 1956 ''tokusatsu'' film produced by Tōhō Studios. The film followed in the footsteps of Godzilla and was also popular in the United States. He followed on the success of ''Rodan'' with ''Varan the Unbelievable'' in 1958. It proved to be one of the least popular of the Tōhō movies of all time, and nearly destroyed his career. Kuronuma turned his attention to television drama, writing scripts for one of Japan's first science fiction series, , which ran for 26 episodes: from 3 January 1960 to 28 June 1960. In addition to writing for the series, he also helped to compose the music. See also * List of Japanese authors This is an alphabetical list of writers who are Japanese, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinichi Sekizawa
was a Japanese screenwriter noted for his immense contributions to several films by Ishirō Honda, including several classic Godzilla films. He also contributed material to the original ''Ultraman'' series and several Tōei Dōga films such as '' Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon'' and '' Jack and the Witch''. His first screenplay was for the independently produced film (though distributed by Shintoho Studios) ''Fearful Attack of the Flying Saucers'', which was also his sole directing credit. His scripts for kaiju films have been noted for their inventiveness and for having a more lightweight, "fun" tone than those written by Takeshi Kimura (aka Kaoru Mabuchi), another leading writer of kaiju films, whose scripts had a darker, more serious sensibility. Before embarking on his screenwriting career, he briefly attended an animation school with famed manga artist and animator Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu'', – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaiju
is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' film genre by creating the ''Godzilla (franchise), Godzilla'' franchise and its spin-offs. The term can also refer to the monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other creatures. ''Godzilla (1954 film), Godzilla'' (1954) is often regarded as the first ''kaiju'' movie. When developing it, Honda and Tsuburaya drew inspiration from the character of King Kong, both in its influential King Kong (1933 film), 1933 film and in the conception of a giant monster, establishing it as a pivotal precursor in the evolution of the genre.King Kong’s influence on the giant monster genre: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * During their formative years, ''kaiju'' movies were generall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
