Monster Island News: Yokohama

by Armand Vaquer

Above, Eiji Tsuburaya during the filming of "King Kong vs. Godzilla." Photo: Toho Co., Ltd.

The production company that Japanese special effects pioneer Eiji Tsuburaya founded is celebrating a milestone.

An exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of Tsuburaya Productions is opening Thursday in Yokohama.

According to the Asahi Shimbun:

An exhibition devoted to Ultra superheroes and live-action “tokusatsu” special effects will be held in Yokohama to mark the 50th anniversary of Tsuburaya Productions Co.

The event, from Dec. 12 to Feb. 16 at the Broadcast Library, will look at the history of the nation’s leading special effects studio, best known for the live-action “Ultraman” gigantic superhero shows and movies.

Visitors will be greeted at the entrance by a statue of Ultraman Mebius and photographs of about 30 Ultra heroes and 50 “kaiju” monsters from the franchise.

To read the full article, go here.

by Armand Vaquer

An example on how quickly time marches on is by noting that 2012 marks 20 years since Toho's Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) was produced and released. It was released in Japan on December 12, 1992. Here's what Wikipedia says about it:

Godzilla vs. Mothra (ゴジラ対モスラ, Gojira tai Mosura) is a 1992 Japanese Science Fiction Kaiju film produced by Toho. Directed by Takao Okawara with special effects by Koichi Kawakita, the film starred Tetsuya Bessho, Satomi Kobayashi and Akiji Kobayashi. The 19th installment in the Godzilla series of films, the film remains the highest grossing film of the entire Godzilla series (unadjusted for inflation). [I'd hazard a guess that King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) is still the boxoffice champ if adjusted for inflation. - A.] After the success of the previous year's Godzilla vs King Ghidorah, Toho decided to bring back their second most famous creation Mothra into the new series. Composer Akira Ifukube's score won a Japanese Academy Award. The film was the second highest grossing film in Japan in 1993, second only to the Hollywood film Jurassic Park.

The film was released straight to video in the United States in 1998 by Tristar as Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth.

Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The movie also introduced a new kaiju: Battra. The big battle in the movie took place on the oceanfront of Yokohama, Japan. The structures demolished include the Cosmo Clock Ferris Wheel at the Yokohama Cosmo World amusement park and the crescent-shaped InterContinental Yokohama Grand Hotel (photo above). These are covered on pages 19-20 of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan (which will also tell you how to get there).

It is somewhat incredible that this year will mark 20 years since the movie was made and released. Time does fly by!