Eiji Tsuburaya
- Known for
- Visual Effects
- Born
- July 7, 1901
- Died
- January 25, 1970 (aged 68)
- Birthplace
- 日本,京都府
Biography
Eiji Tsuburaya ranks alongside Willis H. O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen as one of the great visionary SFX masters of twentieth-century fantasy cinema. Best remembered as the amazing special effects genius behind the "Godzilla" series of monster films commencing in 1954, he also contributed effects to a host of other Japanese monster / fantasy / science fiction / drama / propaganda films for over four decades. Eiji Tsuburaya had a keen interest in the cinema from a young age, and legend has it that he acquired a second-hand movie projector when he was only ten years old, and pulled it apart and put it back together with relative ease. He began work as a cinematographer in Kyoto around 1919 and then enhanced his skills to include camera work throughout the 1920s, at which time his eye for detail was in high demand from many studios. Around 1938, he became head of Special Visual Techniques at Toho Studios, and during the Second World War, he was involved in the production of several Japanese propaganda films. He went freelance after the war, and in 1954 he collaborated with director Ishirô Honda on the monster epic Gojira (1954) (aka "Godzilla"). The film was an enormous hit in Japan, and additional scenes were filmed with US actor Raymond Burr and then inserted strategically to give the movie western appeal. "Godzilla, King Of The Monsters" was then released in the USA to strong box office takings, and Godzilla has since appeared in over two dozen films spanning over fifty years, becoming a key cult icon of Japanese culture!! The incredibly talented Tsuburaya went on to be the SFX director behind dozens of Japanese monster & science fiction classics including Sora no daikiju Radon (1956) (aka "Rodan"), Bijo to ekitai ningen (1958) (aka "The H-Man"), Densô ningen (1960) (aka "The Telegian"), Mosura (1961) (aka "Mothra"), Kingu Kongu tai Gojira (1962) (aka "King Kong versus Godzilla"), Varan the Unbelievable (1962), Matango (1963), Furankenshutain tai chitei kaiju Baragon (1965) (aka "Frankenstein Conquers the World"), and Kaiju soshingeki (1968) (aka "Destroy All Monsters" ). Tsuburaya had also established his own production company in 1963 (Tsuburaya Productions), creators of the highly popular "Ultraman" character, and subsequent TV shows and films. On January 25, 1970, while vacationing in Shizuoka Prefecture, Tsuburaya suffered a sudden, fatal heart attack. His incredible film & SFX production company is still active today under the guidance of his grandson, Kazuo Tsuburaya.
Known For
Filmography
Godzilla
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Space Amoeba
Movie · Special Effects Supervisor
Crazy Big Explosion
Movie · Visual Effects
All Monsters Attack
Movie · Special Effects Supervisor
Destroy All Monsters
Movie · Special Effects Supervisor
King Kong Escapes
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
Son of Godzilla
Movie · Special Effects Supervisor
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
Movie · Special Effects Supervisor
The War of the Gargantuas
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
Adventure in Kigan Castle
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Frankenstein Conquers the World
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Invasion of Astro-Monster
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
None but the Brave
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Mothra vs. Godzilla
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
Dogora
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
Whirlwind
Movie · Visual Effects Director
King Kong vs. Godzilla
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
Matango
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
Siege of Fort Bismarck
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Attack Squadron
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Samurai Pirate
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Varan the Unbelievable
Movie · Visual Effects
Gorath
Movie · Visual Effects Director
King Kong vs. Godzilla
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Daredevil in the Castle
Movie · Special Effects Supervisor
Mothra
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
The Last War
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
The Human Vapor
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
The Secret of the Telegian
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
The Storm of the Pacific
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
Battle in Outer Space
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Gigantis, the Fire Monster
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
Submarine I-57 Will Not Surrender
Movie · Special Effects Supervisor
The Adventures of Sun Wu Kung
Movie · Visual Effects Director
The Tale of the White Serpent
Movie · Visual Effects
The Hidden Fortress
Movie · Visual Effects
Varan
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Song for a Bride
Movie · Visual Effects
The H-Man
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Half Human: The Story of the Abominable Snowman
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
Godzilla, the Monster of the Pacific Ocean
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
Throne of Blood
Movie · Visual Effects
The Paradise Island Story
Movie · Visual Effects
The Mysterians
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
Tokyo 1960
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
Rodan! The Flying Monster
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Rodan
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Movie · Visual Effects Director
The Legend of the White Serpent
Movie · Visual Effects, Visual Effects Director
Marital Relations
Movie · Visual Effects
Godzilla Raids Again
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Beast Man Snow Man
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto
Movie · Visual Effects
Godzilla
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Invisible Man
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Farewell Rabaul
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Brilliant! The First Detective: Zenigata Heiji in His Youth
Movie · Visual Effects
The Eagle of the Pacific
Movie · Visual Effects Director
The Lady of Musashino
Movie · Visual Effects
The Invisible Man Appears
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Lady From Hell
Movie · Visual Effects Director
White-haired Demon
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Hanakurabe tanuki-den
Movie · Visual Effects Director
A Thousand and One Nights with Toho
Movie · Special Effects Supervisor
Colonel Kato's Falcon Squadron
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Bouquet of the South Seas
Movie · VFX Director of Photography
The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Wings of Victory
Movie · Visual Effects Director
Navy Bomb Squadron
Movie · Visual Effects
The Burning Sky
Movie · Visual Effects Director