Eiji Tsuburaya
Visual Effects
Born 1901-07-07
Died 1970-01-25
日本,京都府
127 credits
Read 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.
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Filmography
— top 60 of 127
Acting
54 credits
Ultraman
Ultraseven
Ultra Q
Godzilla
Ultraman Teo
The Hidden Fortress
Throne of Blood
King Kong vs. Godzilla
King Kong vs. Godzilla
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Operation: Mystery
Invasion of Astro-Monster
Godzilla Raids Again
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
Destroy All Monsters
Matango
Frankenstein Conquers the World
The Sword of Doom
A Page of Madness
Son of Godzilla
The War of the Gargantuas
The Man Who Came to Port
All Monsters Attack
Mothra vs. Godzilla
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto
Blood on the Sea
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Rodan
The Mysterians
Godzilla
King Kong Escapes
The Tale of the White Serpent
The Human Vapor
Gorath
Mothra
Space Amoeba
Chûshingura
The H-Man
Dogora
Atragon
The Three Treasures
Gigantis, the Fire Monster
The Legend of the White Serpent
The Storm of the Pacific
The Last War
Latitude Zero
Half Human: The Story of the Abominable Snowman
Battle in Outer Space
Searing Wind
Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature
Anatahan
Bloodthirsty Hawk
Beast Man Snow Man
The Paradise Island Story
Writing
8 credits
Shin Ultraman
Ultraman R/B
Godzilla
Neo Ultra Q
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Mighty Jack
Godzilla
Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature
Producing
6 credits
Other credits
1 credit
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