Known for Visual Effects
Born
February 16, 1915 (age 111)
Birthplace
Nagano, Japan
Filmography
56 films


Godzilla
1977 · 1h 36m · JP
A re-edited Italian-language dubbed version of the original Godzilla, using as a basis the U.S. version, "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" (1956), plus WWII newsreel footage and clips from other science fiction films. The re-edited film was then colorized via a process called "Spectrorama 70" consisting of applying various colored gels to the black and white footage. The film's opening and ending also features new music composed by musicians Fabio Frizzi, Franco Bixio, and Vince Tempera (under the pseudonym Magnetic System).


Space Amoeba
1970 · 1h 24m · JP
When a space probe crash-lands on a far-flung Pacific atoll, the craft's alien stowaways decide to take over their new world one creature at a time. Soon, the parasitic life forms latch onto three indigenous critters -- a squid, a crab and a snapping turtle -- and transform them into colossal mutant monsters.


All Monsters Attack
1969 · 1h 10m · JP
Ichiro Miki is a child living in the industrial district of Kawasaki, where his parents' constant struggle to make ends meet often leaves the schoolboy alone. Constantly teased by a bully nicknamed Gabara, his only friends are toy consultant Shinpei and fellow classmate Sachiko. Ichiro turns to escapist dreams of Monster Island where he befriends the equally bullied Minilla.


Latitude Zero
1969 · 1h 45m · JP
A massive underwater volcano erupts and puts a group of investigative scientists in danger. They are rescued by an atomic super submarine named The Alpha under the command of Captain McKenzie. The group is quickly taken to a vast underwater city known as Latitude Zero, a fantastic, Atlantean type utopia, a world beneath the ocean with its own sun. It is soon discovered that Captain McKenzie is at war with the evil Dr. Malic, a cruel scientist who wishes to rule mankind all the while conducting genetic experiments on humans and animals. Malic sends his agents to kidnap Dr. Okada, a human scientist who has created a serum that can immunize exposure to radiation.


Son of Godzilla
1967 · 1h 26m · JP
Reporter Goro Maki stumbles upon scientists conducting weather experiments on Sollgel Island in the South Seas. He discovers the island is inhabited by giant mantis and a woman named Saeko who's been cast away since the death of her father. The pair soon find a helpless infant monster that Godzilla must adopt and learn to raise as one of his own.


King Kong Escapes
1967 · 1h 44m · JP
An adaptation of the Rankin/Bass cartoon, "The King Kong Show". King Kong is brought in by the evil Dr. Who to dig for Element X in a mine when the robot Mechani-Kong is unable to do the task. This leads to the machine and the real Kong engaging in a tremendous battle atop Tokyo Tower.


Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
1966 · 1h 27m · JP
Searching for his brother, Ryota stows away on a boat belonging to a criminal alongside two other teenagers. The group shipwrecks on Letchi island and discover the Infant Island natives have been enslaved by a terrorist organization controlling a crustacean monster. Finding a sleeping Godzilla, they decide to awaken him to defeat the terrorists and liberate the natives.


The War of the Gargantuas
1966 · 1h 28m · JP
Gaira, a humanoid sea beast spawned from the discarded cells of Frankenstein's monster, attacks the shores of Tokyo. While the Japanese military prepares to take action, Gaira's Gargantua brother, Sanda, descends from the mountains to defend his kin. A battle between good and evil ensues, leaving brothers divided and a city in ruins.


The Crazy Adventure
1965 · 1h 47m · JP
After being mistaken for counterfeiters by the police, an inventor and reporter try to track down the real counterfeiters.


Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
1964 · 1h 32m · JP
After a meteorite unleashes a three-headed beast upon Tokyo, Mothra tries to unite with Godzilla and Rodan to battle the extraterrestrial threat.


Dogora
1964 · 1h 23m · JP
A floating amorphous life-form descends from the atmosphere to consume carbon in the form of diamonds.


Mothra vs. Godzilla
1964 · 1h 29m · JP
Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found and claimed by greedy entrepreneurs. Mothra's fairies arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for its return. As their requests are denied, Godzilla arises near Nagoya and the people of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help.


Interpol Code 8
1963 · 1h 34m · JP
Agent Jiro Kitami attempts to stop a smuggling ring from shipping arms to Vietcong guerrillas.


Matango
1963 · 1h 29m · JP
Five vacationers and two crewmen become stranded on a tropical island near the equator. The island has little edible food for them to use as they try to live in a fungus covered hulk while repairing Kessei's yacht. Eventually they struggle over the food rations which were left behind by the former crew. Soon they discover something unfriendly there...


King Kong vs. Godzilla
1963 · 1h 36m · US
When an underhanded pharmaceutical company goes to a remote tropical island to steal King Kong for advertising purposes, they get more than they bargained for when the gigantic ape attacks an unsuspecting village and an enormous octopus.


Siege of Fort Bismarck
1963 · 1h 38m · JP


King Kong vs. Godzilla
1962 · 1h 37m · JP
The advertising director of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, frustrated with the low ratings of their sponsored TV program, seeks a more sensationalist approach. He orders his staff to Faro Island to capture King Kong for exploitation. As Godzilla re-emerges, a media frenzy generates with Pacific looking to capitalize off of the ultimate battle.


The Last War
1961 · 1h 50m · JP
A Japanese family is torn apart by the tensions of an avoidable nuclear world war between the superpowers.


Mothra
1961 · 1h 41m · JP
Shipwreck survivors found on the presumably uninhabited Infant Island leads to a scientific expedition that discovers a surviving native population along with the Shobijin, tiny twin fairy priestesses of the island's mythical deity called Mothra. After the fairies are kidnapped by an exploitative businessman named Clark Nelson, Mothra sets out to rescue them.


Battle in Outer Space
1959 · 1h 30m · JP
In 1965, the space station JSS-3 is destroyed by a fleet of UFOs, which then begin a global siege on Earth, using rays to manipulate gravity and control the minds of men. In response, a global council meeting is held to determine the source of the attacks and prepare a rocket ship armada for a counter-attack, a true battle in outer space. . . The film is a sequel of sorts to Toho's THE MYSTERIANS in the reprise of the Etsuko Shiraishi character of that film as its heroine. It was edited to 74 minutes for its American release.


Varan
1958 · 1h 27m · JP
When a rare species of butterfly is found in a mysterious valley in Japan, a pair of entomologists go to investigate and find more. They discover Varan, a giant monster, who decides to leave the valley and head straight for Tokyo.


The Mysterians
1957 · 1h 29m · JP
In Japan, scientifically advanced invaders from the war-destroyed planet Mysteroid cause an entire village to vanish, then send a giant robot out to storm the city by night, after which they request a small patch of land on Earth and the right to marry earthling women, claiming to be pacifists. Mankind must decide whether to capitulate or to resist.


Godzilla, the Monster of the Pacific Ocean
1957 · 1h 32m · FR
Obscure French version of the original Godzilla. The film combines elements of the original Toho version and the American King of the Monsters! in a unique assemblage exclusive to the Francophone market. Released by Les Films du Verseau.


The Legend of the White Serpent
1956 · 1h 43m · HK
Lavish Japanese-Chinese coproduction based on an ancient Chinese legend about a man who falls in love with a snake goddess in human form.


Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
1956 · 1h 21m · JP
During an assignment, foreign correspondent Steve Martin spends a layover in Tokyo and is caught amid the rampage of an unstoppable prehistoric monster the Japanese call 'Godzilla'. The only hope for both Japan and the world lies on a secret weapon, which may prove more destructive than the monster itself.


Invisible Man
1954 · 1h 10m · JP
When an invisible man is run down by a car it’s up to an eager young reporter and a strange clown to bring a dangerous gang to justice.


Godzilla
1954 · 1h 36m · JP
Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well.


The Eagle of the Pacific
1953 · 1h 59m · JP
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, a brilliant tactician, is a loyal subject of the emperor, despite his grave misgivings about leading Japan's navy into war with the United States. He opposes the attack on Pearl Harbor, but, overruled, he leads his forces to the best of his ability.