Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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GvD has the Heisei Series' typically great optical animation and some well-composed and striking shots, but I think it also has the worst overall SFX *execution* of its series (i.e., more such shots than any of its six predecessors).

Regarding Kawakita's love of composites, I think GvSG has the best of those shots from his tenure (Godzilla approaching Birth Island and Godzilla's various stops in Kyushu).
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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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JAGzilla wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 4:20 pm
Cryptid_Liker wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 3:41 pm Other than Return/85 and Biollante, it's all total poop.

Added in 31 seconds:
Other than Return/85 and Biollante, it's all total poop.
...King Ghidorah is only excluded because of M-11, isn't it?
And the Godzillasaurus, and Ghidorah’s flying scenes, and the greenscreen effects, off the top of my head.
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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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Spuro wrote: Sat Jun 12, 2021 8:28 pm And the Godzillasaurus,
Maybe the shots where he was stomping soldiers on the beach, sure. I remember the rest looking pretty reasonable, though...
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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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eabaker wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 11:46 am Kawakita's approach required more money, which was the resource Toho offered him. Higuchi's approach required more time, which was the resource Kadokawa gave him.
This is a great way of putting it. I remember reading in an interview in G-Fan* that Kawakita said he BEGGED Toho to quit forcing an annual release on the production team and at the very least give them a year for extra development between sequels. He was clearly burnt out by the end of the series. It's fairly easy to see when he was fresh with ideas for Biollante (and to a lesser degree King Ghidorah) how successful he was and how that creative energy diminishes as the series goes on. One might argue that other special effects directors have produced in the annual format for the genre, but everyone's creative process is different. Kawakita recognized his need for more time and was unable to do anything about it. His special effects work for Biollante easily competes with the Gamera trilogy to me and proves the talent was there, but he found Toho's schedule too restrictive as time went on.

I watched SpaceGodzilla again recently and there is some dramatic inconsistency. There is a lot that looks awful even for the time and then moments where the special effects still hold up amazingly well and it is another example to me of his burnout.

*I do not remember the exact issue so take this with a grain of salt but if I come across it I will cite it.

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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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Toho should’ve given Kawakita a break after he quit drinking in 1992 and instead focus on hiring Shinji Higuchi for a project or two.

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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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LegendZilla wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 2:48 pm Toho should’ve given Kawakita a break after he quit drinking in 1992 and instead focus on hiring Shinji Higuchi for a project or two.
And lose all that holiday toy money at the end of the year? Surely you jest.

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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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Legion1979 wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 3:07 pm
LegendZilla wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 2:48 pm Toho should’ve given Kawakita a break after he quit drinking in 1992 and instead focus on hiring Shinji Higuchi for a project or two.
And lose all that holiday toy money at the end of the year? Surely you jest.
At least after he finished his work for the year.

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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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LegendZilla wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 6:20 pm Is it true that Kawakita had a drinking problem?
Book: Age of the Gods: A History of the Japanese Fantasy Film
Author: Guy Mariner Tucker
Publisher: Daikaiju Publishing
Publication Date: 1997
Page 243:
Following the failure of Godzilla vs. Biollante, Koichi Kawakita became extremely depressed. Gunhed, too, had failed to set the world on fire, and this one-two punch led Kawakita to self-pity and bar-hopping. "He drank like he wanted to die," confided one of his staff members. But he rallied himself for Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, and was clearly pleased by the highly enthusiastic response to it at the Tokyo International Film Festival in September, 1991.
And this is from Patrick Galvan's interview with author Stuart Galbraith IV in March 2018, published online here on Toho Kingdom:
Galbraith: Ironically, the first Godzilla movie I ever saw in a theater in Japan was Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994), which was truly awful on just about every level. Steve Ryfle and I saw it together, with maybe three other people in the theater. Steve sat a row or two behind me, and about halfway through the picture, I turned around and said to him, "For this we came to Japan?"

Fortunately, during that same trip, we were also invited (again, on separate nights), to cast and crew screenings of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995). This was in December 1994, three months before it even opened in Japan, so we had no idea what we were in for. I certainly assumed it was going to be something a little bit better than Gamera: Super Monster (1980). Of course, it was a revelation; more so considering it was made for a fraction of the cost of Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. After the screening, I was taken to a bar that was a popular hangout for special effects guys, and who should wander in but Koichi Kawakita, the special effects director of SpaceGodzilla. He was totally blotto, could barely stand, and obviously had come from the same screening and realized his world had changed overnight.

-

PuzzledAmphibian wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 5:01 am I remember reading in an interview in G-Fan* that Kawakita said he BEGGED Toho to quit forcing an annual release on the production team and at the very least give them a year for extra development between sequels. He was clearly burnt out by the end of the series.

*I do not remember the exact issue so take this with a grain of salt but if I come across it I will cite it.
I don't know about G-Fan magazine but this is what Kawakita said to David Milner in his December 1995 interview, translated by Yoshihiko Shibata:
David Milner: Was the special effects production budget for Godzilla vs. Destroyer any larger or smaller than the special effects production budgets for the other recent Godzilla films?

Koichi Kawakita: It was smaller.
DM: How much time did you spend in post-production?

KK: One and a half months. We were very rushed.
DM: Do you ever feel constrained by the production budgets with which you work?

KK: I always feel constrained by the budget and by time. We always are very rushed during both production and post-production.

It's the nature of movie directors. We always want more time and more money.

Most people who work in the American film industry are very surprised when they find out what the Japanese film industry is like. (Production budgets for Japanese movies generally are about one-tenth as large as those for American movies.)

By the way, we had less time to shoot the special effects footage for Godzilla vs. Destroyer than we did to shoot the special effects footage for any of the other Godzilla films produced since Godzilla vs. Biollante.
DM: Do you think that Toho's decision to stop making Godzilla films was a good one?

KK: It was a good decision.

DM: Why do you feel that way?

KK: We produced six Godzilla movies in seven years. It was wonderful to provide entertainment that people seemed to enjoy very much, but if we had continued producing the same kind of film over and over again, people eventually would have lost interest.

I think it's good that we stopped while people were still interested. That way, there will be enthusiasm for the series when it is resumed.

Godzilla will be created within a completely different culture, and then, after TriStar's Godzilla is released, an entirely new Godzilla will be created by Toho.
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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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^How much of a factor was Biollante being a non-familiar monster in the failure of her film?

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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

LegendZilla wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 11:47 pm ^How much of a factor was Biollante being a non-familiar monster in the failure of her film?
I've read that Toho failed to market it properly, but I suppose a familiar kaiju might have done some of their marketing legwork for them.
That's why I always feel so bad when our fan community makes fun of Kawakita 's drinking problem. Godzilla vs Biollante has such engaging SPFX. You can tell Kawakita really swung for the fences making it. Imagine pouring your heart and soul into something only for your bosses to screw you over by not doing their end of the work. It'd probably drive me to drink too if that failure was put on my shoulders.
And as much as I love to criticize the Heisei series (Destroyah is probably my least favorite Godzilla movie) there's always at least one nugget of real tokusatsu magic in each of Kawakita's Godzilla pictures.
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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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^Regardless of how you feel about GvD, would you object to Destoroyah, or any other Kaiju from the era being brought back one day?

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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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I love Kawakita. Honestly one of my heroes. I will vehemently defend him until the day I die. I need to get some of those books to read more about his life.

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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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LegendZilla wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 12:05 pm ^Regardless of how you feel about GvD, would you object to Destoroyah, or any other Kaiju from the era being brought back one day?
Why do you randomly ask people questions like this?

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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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Legion1979 wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 1:02 pm
LegendZilla wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 12:05 pm ^Regardless of how you feel about GvD, would you object to Destoroyah, or any other Kaiju from the era being brought back one day?
Why do you randomly ask people questions like this?
Let the man be lol :lol:

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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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Legion1979 wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 1:02 pm
LegendZilla wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 12:05 pm ^Regardless of how you feel about GvD, would you object to Destoroyah, or any other Kaiju from the era being brought back one day?
Why do you randomly ask people questions like this?
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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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StreamOfKaijuness wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 8:09 pm *lots of great quotes*
Thanks for the thorough research there! Reading behind the scenes stuff is what keeps me going at this point lol. I mean in this case it is pretty horribly sad but still interesting. I am going to dig up whichever G-fan I'm referencing to see if I can find that quote of him directly asking Toho for more time or if I made that up in my head lol. But I think the interview you quote there pretty much sums up his burnout anyway with the way he says he was glad they stopped after making "six Godzilla movies in seven years"
Major sssspielberg! wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 5:15 am That's why I always feel so bad when our fan community makes fun of Kawakita 's drinking problem.
Yeah I think it's fine to talk about in context of production issues and the toll it had on him like we are, or even how it may have been problematic for him and those around him. But people actually making fun of him is totally screwed up.
Major sssspielberg! wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 5:15 am there's always at least one nugget of real tokusatsu magic in each of Kawakita's Godzilla pictures.
Agreed!
LegendZilla wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 12:05 pm ^Regardless of how you feel about GvD, would you object to Destoroyah, or any other Kaiju from the era being brought back one day?
I guess a filmmaker could surprise me and do a great job with it but... that's a no for me. I wouldn't want to see the equivalent of the cheapening of the oxygen destroyer for Godzilla KOTM (2019) done to Destoroyah. Someone might hypothetically knock it out of the park, but I'd rather they left that one alone.
shadowgigan wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 12:34 pm I love Kawakita. Honestly one of my heroes. I will vehemently defend him until the day I die. I need to get some of those books to read more about his life.
Same here. I can recognize his faults, but I do think his work on Biollante was absolutely stellar. That video on the first page of the thread is a critique of his work so of course it is going to pick out the worst examples to prove its point. And it does have good points to make, but there is some great special effects sprinkled throughout the Heisei series even if he did grow more inconsistent. The Heisei series was such a big deal to me as a kid I will never be able to look at it without some bias anyway. I know there are several good books focusing on him and his work in Japanese, are there any in English?

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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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PuzzledAmphibian wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:34 pm Thanks for the thorough research there! Reading behind the scenes stuff is what keeps me going at this point lol. I mean in this case it is pretty horribly sad but still interesting. I am going to dig up whichever G-fan I'm referencing to see if I can find that quote of him directly asking Toho for more time or if I made that up in my head lol. But I think the interview you quote there pretty much sums up his burnout anyway with the way he says he was glad they stopped after making "six Godzilla movies in seven years"
No problem. G-Fan #59 has a full interview with Koichi Kawakita, and #60 has a summary of a Q&A with Kawakita and director Masaaki Tezuka at an August 2002 convention in Japan, although he doesn’t mention asking Toho for more time in either of those. I'm sure there are more quotes from Kawakita in other issues.

PuzzledAmphibian wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:34 pm I know there are several good books focusing on him and his work in Japanese, are there any in English?
Steve Ryfle’s 1998 book Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G is essential reading for any English-speaking Godzilla fan. While it’s not Kawakita-centric, every Godzilla movie up through TriStar’s adaptation gets its own dedicated chapter and the then-recent Heisei films are profiled in detail. It's still available from third-party sellers on eBay and Amazon.

But if you want some real insight into Kawakita’s influences and how he approached his work, check out his audio commentary for The Mysterians. He recorded it with Shinji Higuchi in 2001 for Toho’s Japanese DVD release and then Media Blasters included it on their 2005 American DVD, fully subtitled in English. If you don’t already own The Mysterians, that DVD is also still available on eBay and Amazon.

Kawakita was 15 when The Mysterians opened while Higuchi wouldn't be born for another eight years. Although neither of them worked on the film, their commentary is jovial and informative, moderated by a man only identified briefly as Mr. Ishii. Kawakita notes midway through that everyone in Japan who loves special effects has seen The Mysterians and been inspired by it and that mutual enthusiasm is palpable in their commentary. The entire discussion is in Japanese and subtitled in English but it is just as much of a listening experience as any English-language commentary. All three men have distinct, easily identifiable voices and with the movie being so visually driven, it's the perfect Toho classic to watch with them talking about it in the background and discussing the SFX profession.

Ishii springboards many of the discussion topics and contributes a lot of background information throughout. He talks a lot to get Kawakita and Higuchi on a roll and knows when to let them carry it. Much of the commentary consists of them watching the film and identifying the SFX techniques used in a given scene and even expressing their uncertainty about how some shots were achieved. They point out things like product placement and common practices in Toho's films of that era.

As the commentary was recorded 15 years before Higuchi directed the special effects for Shin Godzilla, it's interesting to hear him ruminate on CGI with Kawakita. At one point Higuchi actually says "I don't feel comfortable if I don't use a real monster suit in my films." He talks about how CGI is necessary to reduce on-set crew labor costs and how he envies the old days when it was more important for people to spend more time on the set. Kawakita at first seems quite bitter about CGI and what he describes as people mistaking digital imagery as all that's necessary to make a good movie. However, he later admits to utilizing CGI in his more recent work rather than spending his budgets on special props for brief close-up shots. He says that he doesn't want people to take that to mean that he's not doing his best.
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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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Eiji Tsuburaya's mental fortitude must've been stronger than Kawakita's by a buttload. Especially considering they both worked under the same circumstances.

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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

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LegendZilla wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 5:26 pm Eiji Tsuburaya's mental fortitude must've been stronger than Kawakita's by a buttload. Especially considering they both worked under the same circumstances.
They didn't really work under the same circumstances, though. Kawakita was expected to deliver significantly more kaiju screentime/more spfx shots than Tsuburaya, usually on more elborate miniature sets, which required more difficult detailing since they were being built at a signficantly smaller scale. There were also far fewer optical effects in Tsubraya's work than in Kawakita's. And, for most of his time making these movies, Tsuburaya was also working with a full-time Toho-employed support staff and production heads who were happy to give his work the full financial support required.
Last edited by eabaker on Fri Jun 24, 2022 6:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Criticism of the Heisei era SFX

Post by LegendZilla »

^I'm guessing in the 90's, Toho was in a "We need to sell merchandise!"-type of mentality more so than in the Showa era?

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