Person
David Kalat
- Commentary
- Appearances
- 1
- Quotes
- 3
- Mentioned in
- 0
- Films
- 0
In commentary
In their words
- “The Japanese press noted that as the first human being killed by the H-bomb, he was Japanese, just like the only humans killed by A-bombs. Slightly over a month after the radio operator finally died, a movie opened in Japanese theaters that begins like this. A fishing boat at sea is afflicted by a mysterious and unexpected flash of light. The ship goes down. Its radio operator is the first to die. For Japanese audiences sitting in the dark that November 1st, watching this unfold on the screen, the message was clear. This isn't science fiction. It isn't even fiction. This is recent events recapitulated as a modern fairy tale, a contemporary folk myth for the nuclear age.” [3:21] Godzilla (1954)
- “It entails painting part of the scene onto a plane of optically clear glass and filming through it to create an in-camera superimposition, as opposed to an optical effect or process shot in which different aspects are combined after the fact in the lab. Tsuburaya uses both techniques throughout Godzilla, and you have to bear in mind that neither technique had been used very much at all at that point previously. Tsuburaya's team was starting from scratch. There was no body of experience to draw on. In those days, a typical Japanese film would involve about 50 days of active principal photography. On Godzilla, the special effects alone took 71 days.” [18:29] Godzilla (1954)
- “Fukabe also created the sound of Godzilla's roar among many sound effects that he tackled as extensions of the musical score. Concerned that the roar should be organic and natural without sounding like any living animal, he created the sound by taking a contrabass, one of the lowest pitched musical instruments, loosening its strings to drop the pitch even more, rubbing the strings with a leather glove to get the basic sound, and applying an echo to that recording played back at a slower speed.” [1:19:49] Godzilla (1954)