65 Years of Godzilla: Tribute to Tanaka · 4:58am Nov 4th, 2019
It's not often that fictional characters manage such a consistent legacy over the length Godzilla has. In fact aside from Mickey Mouse, Pikachu, and perhaps Optimus Prime; there probably haven't been many or any non-human characters with as much lasting global recognition as the Big G. After all he is being recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest running film franchise in history. And many, many people are responsible for bringing Godzilla to life and continuing the various incarnations. From Eiji Tsuburaya for the effects, Ishirō Honda and his successors giving direction behind the camera, Haruo Nakajima to Katsumi Tezuka to TJ Storm being the men behind the monster's motion, the actors reacting to the monster from Akira Takarada to Raymond Burr to Mamoru Miyano and Chris Niosi, to Shigeru Kayama writing the treatment that started it all, and the often unsung role Toho's foreign partners like Henry G. Saperstein getting the product out there. However, if there is one person I feel is most responsible for turning a successful movie into a lasting franchise, it's Tomoyuki Tanaka.
Born in 1910, Tomoyuki was in his 40s when he'd help produce what became his most iconic creation and arguably had already accomplished plenty with a successful marriage and over a dozen films under his belt by 1954, most of which were period pieces, dramas, and war films. Recently an attempted WW2 occupation film, Eikō no Kage ni (In the Shadow of Glory), a Japanese-Indonesian co-production had fallen through by a combination of different factors despite Tanaka flying aboard to try and smooth things out and salvage it. The recent tragedy of the Lucky Dragon fishing crew being irradiated by nuclear test fallout was fresh in many peoples' minds and while flying over the ocean, Tanaka happened to look out and get jogged with the idea of some manifestation of the fallout and bomb rising up from the same waters the bomb was dropped on.
He drew from the recent successful 1952 re-release of King Kong (1933) and the recently released The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) for inspiration and penned a rough outline called The Giant Monster from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea to pitch to his mentor and Toho veteran executive producer, Iwao Mori. Mori was skeptical at first, worrying about costs largely due to the Stop-Motion effects common to monster films at the time, but Tanaka's old friend and special effects technician Eiji Tsuburaya made a successful outline of potential costs and showed the movie could be completed on-time and within a reasonable budget. Mori approved the project and Tanaka's choice of Ishirō Honda for director. The project's working title was shortened to Project G for "Giant" as the monster actually had no name or design yet. Tanaka then scouted writer Takeo Murata to work with Honda for the script based off his outline.
Early designs called for a giant humanoid or apish monster with a head resembling a mushroom cloud, then the sea beast angle returned with attempts at an octopus-like beast. Tanaka however was a big fan of Willis O'brien and Ray Harryhausen's reptilian monsters and pushed for a dinosaurian beast. To fit conceptions of how dinosaurs stood and moved at the time, as well as make it less dangerous on suit-actor Haruo Nakajima's back, an upright stance was used with the final design combining elements of a Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Iguanodon with elements of Eastern Dragons for the first version of the final look.
Later on the design was revised to make it look uglier and less ornate, with the scales made ragged and burned to resemble keloid scars like those of some Atomic bomb survivors' scars.
The production wrapped in extremely short time for a film of that size due to it needing to be complete for the slot Toho had set for In the Shadow of Glory, but despite numerous problems the result, Gojira (1954) was a solid box office success that would go on to become an outright blockbuster with the American recut Godzilla King of the Monsters! (1956) that was returned to Japan for a re-release. In an after party a few weeks after Gojira stomped into theaters, Mori was very pleased with the final product and approached Tanaka with but one simple statement that basically boiled down to-
This time despite having extremely little time to make a story and get the right people, as many of his cohorts from the first film were busy at the time, Tanaka managed to scout out a mostly new roster in record breaking time and got Godzilla Raids Again done in a few months. While the film is by no means as good as the first and is often considered about average by fans and casual viewers alike (its way better than Gigantis...), the fact it was watchable to the degree it is with as much competency as it as before and behind the camera is a testament to some of Tanaka's best skill in my mind.
Tomoyuki Tanaka was very good at getting the ball rolling once he had a clean vision and was very good at finding the precise right people for the job even when under pressure. It was this reason among others he grew increasingly prominent in Toho, producing over 200 films in his 60 year career with them, including every single kaiju film made under their banner. In the 1970s he was promoted to President of Toho's Film Art Production wing and became an executive producer. But he never forgot his most notable creation. Even when numerous producers, directors, and artists told him "Godzilla" as a franchise was finished with the close of the Showa era films in 1975, he never stopped pushing and nudging for a new film.
Numerous artists and writers contributed to his call for pitches, like the late 1970s "Godzilla Revival Project, but in the early 1980s Tomoyuki opted to take matters into his own hands. The draft Resurrection of Godzilla would be revised several times and with Tanaka's increasing power at Toho with many younger artists and creators having grown up and into the company under his wing, he couldn't be halted anymore. The final product was Godzilla (1984), sometimes titled The Return of Godzilla.
This started the Heisei saga of films and Tanaka was off to the races, especially when the film's success and technical accomplishment validated Tanaka's ability as a producer and advisor in filmmaking. By the end of the 1980s, he was promoted to Chairman of Toho Eiga, the main film division. And if his kaiju films seemed prolific before, one needs to learn of his lost project efforts to really see just how far ahead Tanaka was planning and getting the right creators to bring it to life while he kept the production focused. Even the films not made still produced many many ideas that saw continued use well into the 2000s.
The last of the Heisei Godzilla films, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), was the last film Tanaka produced at his high position. Well into his 80s, Tomoyuki Tanaka retired but followed a request to remain at Toho in an advisory role to many new filmmakers. He continued his function as an executive producer on the studio's kaiju and science fiction films right up until his death. 1997's Rebirth of Mothra 2 was the sequel to 1996's Rebirth of Mothra, which was adapted from one of Tanaka's early film treatments for the unmade Mothra vs. Bagan from 1990. The second Mothra solo feature was the last film Tomoyuki Tanaka would produce, as he died during production at age 86. His wife, Chieko Nakakita, would survive him until 2005.
Tomoyuki Tanaka seemed to be just about the last person at Toho who'd lose faith in the icon they'd created or the genre spun out from him. While Godzilla is not the mega-star he once was, his brand recognition in his home country and abroad arguably eclipses any other monster in film history. Series and franchises from Ultraman to Kamen Rider to Evangelion to Pokemon owe a lot to or would flat-out not exist if Godzilla wasn't as big figuratively and literally as he is. And it wasn't just the first film the made the franchise, but the continued addition and reinvention that Tomoyuki Tanaka was very often the driving force behind.
Tomoyuki Tanaka was a man who'd, for all his faults and to not undersell the efforts of others, never let the sleeping giant lay at rest forever, pushing for new films, new challenges, and new filmmakers to bring upon the hails to the King.
Shameless plug for some artists who've also celebrated 65 years with the King of the Monsters!
Nicely said!
I enjoyed reading this, and I definitely feel a new appreciation for Mr. Tanaka and his impact on Godzilla and the G-franchise. ^_^
I don't recognize the Godzilla in the A and that bothers me.
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Legendary Pictures (2014-) Godzilla, it's the angle that makes him hard to recognize.
To another 65 years of the Big G! Though Tanaka is no longer among us, his legacy still runs strong. Now if only Bagan could be Canon...
Thank you so much for this. It's not every day people take the time to acknowledge the behind-the-scenes aspect of the Godzilla franchise.
Long Live the King.
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I feel like he could potentially fit into the MonsterVerse. Think about it: in Super Godzilla, he's an ancient creature found in China that was enhanced with Godzilla and Ghidorah's DNA. Ancient origins of the Titans, plus an alleged Titan DNA trafficking business on the black market, plus Tywin Lannister now owning Kevin, equals...
Granted, probably no one on the MonsterVerse's production teams have even heard of him, but we can dream, can't we?
Here's to you Tanaka-Sensei. You may no longer be with us, but you shaped our lives in one way or another and that's the best thing you can do. Arigato.
Cheers Tanaka-sensei!
Here's to you Tanaka-Sensei and hope you had a happy birthday Big G
Still hard to believe he 65 years old either way happy birthday big guy
I bet Tanaka is looking down on all us G fans and smiling at all these generations of fans of his greatest creation.