Music from The Works Of |
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| © 2002 Lawrence Tuczynski |
| Title | Music from The Works Of Eiji Tsuburaya Ultraman & Godzilla |
| CD Label | Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. |
| CD Number | COCX-31431~35 |
| Music by: | Various Artists |
| Recordings | Stereo/Mono |
| Number of discs | 5 |
| Year of release/manufacture | 07-20-2001 |
| OVERALL REVIEW |
May 24, 2002 Born July 7, 1901 in Sukagawa City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. When Eiji was three years old, his mother died and
his father left him. From then on he was raised by his grandmother. In 1919 Eiji found work as a camera man having been
invited by Yoshiro Edamasa to be his assistant. Following World War I, Eiji worked as an assistant cameraman at various
film studios in Kyoto and finally made his debut as chief camera operator in 1927. In 1935 Eiji was a successful camera
operator (in modern terms, Director of Photography) mostly handling documentary films. In 1937 he developed a new type
of screen process which was used in a German/Japanese co-production called The New Land. That same year he became the
Chief of Toho's newly created Special Effects Division. With the success of 1954's "Godzilla" Eiji became established as
Toho's monster and science fiction film special effects master, helming at least 40 such pictures, in addition to
providing effects work for live stage productions. In 1966 Eiji executive produced the smash hit science fiction TV
series ULTRA Q for his new production company Tsuburaya Productions. Eiji continued to executive produce all of the
company's programs until he died. On January 25, 1970 while vacationing in a cottage in Shizuoka Prefecture,
Eiji passed away from heart failure. He was 68. As a cameraman, director of photography, special effects director and
executive producer, Eiji Tsuburaya was involved in the making of over 200 films and TV programs. This is a very enjoyable box set, especially if you are an Ultraman fan. All five discs are fully packed with music and all have running times over 73 minutes each. Four of the five discs contain Ultraman music and one disc (Disc 3) is devoted to Mr. Tsuburaya's Godzilla work. Disc 1 & Disc 2 contain about tracks that are about 50% vocal and 50% instrumental. Disc 3, the Godzilla material, contains music that will be familiar to Godzilla fans. However, unless my memory fails me (and it has been awhile since listening to the original soundtracks), a few of these tracks sound as if they may be alternate takes or cues not on the original soundtracks. For my tastes, of the four Ultraman discs, I enjoyed Disc 4 & 5 the most. |
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| Disc 2 | 
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| Disc 3 | 
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| Disc 5 | 
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