Sadao Iizuka

Sadao Iizuka

Known for: Visual Effects
Biography: 1934-12-26
Deathday: 2023-03-24 (88 years old)

Biography

Sadao Iizuka (Īzuka Sadao, December 26, 1934 - March 24, 2023) was a prolific Japanese special effects artist and optical artist, most well-known for animating the rays and energy blasts of many Tokusatsu creations, like Godzilla's Atomic Breath and Ultraman's Spacium Beam. His first film was "Godzilla" (1954), where he worked under special effects art director, Akira Watanabe. He had similar roles in "Godzilla Raids Again" (1955), "Half Human" (1955), and "Rodan" (1956), before beginning his long career as an optical artist with "The Mysterians" (1957) under special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya. Throughout the 1960's, he would create optical effects and animation for some of Toho's greatest special effects films, like "King Kong vs. Godzilla" (1962) and "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster" (1964), as well as the newly formed Tsuburaya Productions' Tokusatsu television series like "Ultra Q" (TV 1966-1967) and "Ultraman" (TV 1966-1967). In 1972, after nearly two decades of being a part of nearly every Tokusatsu film and television series from Toho and Tsuburaya, Iizuka and fellow optical artist Minoru Nakano would found their own company, Den Film Effects. The company would later work on numerous Tokusatsu film and television productions from Toho, Toei, Tsuburaya Productions, and Daiei. Iizuka would stay active in the field of special effects and optical effects, doing animation effects for some of Toho's "Heisei Era" films, like "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II" (1993) and "Rebirth of Mothra" (1996). Some of the final films he worked on were "Godzilla: Final Wars" (2004) and "Shin Ultraman" (2022), being the 50th anniversary celebration and modern retelling of the original series, respectively, for two of Japan's most famous Tokusatsu franchises that he helped to create. Iizuka passed away at 88 years old on March 24, 2023, from aspiration pneumonia, after previously being hospitalized that January. Despite being uncredited for much of his work up until the early to mid 1970's, the influence his work has had on special effects science fiction and fantasy cinema is still felt today, with modern films like "Godzilla Minus One" (2023) and "Ultraman: Rising" (2024) depicting updated versions of his original special effects work to new generations of audiences.

Sadao IizukaSadao IizukaSadao Iizuka

Information

Known For
Visual Effects

Gender
Male

Birthday
1934-12-26

Deathday
2023-03-24 (88 years old)

Birth Place
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

Also Known As
飯塚定雄, Īzuka Sadao, Den-san, デンさん

Last updated:

Tomoyuki Tanaka
Sadao Iizuka,
Tomoyuki Tanaka worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
23 Movies
Eiji Tsuburaya
Sadao Iizuka,
Eiji Tsuburaya worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
20 Movies
1 TV Show
Haruo Nakajima
Sadao Iizuka,
Haruo Nakajima worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
19 Movies
1 TV Show
Hiroshi Mukoyama
Sadao Iizuka,
Hiroshi Mukoyama worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
20 Movies
Ishirō Honda
Sadao Iizuka,
Ishirō Honda worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
19 Movies
Teizô Toshimitsu
Sadao Iizuka,
Teizô Toshimitsu worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
17 Movies
Sadamasa Arikawa
Sadao Iizuka,
Sadamasa Arikawa worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
17 Movies
Yasuyuki Inoue
Sadao Iizuka,
Yasuyuki Inoue worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
17 Movies
Takeo Kita
Sadao Iizuka,
Takeo Kita worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
16 Movies
Akira Watanabe
Sadao Iizuka,
Akira Watanabe worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
16 Movies
Akira Ifukube
Sadao Iizuka,
Akira Ifukube worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
16 Movies
Motoyoshi Tomioka
Sadao Iizuka,
Motoyoshi Tomioka worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
15 Movies
Eizo Kaimai
Sadao Iizuka,
Eizo Kaimai worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
15 Movies
Shōichi Hirose
Sadao Iizuka,
Shōichi Hirose worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
14 Movies
Kenji Sahara
Sadao Iizuka,
Kenji Sahara worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
14 Movies
Hisashi Shimonaga
Sadao Iizuka,
Hisashi Shimonaga worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
13 Movies
Yoshio Irie
Sadao Iizuka,
Yoshio Irie worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
13 Movies
Yôichi Manoda
Sadao Iizuka,
Yôichi Manoda worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
13 Movies
Yasuei Yagi
Sadao Iizuka,
Yasuei Yagi worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
13 Movies
Akihiko Hirata
Sadao Iizuka,
Akihiko Hirata worked together with Sadao Iizuka in:
12 Movies
1 TV Show
  • Sadao Iizuka
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