Sadao Iizuka (1934-2023)
Alias:
Den-san
Īzuka Sadao
デンさん
飯塚定雄
Birthplace:
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Born:
December 26, 1934
Died:
March 24, 2023
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.