‘Godzilla’ Celebrates 70th Anniversary At Tokyo Film Fest With More Than 40 Affiliated Production Staff Present

deadline.com:

Production staff associated with the Godzilla films throughout the years took to the stage at the Tokyo International Film Festival during the Godzilla remastered 4K Digital screening to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the original 1954 film.

88-year old Yoshio Suzuki, who worked as an assistant sculptor on the original film, shared his experiences on a panel alongside Oscar-winner Yamazaki Takashi, writer and director of Godzilla Minus One.

The remastered digital version had its world premiere at the Berlinale earlier this year. Suzuki first worked on the 1954 Godzilla film as an 18-year old. “I was a first-year sculpture student at Tama Art University and was looking for work as I was short on cash,” said Suzuki. “My classmate, Yoshio Tsuburaya, told me that his uncle was making a movie called Godzilla and suggested that I try to work on that set.

I got a letter of introduction and brought it to Toho Studios, which was not too far from the university campus and met special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, telling him that I was interested in a part-time job.” Suzuki said that creating the Godzilla suit was a “repetitive process of trial and error. “One of the members in the team would use his connections to find the appropriate materials and plastics for the suit.