Akira Ifukube
Template:Infobox Director Akira Ifukube (伊福部昭 Ifukube Akira) was a Japanese musician that was born in 1914 and died in 2006. He is considered to be one of Japan's most revered classical composers.
In the 1940's, during World War II, Ifukube was asked to compose nationalistic themes for the islands liberated by Japan. (One such theme was played by the band when Japan officially surrendered in 1945). Starting in 1947 with the film Snow Trail, Ifukube became prominent in film composition. In 1954, he worked on Godzilla. After that, he scored 11 more Godzilla films (and his themes were added to many others), as well as 13 other sci-fi/ fantasy films. In total, Ifukube scored 43 films in his entire career.
His final Godzilla film was Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, and although he never composed the scores of any of the subsequent movies, his most famous theme, Godzilla's theme, was used in some capacity in most of the subsequent films, and many other pieces of his music were remixed in Godzilla: Final Wars.
He died on February 8th, 2006, from multiple organ failure. However, he left behind a legacy that will always be remembered in the form of his music.
Kaiju Scores
- Godzilla (1954)
- Rodan (1956)
- The Mysterians (1957)
- Varan (1958)
- The Birth of Japan (1959)
- Battle in Outer Space (1959)
- Kujira Gami (1962)
- King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
- Atragon (1963)
- Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
- Dogora (1964)
- Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
- Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965)
- Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
- Daimajin (1966)
- War of the Gargantuas (1966)
- Return of Daimajin (1966)
- Wrath of Daimajin (1966)
- King Kong Escapes (1967)
- Destroy All Monsters (1968)
- Latitude Zero (1969)
- Space Amoeba (1970)
- Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) [stock music]
- Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
- Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) [selected tracks from the album Ostinato]
- Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
- Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2 (1993)
- Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994) ["Godzilla's Theme"]
- Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
- Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999) ["Godzilla's Theme"]
- Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000) ["Godzilla's Theme"]
- Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) ["Godzilla's Theme," "Great Monster March"]
- Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) ["Godzilla's Theme"]
- Godzilla: Resurgence (2016) ["Godzilla Comes Ashore" and "Godzilla Title" from Godzilla (1954), "Battle in Outer Space" from Battle in Outer Space, "Return of Godzilla" from King Kong vs. Godzilla, "Main Title" from Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, "Main Title" from Invasion of Astro-Monster, "Godzilla Appears" from Terror of Mechagodzilla, "Main Title" from Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2]
Gallery
Trivia
- Ifukube is credited as one of the composers of the score for Godzilla: Resurgence, despite passing away a decade before the film's release.
External Links
- Official English-language website
- Interview by David Milner (December 1992)
- Interview by David Milner (December 1993)
- Interview by David Milner (December 1995)
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