The Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo has released a teaser for its upcoming film-based exhibit.
The exhibit is called “Kanchō Anno Hideaki Tokusatsu Hakubutsukan” (literally: Curator Hideaki Anno’s Special Effects Museum), so the special effects referred to here are very specific.
While the word “tokusatsu” literally translates to “special effects,” in this context, it refers to a particular retro style of film effect which relies mostly on rubber suits, puppets, and miniature cities, and never uses CGI for any shots or shot compositions.
This teaser is based on a short film known as Kyoshinhei Tokyo ni Arawaru (literally: “Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo”)
The final film – the short is not yet complete, so only this teaser is currently showing in the exhibit space – will be five to ten minutes long and is based upon the opening sequence of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, which takes place a thousand years after civilization is destroyed by giant, genetically engineered soldiers.
It’s produced by Studio Ghibli (their first foray into tokusatsu) and directed by Hideaki Anno, who worked on the classic Nausicaä, and later created the Evangelion franchise. Anno – also the curator of the exhibit – says he was inspired by memories of the classic tokusatsu franchise, Ultraman.
The only way to see Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo, once it’s finished, will be to check it out at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo during the exhibit, which will run through October 8th, 2012. There are no plans to release the film in any other medium afterward.
If this exhibit is popular enough though, perhaps we’ll see a resurgence in the tokusatsu style, and end up with a bunch of new low-tech monster movies from Japanese studios.
