Akira IFUKUBE (
In the 1940s, during WWII, he 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 the subsequent movies, though 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 8, 2006, from multiple organ failure. However, he left behind a legacy that will always be remembered in the form of his music.
Filmography[]
Scoring credits[]
- Godzilla (1954)
- Rodan (1956)
- The Mysterians (1957)
- Varan the Unbelievable (1958)
- The Three Treasures (1959)
- Battle in Outer Space (1959)
- King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
- Atragon (1963)
- Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
- Dogora (1964)
- Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
- Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)
- Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
- War of the Gargantuas (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 [Selected Tracks from the album Ostinato]
- Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
- Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (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"]
- Shin Godzilla (2016) [Selected tracks from King Kong vs. Godzilla, Terror of Mechagodzilla, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, and Battle in Outer Space]
Gallery[]
