You Tube Videos

Discussion in 'Tomita' started by Andrew, Apr 10, 2007.

  1. Andrew

    Andrew New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2004
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    0
    #1
  2. ndkent

    ndkent Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2004
    Messages:
    131
    Likes Received:
    3
    Yes on both counts, good finds.

    The first one is probably an NHK series. Tomita was hired to do a lot of historical series over the decades. I don't know anything about this one except of course the history that Tokugawa Ieyasu was the first Shogun ruler of Japan. It is interesting that you can hear synth (sequencer about 22 seconds into it). Many of them don't have electronic instruments in their scores. I guess he would have been buying his digital gear then. It's hard to tell how much might be sampled. It sounds pretty real though the chorus definitely is sampled.

    The second one is from 1964-65. I think I know the back story. It's a never aired supernatural series called "Unbalance" (or "Fear Theater: Unbalance"). It was like the X-Files of it's day. There was this science investigation team and they went hunting the supernatural. I've never seen these shows but I guess they were released for home video maybe in the late 90s if not earlier. The series was the debut of Eiji Tsuburaya's new company. He did Godzilla's special effects for hire and wanted to break into TV production where he could run the show. Apparently Unbalance went way over budget and schedule so they had to rethink it after completing 3 shows to be aired later. So they decided to go black & white and stick with giant monsters rather than the supernatural as the focus for the science investigation team.

    Sadly for unknown reasons, probably the de-emphasis on the supernatural, they didn't rehire Tomita for the new episodes and actually re-scored his 3 completed shows with another composer when they were re-edited them and aired between newer giant monster episodes. The show was renamed "Ultra Q" and aired in 1966 with new swirling titles and style of music.

    For what it's worth the next year Ultra Q got another name change and makeover adding a robot-like cosmic superhero and struck ratings and merchandise gold as "Ultraman", easily one Japan's most successful TV shows of all time (but no Tomita score). Anyway at some point the Unbalance shows came out intact on home video since they are ancestors of "Ultraman".
     
    #2
  3. Andrew

    Andrew New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2004
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    0
    Thanks for the usual wealth of information, Nick. Glad to know it was Tomita after all. It's also interesting to read about the details of these recordings.
     
    #3
  4. ndkent

    ndkent Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2004
    Messages:
    131
    Likes Received:
    3
    Though the youtube vids have been taken down, I have further info.

    I noticed the "Fear Theater: Unbalance" title video was in color, which I felt was a bit odd since Ultra Q is known as being a black and white series. (Toys from Ultra Q are still being made today and are often ironically painted in just shades of grey). Reading a recent english language biography about producer and special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya, it seems to me to be actually an aired series from the early 70s using the concepts Tsuburaya originally had then revamped. So it's sort of like some of the produced TV series that were based on Gene Roddenberry's ideas after he died. The soundtrack for Unbalance was reissued last year. That reminds me. I have it and haven't spun it yet. I bought it almost a year ago!

    Another Tsuburaya series soundtrack CD that's been reissued is "Mighty Jack". This one was done during Tsuburaya's lifetime. I've not seen any episodes, but the series clearly was based on the successes of "Atragon", a giant submarine adventure made by Toho with his sepecial effects and Gerry Anderson's puppet science fiction shows like Stingray and Thunderbirds. The score has the same sort of musical approach used by Barry Grey on Anderson's scores, though has Tomita's feel too. There was a "Mighty Jack 2" CD that hasn't been reissued.

    Both these scores contain the raw music cues from the scoring sessions and not suite format music intended for soundtrack album releases. I'm sure Tomita never intended these scores to be released on albums
     
    #4

Share This Page