Production
When producer Takashige Ichise finished The Legend of the Stardust Brothers in 1984, the Saison Group provided funding, which led to Ichise becoming an employee of Seibu Department Store. From there, he transitioned to the movie studio EXE. A colleague at the studio suggested to him the idea of producing Teito Monogatari for their next motion picture. Ichise went on to recruit director Akio Jissoji for the project.[9]
At the time, the Seibu Department Store was holding an exhibition for the works of Swiss artist H. R. Giger. Giger was visiting Japan at the time, and Ichise personally asked to provide designs for the film's creatures, to which he agreed.[8][9] Originally, he showed interest in working directly on set, however his schedule would not permit it. His main contribution was the conceptual art for the gohō dōji.
Ichise alongside Koji Tsutsumi (the son of Seiji Ttutsumi), pitched the idea to Toho Studios to distribute the picture. According to reports, the proposal was laughed at by Toho executives, who didn't think the film was practical.[10]
The script was originally written by screenwriter Kishida Rio, who was recommended by Akio Jissoji. However Ichise did not think Rio's script was entertaining enough. Instead Ichise recruited screenwriter Kaizo Hayashi to write the script. The two stayed at the Wakaba Inn in Kagurazuka and worked on the script together. Hayashi was asked to make a "picture scroll-like film with a star studded cast". It was also written in the spirit of a New Year's movie. Hayashi was inspired by the Toei Studios gangster film Junko's Retirement Memorial Film: Kanto Hizakura Ikka, one of his favorite movies.[11]
Many staff members who worked on the Ultraman television series were involved in the production, including director Akio Jissoji, cinematographer Masao Nakahori, and special effects director Minoru Nakano. Minoru Nakano reportedly stated that he saw Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis as representing an evolution in traditional Eiji Tsuburaya tokusatsu special effects.[12]
The movie was the first Japanese motion picture to employ Sony HDVS equipment for filming, make it the country's first full-scale high definition VFX film. Approximately six minutes of the final movie was filmed using this technology.[13][14]
Casting for the role of Yasunori Kato proved difficult. Ichise and Hayashi had originally planned on casting stage actor Kyusaku Shimada, based on his performance on the Tokyo Grand Guignol stage adaptation of the novel. However Toho Studios objected to the idea, and requested a more renowned actor play the role. Ryuichi Sakamoto along with other actors were considered. Eventually actor Kaoru Kobayashi was selected. Ichise and director Akio Jissoji went to meet Kobayashi at the ANA Hotel in Tokyo. During the meeting, Kobayashi bombarded Jissoji with questions about Kato's character such as what "Why does he [Kato] want to destroy Tokyo?" and "What is Kato's spiritual background?" Jissoji responded that the character "was like Godzilla" and didn't have such a background. Later, Kobayashi's agency contacted Ichise and Jissoji to decline the role.[10]
In the meantime, many well known stars joined the cast including Shintaro Katsu, Mikijiro Hira, Junichi Ishida, Mieko Harada, and Tamasaburo Bando. Toho Studios informed Ichise since the film had enough stars, Kato could be played by anyone at this point. Hence Ichise went on to recruit Kyusaku Shimada for the role.[10] At the time, Shimada had left stage acting and had returned to his original job as a gardener[15] When offered the role, Shimada's requested he speak with his boss first.[10] Shimada's boss advised him to pursue acting instead, and then Shimada formally accepted the offer. Shimada read the script and was perplexed by it. He admitted that the work would have been much more successful as a long historical drama than a 2 hour movie. However he also thought the movie successfully captured the zeitgeist and enthusiasm of Japan's 80's bubble economy.[15]
Director Akio Jissoji had conflicts with Kyusaku Shimada on set. The production was plagued by many accidents. The shooting was hot and dangerous. Shimada described it as akin "an out of control festival". At one point during the shoot, a pillar of fire erupted from the ground. Shimada was caught in the blast and burned both wrists, requiring an urgent trip to the hospital.[15] Since the production was Japan's first full-scale high definition film, simple shots regularly took half a day, exacerbating the stress of the cast and crew. Director Irvin Kershner came on set to watch the filming. According to reports, he left disappointed.[10]
Some commentators and spectators attributed these accidents to the influence of Taira no Masakado's real life spirit. It is now common practice for Japanese filmmakers and TV crews to pay respect to the burial site of Masakado before bringing him to the screen.
The movie received a great deal of publicity with the media highlighting the grand recreation of circa 1927 Ginza district being made just for use in the film. The open set, which cost around 300 million yen by itself, was a 150 meter long life sized facsimile of the early Showa era district featuring several electric cable cars [16] and 3000 fully costumed extras.[17]
