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HEARING THE SOUNDS OF ASTRO BOY'S FOOTSTEPS

ATOM NO ASHIOTO GA KIKOERU

By Masanori TOMINAGA

FLYING PILLOW FILMS - as PROD

Documentary - Completed 2010

Matsuo Ohno produced the sound design for "Astro Boy", Japan's first TV animation by Osamu Tezuka in 1963. While showing his contributions to the animation "Starblazers”, "Mobile Suit Gundam” or collaborations with musicians, we will peruse Matsuo’s influential gifts to future generations.

- Year of production
- 2010
- Genres
- Documentary
- Countries
- JAPAN
- Languages
- JAPANESE
- Duration
- 82 mn
- Director(s)
- Masanori TOMINAGA
- Cast
- Maki NOMIYA, Matsuo OHNO
- Producer(s)
- Atsuko OHNO, Masashi SAKAMOTO (Cinegriot)
- Synopsis
- “Once you grasp a sound, it becomes part of this world. I'm not interested in sounds that already exist.”
  “The Echo of Astro Boy’s Footsteps” is directed by Masanori Tominaga, known for his quirky and highly original films such as “Vengeance Can Wait”, “Pandora's Box”, and “The Pavillion Salamandre”, as well as music videos for artists such as Naruyoshi Kikuchi and Sotaiseiriron. Fittingly for a film with such an avid interest in audio, its sound effects were created by prolific electronic musician Pardon Kimura, while narration is provided by world-renowned Pizzicato Five vocalist Maki Nomiya.
  The subject of this documentary is Matsuo Ohno, an extraordinary gifted man who continues to search for “sounds that are not of this world.” Featuring rare footage and sound recordings from animated works such as “Lupin the 3rd”, “Space Battleship Yamato”, and “Mobile Suit Gundam”, as well as live performances by Rei Harakami and the Open Reel Ensemble, it reveals the turbulent life and times of this revered sound designer.
  In the 1980s, Ohno suddenly disappeared from the public eye. Where on earth did he disappear to? Following clues found in the recollections of his contemporaries, Tominaga embarks on a journey spanning fifty years of sound and images, guided by the echoing footsteps of Astro Boy.