Takao Okawara

Biography

Takao Okawara (born December 20, 1949, in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese film director, writer and producer. Most famous for his entries in the Heisei Godzilla series, Takao Okawara joined Tōhō in 1973, but would not get his first shot in the director's chair until 1980, when he joined Akira Kurosawa and Ishirō Honda on the film Kagemusha (1980). Four years later, he worked as an assistant director for the first Godzilla film of the Heisei series: The Return of Godzilla (1984). Okawara debuted as primary director seven years later on the film Reiko, the Psyche Resurrected (1991), which he also wrote. Okawara is the oldest living Godzilla film director. With Kazuki Omori's death in 2022, he also became the last living director of any pre-Millennium Godzilla movie.

Photo

Awards and Honors

Critical Favorites

1980Winner

Best Director

Kagemusha

1995Winner

Best Director

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

1992Nominee

Best Director

Godzilla vs. Mothra

Career Highlights

1984Highlight

Best Director

The Return of Godzilla

1993Highlight

Best Director

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II

Video

TrailerKagemusha (1980) Original Trailer [4K]

Kagemusha

TrailerGODZILLA vs. DESTOROYAH (ゴジラVSデストロイア) - Offiical Japanese Trailer [HQ]

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Behind the ScenesBehind the Scenes of Godzilla vs. Mothra

Godzilla vs. Mothra