
Takao Okawara
Directing
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.
Known For

Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.
Kagemusha

An independent group of researchers called the Godzilla Prediction Network (GPN) actively track Godzilla as he makes landfall in Nemuro. Matters are further complicated when a giant meteor is discovered in the Ibaragi Prefecture. The mysterious rock begins to levitate as it's true intentions for the world and Godzilla are revealed.
Godzilla 2000: Millennium

A lavish retelling of the true story of the final voyage and ultimate destruction and sinking of the battleship Yamato, Japan's greatest flagship during the Second World War.
The Imperial Navy

A burning Godzilla, on the verge of meltdown, emerges to lay siege to Hong Kong. At the same time horrifying new organisms are discovered in Japan. These crustacean-like beings are seemingly born of the Oxygen Destroyer, the weapon that killed the original Godzilla.
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

After a fishing boat is attacked, the sole surviving crew member realizes it is none other than a resurrected Godzilla. However, efforts to bring the story to light are suppressed by the Japanese government amid growing political tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, who are both willing to bomb Japan to stop the monster.
The Return of Godzilla

The U.N.G.C.C. (United Nations Godzilla Countermeasure Center) recovers the remains of Mecha-King Ghidorah and construct Mechagodzilla as a countermeasure against Godzilla. Meanwhile, a giant egg is discovered along with a new monster called Rodan. The egg is soon found to be none other than an infant Godzillasaurus.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II

Mothra's dark counterpart, Battra, emerges to eliminate humanity on behalf of the Earth. Two tiny fairies called the Cosmos offer their help by calling Mothra to battle the creature. Unfortunately a meteorite has awoken a hibernating Godzilla as a three way battle for the Earth begins.
Godzilla vs. Mothra

A team of geophysicists investigating seismic activity on the seafloor discover that the islands of Japan, after suffering from massive volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, will be pulled into the ocean, killing millions.
Submersion of Japan

Originally released in Japan as "The Return of Godzilla" in 1984, this is the heavily re-edited, re-titled "Godzilla 1985". Adding in new footage of Raymond Burr, this 16th Godzilla film ignores all previous sequels and serves as a direct follow-up to the 1956 "Godzilla King of the Monsters", which also featured scenes with Burr edited into 1954's "Godzilla". This film restores the darker tone of the original, as we witness the nuclear destruction of giant lizard terrorizing Japan.
Godzilla 1985

Professor Nishiyama, after studying and interpreting the prophecies of Nostradamus, realizes that the end of the world is at hand. Unfortunately, nobody listens to him until it is too late. As the effects of mankind's tampering of the earth - radioactive smog clouds, hideously mutated animals, destruction of the ozone layer - rage out of control, the world leaders hurtle blindly toward the final confrontation. The film sparked controversy in Japan and was subsequently pulled out of circulation, with no official video release of the uncut film.
Prophecies of Nostradamus

Mid 50s: the trials and tribulations of Shinsuke Ibuki, freshly arrived in Tokyo from Kyushu.
The Gate of Youth Part 2

After a passenger ship sinks in 1954, Go Akutsu devises a life-saving project in the form of a tunnel under the Tsugaru Strait. While working on this project Akutsu becomes involved with Tae Makimura leading to his estrangement from his wife.
The Longest Tunnel

Dramatic story of one man trying to make a difference.
Human Revolution II

In 1853, Gentetsu Nishiyama tells his students that the French prophet Nostaradamus foretells great change for Japan, some of his students revolt, calling his words heresy and his wife flees with a book of Nostradamus’s predictions… In the present day, Dr. Nishiyama has to combat increasingly bizarre goings on which seem all to familiar to the prophet's predictions…
The Last Days of Planet Earth

After killing his brother, Prince Yamato is banished from his father's kingdom until he can bring his dangerous powers under control. On his journey, he meets and joins with the magical priestess Oto, and together they go to fight against an evil god that has been ravaging the Earth in the form of an enormous hydra. Will Yamato ever return home to reclaim his rightful place on the throne?
Orochi, the Eight-Headed Dragon

The director of a large Tokyo trading company is kidnapped and held for ransom. A young but experienced detective is put on the case while being at the centre of a nationwide television sensation.
Abduction

Mainly the story of Shinsuke and his stepmother, ranging from Shinsuke's infanthood to his mid-teens. Coal workers and the mines dominate nearly every aspect of the life of the characters. Shinsuke's father dies while bravely using dynamite to rescue a group of trapped Korean miners. Several older men attempt to help he and his mother cope, including a kind Korean and a Harley-riding yakuza.
The Gate of Youth

A highly anticipated cultural festival is less than a week away for the students of a local high school when mysterious, seemingly paranormal events start occurring within their building. A piano plays when no one is in the room; the power continually shuts off, seemingly at random; footprints are left behind by an unseen presence; objects appear to levitate and are hurled across the room. Concerned about the strange phenomena, six students, advised by Professor Yamakawa, form a research team and investigate the strange goings-on. One of the students is Reiko Kudo, who has ESP and a family history with the occult. As the investigation ensues, a disturbing story from the past emerges from the woodwork, culminating with an ESP confrontation on the day of the festival...
Reiko, the Psyche Resurrected

Two hundred million years ago, Earth had a single continent. As the millennia progressed, the single continent slowly split off into smaller continents and islands. Thirty million years ago, the country of Japan was part of the continent of Asia, and has since split off into its own archipelago. Another landmass shift is about to occur...
Tidal Wave

When 22-year-old Ikuko gets fired from her editing internship right before her college graduation instead of getting hired, she turns to her schoolteacher father for advice. Instead, he tells her, "I've decided to become a singer! Sort your own life out!" Confused, Ikuko gets on a boat to the town of Takarazuka, home of the musical industry, to see her classmate Mari. Mari introduces her to an accountant named Yoshie, and together the three of them move into a house they call "The Women's House: Die Fraulein".