was a Japanese film director who worked in several different genres.
Career
Born in Yonago, Okamoto attended Meiji University, but was drafted into the Air Force 1943 and entered World War II, an experience that had a profound effect on his later film work, one third of which dealt with war. Finally graduating after the war, he entered the Toho studies in 1947 and worked as an assistant under such directors as Mikio Naruse, Masahiro Makino, Ishirō Honda, and Senkichi Taniguchi.
Okamoto directed almost 40 films and wrote the scripts for at least 24, in a career that spanned almost six decades. He worked in a variety of genres, but most memorably in action genres such as the jidaigeki and war films. He was known for making films with a twist. Inspired to become a filmmaker after watching John Ford's Stagecoach, Alongside Akira Kurosawa, Okamoto was also a candidate for directing the Japanese sequences for Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) but instead Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda were chosen.
On February 19, 2005, just two days after his 81st birthday, Okamoto died at home from esophageal cancer.
A photograph of Okamoto was used to portray the character of Goro Maki in the 2016 film Shin Godzilla, which was directed by Hideaki Anno, a self-professed fan of Okamoto.
Selected filmography
{| class="wikitable"
!style="background:#FFE4B5;"|Title
!style="background:#FFE4B5;"|Romanization
!style="background:#FFE4B5;"|Release date
!style="background:#FFE4B5;"|Notes
|-
|All About Marriage<br><br>
|Kekon no Subete
|1958
|
|-
|The Big Boss<br><br>
|Ankokugai no kaoyaku
|1959
|
|-
|Desperado Outpost<br><br>
|Dokuritsu Gurentai
|1959
|
|-
|Ankokugai no Taiketsu<br><br>
|Ankokugai no Taiketsu
|1959
|
|-
|Westward Desperado<br><br>
|Dokuritsu Gurentai Nishi e
|1960
|
|-
|Blueprint of Murder<br><br>
|Ankokugai no Dankon
|1961
|
|-
|Warring Clans<br><br>
|Sengoku Yarō
|1963
|
|-
|The Elegant Life of Mr. Everyman<br><br>
|Eburiman-shi no yūgana seikatsu
|1963
|
|-
|Oh Bomb<br><br>
|Aa! Bakudan
|1964
|
|-
|Samurai Assassin<br><br>
|Samurai
|1965
|
|-
|Blood and Sand<br><br>
|Chi to Suna
|1965
|
|-
|The Sword of Doom<br><br>
|Daibosatsu Tōge
|1966
|
|-
|The Age of Assassins<br><br>
|Satsujinkyō jidai
|1967
|
|-
|Japan's Longest Day<br><br>
|Nihon no Ichiban Nagaihi
|1967
|
|-
|Kill!<br><br>
|Kiru
|1968
|
|-
|The Human Bullet<br><br>
|Nikudan
|1968
|
|-
|Red Lion<br><br>
|Akage
|1969
|
|-
|Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo<br><br>
|Zatōichi to Yōjinbō
|1970
|
|-
|Battle of Okinawa<br><br>
|Gekidō no Shōwashi: Okinawa Kessen
|1971
|
|-
|Aoba Shigereru<br><br>
|Aoba Shigereru
|1974
|
|-
|Tokkan<br><br>
|Tokkan
|1975
|
|-
|Sugata Sanshirō<br><br>
|Sugata Sanshirō
|1977
|
|-
|Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The Movie<br><br>
|Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman
|1978
|Executive producer
|-
|Blue Christmas<br><br>
|Burū Kurisimasu
|1978
|
|-
|At This Late Date, the Charleston<br><br>
|Chikagoro Nazeka Charleston
|1981
|
|-
|Dixieland Daimyo<br><br>
|Jazu daimyō
|1986
|
|-
|Rainbow Kids<br><br>
|Daiyukai
|1991
|
|-
|East Meets West<br><br>
|
|1995
|
|-
|Vengeance for Sale<br><br>
|Sukedachi ya Sukeroku
|2002
|Final work
|-
|}
Appearance
- Shin Godzilla (2016) as Goro Maki (stock photo double)