Kihachi Okamoto Movies and Career Information

Kihachi Okamoto (岡本 喜八, Okamoto Kihachi, February 17, 1924–February 19, 2005) was a Japanese film director who has worked in several different genres, including jidaigeki. He was born in Yonago. He graduated from the Meiji University. He directed almost 40 films and wrote at least 24 films. One of his most notable works is Samurai Assassin (1965) starring Toshirō Mifune, about a group of 19th century political agitators planning to kill an important government official. The Japanese title is simply Samurai. His career spanned almost six decades, from 1958's All About Marriage, through The Sword of Doom (1966), Kill! (1968), the anti-war film, The Human Bullet (1968), Blood Type: Blue (or Blue Christmas; 1978), At This Late Date, the Charleston (1981), Rainbow Kids (1991) to Vengeance for Sale (2001). He won the 1992 Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year for Rainbow Kids. Alongside Masaki Kobayashi, 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, just two days after his 81st birthday, Kihachi died at home from esophageal cancer.