Yoshimitsu Banno

Yoshimitsu Banno (坂野 義光, Banno Yoshimitsu; March 30, 1931 – May 7, 2017)^[2][3] was a Japanese film director, best known for the cult-classic Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), which he directed and co-wrote. Banno was a special guest at G-Fest XII in 2005. He was an executive producer on Legendary Pictures' Godzilla (2014), and has received posthumous executive producer credit for subsequent projects in the MonsterVerse. He died of a subarachnoid hemorrhage on May 7, 2017 at his home in Kawasaki at the age of 86. Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) was dedicated to his memory along with Haruo Nakajima's.

Yoshimitsu Banno
坂野 義光
Banno in 1971
Born	(1931-03-30)March 30, 1931 Imabari, Ehime, Japan
Died	May 7, 2017(2017-05-07) (aged 86) Kawasaki, Japan[1]
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation(s)	Director, screenwriter, producer

Filmography

Director

• Birth of the Japanese Islands (1970)
• Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
• Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974) (co-director)
• Ninja, the Wonder Boy (1985) (TV Series)

Assistant director

• Throne of Blood (1957)
• The Lower Depths (1957)
• The Hidden Fortress (1958)
• The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
• Nippon musekinin jidai (The Irresponsible Age of Japan) (1962)
• Nippon musekinin yaro (The Irresponsible Guys of Japan) (1962)
• Kyomo ware ozorami ari (1964)
• Nippon ichi no horafuki otoko (Japan's Number One Braggart Man) (1964)
• Hyappatsu hyakuchu (1965)
• Taiheiyo kiseki no sakusen: Kisuka (A Miraculous Military Operation in the Pacific Ocean: Kiska) (1965)
• Nikutai no gakko (School of the Flesh) (1965)
• Doto ichiman kairi (The Mad Atlantic) (1966)
• Kureji no musekinin Shimizu Minato (The Boss of Pickpocket Bay) (1966)
• Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974)

Writer

• Techno Police 21c (1982)
• The Wizard of Oz (1982)
• Prophecies of Nostradamus (Nosutoradamusu no daiyogen) (1974)
• Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Executive producer

• Godzilla (2014)
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) (posthumous)
• Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) (posthumous)
• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023) (posthumous)
• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) (posthumous)