Paul Schrader

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Paul Schrader’s visually stunning, collagelike portrait of the acclaimed Japanese author and playwright Yukio Mishima (played by Ken Ogata) investigates the inner turmoil and contradictions of a man who attempted the impossible task of finding harmony among self, art, and society. Taking place on the last day of Mishima’s life, when he famously committed public seppuku, the film is punctuated by extended flashbacks to the writer’s past as well as gloriously stylized evocations of his fictional works. With its rich cinematography by John Bailey, exquisite sets and costumes by Eiko Ishioka, and unforgettable, highly influential score by Philip Glass, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is a tribute to its subject and a bold, investigative work of art in its own right.

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Film Info

  • United States
  • 1985
  • 120 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.85:1
  • Japanese
  • Spine #432

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New, restored 4K digital transfer of the director’s cut, supervised and approved by director Paul Schrader and cinematographer John Bailey, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • Two alternate English narrations, including one by actor Roy Scheider
  • Audio commentary from 2006 featuring Schrader and producer Alan Poul
  • Interviews from 2007 and 2008 with Bailey, producers Tom Luddy and Mata Yamamoto, composer Philip Glass, and production designer Eiko Ishioka
  • Interviews from 2008 with Yukio Mishima biographer John Nathan and friend Donald Richie
  • Audio interview from 2008 with coscreenwriter Chieko Schrader
  • Interview excerpt from 1966 featuring Mishima talking about writing
  • The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima, a documentary from 1985 about the author
  • Trailer
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Kevin Jackson, a piece on the film’s censorship in Japan, and photographs of Ishioka’s sets

    Cover by Neil Kellerhouse

Purchase Options

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New, restored 4K digital transfer of the director’s cut, supervised and approved by director Paul Schrader and cinematographer John Bailey, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • Two alternate English narrations, including one by actor Roy Scheider
  • Audio commentary from 2006 featuring Schrader and producer Alan Poul
  • Interviews from 2007 and 2008 with Bailey, producers Tom Luddy and Mata Yamamoto, composer Philip Glass, and production designer Eiko Ishioka
  • Interviews from 2008 with Yukio Mishima biographer John Nathan and friend Donald Richie
  • Audio interview from 2008 with coscreenwriter Chieko Schrader
  • Interview excerpt from 1966 featuring Mishima talking about writing
  • The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima, a documentary from 1985 about the author
  • Trailer
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Kevin Jackson, a piece on the film’s censorship in Japan, and photographs of Ishioka’s sets

    Cover by Neil Kellerhouse
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
Cast
Ken Ogata
Yukio Mishima
Masayuki Shionoya
Morita
Hiroshi Mikami
Cadet no. 1
Junya Fukuda
Cadet no. 2
Shigeto Tachihara
Cadet no. 3
Junkichi Orimoto
General Mashita
Go Riju
Mishima, age 18-19
Yuki Nagahara
Mishima, age 5
Yasosuke Bando
Mizoguchi
Hisako Manda
Mariko
Kenji Sawada
Osamu
Reisen Lee
Kiyomi
Setsuko Karasuma
Mitsuko
Yasuaki Kurata
Takei
Toshiyuki Nagashima
Isao
Hiroshi Katsuno
Lieutenant Hori
Hiroki Ida
Izutsu
Jun Negami
Kurahara
Credits
Director
Paul Schrader
Screenplay
Chieko Schrader
Screenplay
Paul Schrader
Screenplay
Leonard Schrader
Executive producers
George Lucas
Executive producers
Francis Ford Coppola
Producer
Tom Luddy
Producer
Mataichiro Yamamoto
Producer
Mata Yamamoto
Associate producer
Leonard Schrader
Music
Philip Glass
Cinematography
John Bailey
Production design
Eiko Ishioka
Costume design
Eiko Ishioka
Sound
Leslie Shatz
Visual effects
Catherine Craig

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