| Photos (see all 12 | slideshow) |
| Ken Ogata | ... | Yukio Mishima (segment "November 25, 1970") | |
| Masayuki Shionoya | ... | Morita (segment "November 25, 1970") | |
| Hiroshi Mikami | ... | Cadet #1 (segment "November 25, 1970") | |
| Junya Fukuda | ... | Cadet #2 (segment "November 25, 1970") | |
| Shigeto Tachihara | ... | Cadet #3 (segment "November 25, 1970") | |
| Junkichi Orimoto | ... | General Mashita (segment "November 25, 1970") | |
| Naoko Otani | ... | Mother (segment "Flashbacks") | |
| Gô Rijû | ... | Mishima, age 18-19 (segment "Flashbacks") | |
| Masato Aizawa | ... | Mishima - age 9-14 (segment "Flashbacks") | |
| Yuki Nagahara | ... | Mishima, age 5 (segment "Flashbacks") | |
| Kyuzo Kobayashi | ... | Literary Friend (segment "Flashbacks") | |
| Yuki Kitazume | ... | Dancing Friend (segment "Flashbacks") | |
| Haruko Kato | ... | Grandmother (segment "Flashbacks") | |
| Yasosuke Bando | ... | Mizoguchi (segment "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion") | |
| Hisako Manda | ... | Mariko (segment "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion") | |
| Naomi Oki | ... | First Girl (segment "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion") | |
| Miki Takakura | ... | Second Girl (segment "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion") | |
| Imari Tsujikoichi Sato | ... | Madame (segment "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion") (as Imari Tsuji) | |
| Kôichi Satô | ... | Kashiwagi (segment "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion") | |
| Kenji Sawada | ... | Osamu (segment "Kyoko's House") | |
| Reisen Lee | ... | Kiyomi (segment "Kyoko's House") | |
| Setsuko Karasuma | ... | Mitsuko (segment "Kyoko's House") | |
| Tadanori Yokoo | ... | Natsuo (segment "Kyoko's House") | |
| Yasuaki Kurata | ... | Takei (segment "Kyoko's House") | |
| Mitsuru Hirata | ... | Thug (segment "Kyoko's House") | |
| Toshiyuki Nagashima | ... | Isao (segment "Runaway Horses") | |
| Hiroshi Katsuno | ... | Lieutenant Hori (segment "Runaway Horses") | |
| Naoya Makoto | ... | Kendo Instructor (segment "Runaway Horses") | |
| Hiroki Ida | ... | Izutsu (segment "Runaway Horses") | |
| Jun Negami | ... | Kurahara (segment "Runaway Horses") | |
| Ryo Ikebe | ... | Interrogator (segment "Runaway Horses") | |
| Toshio Hosokawa | ... | 'Rokumeikan' Producer | |
| Hideo Fukuhara | ... | Military Doctor | |
| Yosuke Mizuno | ... | 'Yukoku' Producer | |
| Eimei Ezumi | ... | Ichigaya Aide-de-Camp | |
| Minoru Hodaka | ... | Ichigaya Colonel | |
| Shôichirô Sakata | ... | Isao's Classmate | |
| Alan Mark Poul | ... | American Reporter | |
| Ren Ebata | ... | Reporter #1 | |
| Yasuhiro Arai | ... | Reporter #2 | |
| Fumio Mizushima | ... | Reporter #3 | |
| Shinji Miura | ... | Pavilion Acolyte | |
| Yuichi Sato | ... | Student | |
| Sachiko Akagi | ... | Thug's Girl Friend | |
| Tsutomu Harada | ... | Romeo | |
| Mami Okamoto | ... | Juliet | |
| Atsushi Takayama | ... | Interrogation Policeman | |
| Kimiko Ito | ... | Grandmother's Nurse | |
| Kojiro Oka | ... | First MP | |
| Tatsuya Hiragaki | ... | Actor #1 | |
| Shinichi Nosaka | ... | Policeman | |
| Sachiko Hidari | ... | Osamu's Mother | |
| Roy Scheider | ... | Narrator (voice) |
Directed by | |||
| Paul Schrader | |||
Writing credits(in alphabetical order) | ||
| Yukio Mishima | life story and his novel | |
| Chieko Schrader | Japanese script | |
| Leonard Schrader | writer | |
| Paul Schrader | writer | |
Produced by | |||
| Francis Ford Coppola | .... | executive producer (as Francis Coppola) | |
| George Lucas | .... | executive producer | |
| Tom Luddy | .... | producer | |
| Yosuke Mizuno | .... | line producer | |
| Alan Mark Poul | .... | associate producer | |
| Chieko Schrader | .... | associate producer | |
| Leonard Schrader | .... | associate producer | |
| Mataichiro Yamamoto | .... | producer (as Mata Yamamoto) | |
Original Music by | |||
| Philip Glass | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| John Bailey | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Michael Chandler | |||
| Tomoyo Oshima | |||
Casting by | |||
| Nobuaki Murooka | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Eiko Ishioka | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Kazuo Takenaka | (executive art director) | ||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Kyoji Sasaki | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Etsuko Yagyu | |||
| Eiko Ishioka | (uncredited) | ||
Makeup Department | |||
| Noriyo Ida | .... | makeup artist | |
| Yasuhiro Kawaguchi | .... | makeup artist | |
| Masayuki Okubi | .... | makeup artist | |
| Junji Ota | .... | hair stylist: Ken Ogata | |
Production Management | |||
| Whitney Green | .... | production manager: U.S. | |
| Atsushi Takayama | .... | production manager | |
Art Department | |||
| Masato Endo | .... | prop assistant | |
| Yuji Fukuzawa | .... | assistant property master | |
| Yoshikazu Furuya | .... | prop assistant | |
| Kyôko Heya | .... | art department (as Kyoko Heya) | |
| Toshihiko Higashimukai | .... | prop assistant | |
| Yoshiyuki Ishida | .... | art department | |
| Yasue Ito | .... | art department | |
| Kazumi Koike | .... | prop assistant | |
| Kyoko Machida | .... | assistant property master | |
| Yoichi Minagawa | .... | property master | |
| Akira Mizuno | .... | set artist | |
| Norio Morisaki | .... | prop assistant | |
| Sharon Nakazato | .... | calligrapher: titles | |
| Kunio Okimura | .... | assistant set decorator | |
| Yasushi Ono | .... | art department | |
| Shunichiro Shoda | .... | art department | |
| Kazuo Suzuki | .... | construction coordinator | |
| Shoichiro Takenoshita | .... | assistant to production designer | |
Sound Department | |||
| Tom Bellfort | .... | sound editor | |
| Lizzie Gelber | .... | assistant sound editor (as Lizabeth Gelber) | |
| Soichi Inoue | .... | boom operator | |
| Tom Johnson | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| Masashi Kikuchi | .... | boom operator | |
| Jerry Ross | .... | sound editor | |
| Leslie Shatz | .... | sound designer | |
| Leslie Shatz | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| Jenny Stein | .... | assistant sound editor (as Jennifer Hodgson Stein) | |
| Giorgio Venturoli | .... | sound editor | |
| Shôtarô Yoshida | .... | sound recordist (as Shotaro Yoshida) | |
| Jeff Kliment | .... | sound editor (uncredited) | |
| Martin Maryska | .... | assistant sound editor (uncredited) | |
| Greg Smith | .... | machine room operator (uncredited) | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Catherine Craig | .... | effects camera operator (uncredited) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| James W. Finnerty | .... | key grip (as Jim Finnerty) | |
| Yoshinori Ishizuki | .... | still photographer | |
| Munetoshi Kamata | .... | grip assistant | |
| Tsutomu Kamata | .... | lighting assistant | |
| Toyomichi Kurita | .... | camera operator | |
| Kitaro Miyazawa | .... | still photographer | |
| Takamasa Nakamura | .... | lighting assistant | |
| Kazuhiro Nozaki | .... | camera assistant | |
| George R. Schrader | .... | dolly grip (as George Schrader) | |
| Kazuo Shimomura | .... | gaffer | |
| Chuuji Sueyoshi | .... | lighting assistant (as Chuji Sueyoshi) | |
| Kazuo Takano | .... | lighting assistant | |
| Yuichi Tamura | .... | camera assistant | |
| Kazuhiko Tateishi | .... | lighting assistant | |
| Masanobu Tomura | .... | lighting assistant | |
| Katsuji Watanabe | .... | lighting assistant | |
| Yuji Watanabe | .... | lighting assistant | |
| Kagari Yasuda | .... | grip assistant | |
Animation Department | |||
| Bruce Walters | .... | animator: title | |
Casting Department | |||
| Kei Sugiura | .... | assistant casting director | |
| Yoshiro Yamaguchi | .... | assistant casting director | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Katsumi Harada | .... | wardrobe assistant | |
| Toshiaki Manki | .... | wardrobe assistant | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Rick Finney | .... | apprentice editor | |
| Kathleen Korth | .... | first assistant editor | |
| Tome Minami | .... | negative cutter: Japan | |
| Wataru Takahashi | .... | assistant editor | |
| Jenny Weyman-Cockle | .... | first assistant editor (as Jennifer Weyman-Cockle) | |
Music Department | |||
| Dan Dryden | .... | music recording engineer | |
| Philip Glass | .... | music arranger | |
| Kurt Munkacsi | .... | music producer | |
| Michael Riesman | .... | conductor | |
| Elliot Rosoff | .... | concertmaster | |
| Elliot Rosoff | .... | musician: solo violin | |
| Earl Shendell | .... | music personnel manager | |
Other crew | |||
| Jean A. Autrey | .... | production accountant (as Jean Autrey) | |
| Susumu Ejima | .... | location coordinator | |
| Mitsuo Endo | .... | bodybuilding instructor | |
| Kaname Hayase | .... | production accountant | |
| Akiko Hitomi | .... | executive production assistant | |
| Akiko Hitomi | .... | script researcher | |
| Kenichi Horii | .... | production assistant | |
| Keiko Kawaguchi | .... | assistant: Mr. Schrader, Japan | |
| Fusako Kawasaki | .... | unit publicist | |
| Chiyo Miyakoshi | .... | script supervisor | |
| Kazuko Nishikawa | .... | production accountant | |
| Linda Reisman | .... | assistant: Mr. Schrader, U.S. | |
| Keiko Sakurai | .... | production assistant | |
| Kuniko Sato | .... | production accountant | |
| Takao Shibaki | .... | production assistant | |
| Jun Shiragi | .... | scenario conceived in collaboration with | |
| Makito Sugiyama | .... | aide: Mr. Schrader | |
| Hiroki Tomohara | .... | production coordinator | |
| Hiroko Uchida | .... | production accountant | |
| Kappei Uehara | .... | consultant: historical art | |
| Kanso Uni | .... | action director (as Kanzo Uni) | |
| Christopher Werner | .... | title designer | |
Thanks | |||
| Sidney Ganis | .... | special thanks | |
| George Hayum | .... | special thanks | |
| John Peters | .... | special thanks | |
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Someone else put his finger on where this magnificent film falls short when he said, "Mishima has already said it all, the film simply repeats." Ultimately, Schrader has made a movie which refuses to comment on Mishima one way or another, and which becomes somewhat lifeless and stilted in the final segment as a result. Because he is bending over backwards not to criticize Mishima, Schrader simply refuses to examine the uglier implications of his public suicide.
Ironically, this approach hurts the film precisely because Mishima himself was capable of much more perceptive self-criticism. In the first two chapters -- "Beauty" (THE GOLDEN PAVILION) and "Art" (KYOKO'S HOUSE) Schrader's work is nothing short of brilliant. With great subtlety, he interweaves black and white scenes from Mishima's early life with lush full-color scenes from his early novels. What makes these sections so haunting are the subtle, suggestive differences between Mishima and the people he is writing about. For example, Mizoguchi, the acolyte who destroys the Golden Temple, is not a homosexual, nor is he a talented writer. His stammering could be a metaphor for those things, or it could be a metaphor for nothing at all. The mystery of creation and imagination, wordless and inexpressible, really seems to come to life here -- particularly in the dissolve where the schoolboy Mishima "morphs" into the slightly older Mizoguchi.
The problems start in the third chapter, "Action." Here Schrader films scenes from Mishima's RUNAWAY HORSES (one of my personal favorites) as if they are not just similar, but absolutely interchangeable with Mishima's militarist activities with the Shield Society. Schrader seems to assume that the hero of the novel, Isao, is simply a stand in for Mishima. How can you tell? Because Schrader cuts out precisely those sections of the novel in which Mishima actually analyzes Isao's emotions and his illusions. The Isao of this movie is merely a straw man who spouts platitudes about the emperor and Japan's greatness. The Isao of the book is a courageous, unselfish, but very human teenage boy, whose callous and narrow-minded parents are unable to love and who plainly have had a crushing effect on his psyche. Mishima, whether consciously or not, included some truly vile scenes of parental cruelty and manipulation in this book precisely because he understood on some level that Isao's decision to end his own life was not entirely unselfish. The connection between the sordid ugliness of Isao's loveless home and his desire to die a violent death is clear enough in the book. But it is absent from the movie. Oddly enough, Schrader thinks he is protecting Mishima in the last section, by not moralizing about the suicide, but he is actually diminishing him as an author.
The RUNAWAY HORSES section is by far the weakest of the movie. The final scenes, in which Mishima at the moment of death attains "oneness" with his heroes, really are quite exhilarating. But they would have been still richer if Schrader had taken a more nuanced approach to RUNAWAY HORSES, instead of just viewing it as a "blueprint" for the last events in Mishima's life.
This is unquestionably a brilliant, inspiring film, but it's not quite flawless.