Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writers:

Yukio Mishima (life story and his novel)
Chieko Schrader (Japanese script)
(more)

Release Date:

20 September 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

On November 25, 1970, Japan's greatest author Yukio Mishima commited an act that shocked the literary world...

Plot:

A fictionalized account in four segments of the life of Japan's celebrated twentieth-century author Yukio Mishima...

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Author | Prison | Fight | Raid

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

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 Esumi	...	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
Mataichirô 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

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Takayoshi Bunai	....	second assistant director
Yasuo Matsumoto	....	second assistant director
Koichi Nakajima	....	first assistant director
Hisashi Tôma	....	second assistant director (as Hisashi Toma)

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
Kanzô Uni	....	action director (as Kanzo Uni)
Christopher Werner	....	title designer

Thanks
Sidney Ganis	....	special thanks
George Hayum	....	special thanks
John Peters	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• American Zoetrope
• Lucasfilm
• M Company
• Tristone Entertainment Inc.

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1985-2006) (USA) (all media)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Wild Side Films (2009) (France) (theatrical)

Special Effects

• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)
• Modern Film Effects (opticals)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production
• Donah Bassett and Associates  negative cutting: U.S. (as D. Bassett and Associates)
• Greene St. Recording  music recording facility
• Nonesuch Records  soundtrack
• Russian Hill Recording  additional post-production services
• Sprocket Systems  post-production services

Also Known As:

Mishima (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

Japanese | English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Mexico:B15 (2009) | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | UK:15 | Japan:(Banned) | Germany:16 | Canada:18A | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

Has never been officially released in Japan even to this day (2005) theatrically or on video because of the controversy over both Yukio Mishima's politics and the film itself. However, it has been shown on television (albiet with the gay bar scene removed) and the U.S. DVD can legally be imported there.

Goofs:

Factual errors: General Mashita wiped the sword with tissue paper, not cloth.

Quotes:

[referring to his "frog feet" and Mizoguchi's stuttering]
Mariko: Guys like us are just like beautiful girls. We get sick of always being stared at.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sweets to the Sweet: The Candyman Mythos (2004) (V)

Brilliant, Magnificent -- But Not Flawless

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.