Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Director’s Cut

  • Introduction

    Rachel Kushner is the author of two novels, The Flamethrowers and Telex from Cuba, both of which were finalists for the National Book Award, as well as The Strange Case of Rachel K, a collection of short prose. Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, and The Paris Review.

featuring

Ken Ogata, Kenji Sawada, Yasosuke Bando, Toshiyuki Nagashima,

While at American Zoetrope, producer Tom Luddy assembled a remarkable team to realize Paul Schrader’s riveting Mishima, based on the life and work of the celebrated Japanese author Yukio Mishima. Shot in Japan with a Japanese cast and crew, the film consists of a series of flashbacks and stylized renderings of scenes from Mishima’s fiction embedded in the last day of his life. Supported by the brilliant production design of Eiko Ishioka and a compelling score by Philip Glass, Schrader communicated Mishima’s literary and existential quest to transcend ordinary life through devotion to ideals of beauty and purity, transforming the author’s words into unforgettable images.

Kate MacKay
FILM DETAILS 
Screenwriter
  • Paul Schrader
  • Leonard Schrader
  • Chieko Schrader
Cinematographer
  • John Bailey
Language
  • Japanese
  • English
  • with English subtitles
Print Info
  • B&W/Color
  • 35mm
  • 120 mins
Source
  • UCLA Film & Television Archive
Permission
  • Janus Films