Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writers:

Chieko Schrader (Japanese script)
Paul Schrader ...
(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:

Author | Japan | Military Uniform | Military Parade | Battle

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Ken Ogata	...	Yukio Mishima (segment "November 25, 1970") / Narrator
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 Ôtani	...	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")
Yuuki 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")
Ryô 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 Poul	...	American Reporter (as Alan Mark Poul)
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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chishû Ryû	...	A monk (uncredited)

Directed by
Paul Schrader

Writing credits
Chieko Schrader		(Japanese script)
Paul Schrader		&
Leonard Schrader
Jun Shiragi		(scenario conceived in collaboration with: literary executor of the Mishima Estate)
Yukio Mishima		novels "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion", "Kyoko's House" and "Runaway Horses (uncredited)

Produced by
Francis Ford Coppola	....	executive producer (as Francis Coppola)
George Lucas	....	executive producer
Tom Luddy	....	producer
Yosuke Mizuno	....	line producer
Alan Poul	....	associate producer (as Alan Mark Poul)
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
Gary Clayton	....	sound effects 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 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)
Francis Ford Coppola	....	presenter
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
George Lucas	....	presenter
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

• Zoetrope Studios
• Filmlink International
• Lucasfilm
• M Company
• Toho Film (Eiga) Co. Ltd. (uncredited)
• Tristone Entertainment Inc.

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1985-2006) (USA) (all media)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. (1985) (Canada) (theatrical)
• 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:

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

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Zoetrope Studios

Trivia:

There are two versions of the film, one with English narration by Roy Scheider, the other with Japanese narration by Ken Ogata. The Ogata version also has scenes added by Paul Schrader that were cut out from the original 1985 release. These scenes were added by Schrader to the Criterion DVD release. Paul Schrader : "We did quite a bit of work on it--John Bailey and I worked a week redoing the D.I. and balancing the color. We did great work to the soundtrack. We added a short little scene that I had cut out featuring Chishu Ryu, the Ozu actor, that I always regretted cutting out--we found the original negative and I put that back in. I did some sky replacement at the end of "Runaway Horses" because I wasn't really happy with the shots at the end. We were able to go back and replace the natural sky with an artificial sky. Then we went back to the original digital on Philip Glass' soundtrack and so the sound is much better on the Criterion version. We also put Ken Ogata's narration in, so now it finally has Japanese narration."

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

[Kiyomi cuts Osamu's bare chest. Osamu looks up, surprised]
Kiyomi:It's just a little cut.
Osamu:Why?
Kiyomi:Your skin is so beautiful, I just had to cut it.
Osamu:[smiles] It felt pleasant.

Movie Connections:

References The Conformist (1970)

Amazing

Mishima is one of the greatest films ever made. Now I think Paul Schrader is the greatest screenwriter of all time, but I don't really like the films he's directed of what I've seen (with the exception of this and Affliction), but this is an amazing, disturbing, and highly 3-dimensional character study. It follows the life of Yukio Mishima, Japan's most celebrated writer, combining the last day of his life with flashbacks and his stories. I don't know how, but Paul Schrader manages to combine all of those in a very artistic way. The acting is great, so is the photography, and a perfect score by Philip Glass. Although confusing the first viewing, this is one of the few films that becomes richer with each viewing. Truly an underrated gem of a film.