Cheap Mishima - A Life in Four Chapters (DVD) (Ken Ogata, Masayuki Shionoya) (Paul Schrader) Price

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Customer Reviews of Mishima - A Life in Four Chapters

A biopic that is even more impressive than its subject
Most biographical films of artists (Immortal Beloved, Amadeus, etc.), even if they are well made, hardly live up to the greatness of the people they describe. This film is a notable exception, one which outdoes its subject. Mishima was an accomplished writer, one whose works deserve to be read, but no single work of his stands out as an unquestionable masterpiece of world literature. This film, on the other hand, is without doubt one of the masterpieces of world cinema.

The film is broken down into interlocking "modules": those which depict Mishima's life and those which recreate episodes from his books. The literary recreations are done in a highly stylized manner which captures (and at times, outdoes) the mystery and poetry of the original texts. The biographical segments feature a fine sense of both drama and poetry. They capture the essence of Mishima's passion in a way that even he himself was unable to do.

The score by Philip Glass is one of the finest film scores ever written, and it turns the film almost into a kind of opera. It is far superior to any of his other compositions.

I was born a few years after Mishima committed suicide, but I am friends with two people who knew him personally, both of whom have excellent taste in both film and literature: they both recommend this film highly. The film may take some factual liberties, but it represents the fundamental nature of the man with infallible accuracy.

Whether your interest is great cinema, great literature, Japan, or Mishima himself, do yourself a favor: see this film.

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A biopic that is even more impressive than its subject
Most biographical films of artists (Immortal Beloved, Amadeus, etc.), even if they are well made, hardly live up to the greatness of the people they describe. This film is a notable exception, one which outdoes its subject. Mishima was an accomplished writer, one whose works deserve to be read, but no single work of his stands out as an unquestionable masterpiece of world literature. This film, on the other hand, is without doubt one of the masterpieces of world cinema.

The film is broken down into interlocking "modules": those which depict Mishima's life and those which recreate episodes from his books. The literary recreations are done in a highly stylized manner which captures (and at times, outdoes) the mystery and poetry of the original texts. The biographical segments feature a fine sense of both drama and poetry. They capture the essence of Mishima's passion in a way that even he himself was unable to do.

The score by Philip Glass is one of the finest film scores ever written, and it turns the film almost into a kind of opera. It is far superior to any of his other compositions.

I was born a few years after Mishima committed suicide, but I am friends with two people who knew him personally, both of whom have excellent taste in both film and literature: they both recommend this film highly. The film may take some factual liberties, but it represents the fundamental nature of the man with infallible accuracy.

Whether your interest is great cinema, great literature, Japan, or Mishima himself, do yourself a favor: see this film.

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Great Movie--Lackluster Transfer!
In both the running commentary and in the DVD production notes, it is revealed that the participants involved with "Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters" felt they were producing a film "no one would see." How odd that a film that felt it had no audience, turned out to be an exceptional and popular film about a writer's life and work.

What sets Mishima apart from others in this genre, is that Paul Shrader focused solely on the themes that appear in both Mishima's personal life and within his writings. This is not a tell-all exploration of a known celebrity, rather it is an in-depth analysis of a man's core beliefs that motivated both his direction in life and his writings. Broken into three distinct styles, the film covers Mishima's past (black and white), present (documentary color) and novels (stylized color), resulting in a concise, deep, and through exploration that neither hails or condemns its subject.

All aspects of the film production are exceptional. From the spot on performances of Ken Ogata (it is eerie how he physically captures the essence of Mishima) and the supporting cast, to the incredible & luxurious sets of Eiko Ishioka, and the atmospheric music of Philip Glass. There is much to admire within this film and if you haven't seen it, you should.

Warner has previously released this film on VHS and Laserdisc and now presents it on DVD. Surprisingly, this film with no audience, has a lot of amenities to make it a worthwhile purchase. Paul Schrader, the film's director, provides a thorough and insightful running commentary, further illuminating Yukio Mishima's life as well as chronicling the production. Additionally, the Japanese audio track features the original narration that was done by Ken Ogata. (When first released in Japan, his narration was replaced.) As for the picture, the transfer leaves a lot to be desired, appearing to be a rehash of the original laserdisc transfer. It's a shame that such a visually potent film lacks a proper transfer to DVD.

[On a odd note, in the original release Roy Scheider provided the narration to this film. However, despite a listing on the end credits, it appears that the narrator on this DVD is NOT Roy Scheider. I did an A/B comparison with the laserdisc and there is a distinct difference from the Laserdisc to the DVD. If anyone has any information on this oddity, I would be interested to hear from you.]