Paul Schrader

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Paul Schrader’s visually stunning, collagelike portrait of the acclaimed Japanese author and playwright Yukio Mishima (played by Ken Ogata) investigates the inner turmoil and contradictions of a man who attempted the impossible task of finding harmony among self, art, and society. Taking place on the last day of Mishima’s life, when he famously committed public seppuku, the film is punctuated by extended flashbacks to the writer’s past as well as gloriously stylized evocations of his fictional works. With its rich cinematography by John Bailey, exquisite sets and costumes by Eiko Ishioka, and unforgettable, highly influential score by Philip Glass, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is a tribute to its subject and a bold, investigative work of art in its own right.

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Film Info

  • United States, Japan
  • 1985
  • 121 minutes
  • Black and White/Color
  • 1.85:1
  • Japanese
  • Spine #432

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • 4K digital restoration of the director’s cut, supervised and approved by director Paul Schrader and cinematographer John Bailey, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • Two alternate English narrations, including one by actor Roy Scheider
  • Audio commentary featuring Schrader and producer Alan Poul
  • Program on the making of the film featuring Bailey, producers Tom Luddy and Mata Yamamoto, composer Philip Glass, and production designer Eiko Ishioka
  • Program on Yukio Mishima featuring his biographer John Nathan and friend Donald Richie
  • Audio interview with coscreenwriter Chieko Schrader
  • Interview excerpt from 1966 featuring Mishima talking about writing
  • The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima, a 1985 documentary about the author
  • Trailer
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Kevin Jackson, a piece on the film’s censorship in Japan, and photographs of Ishioka’s sets

    Cover by Neil Kellerhouse

Purchase Options

Coming soon, available Jun 3, 2025

Collector's Sets

Collector's Set

CC40

CC40

Blu-ray Box Set

49 Discs

$639.96

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • 4K digital restoration of the director’s cut, supervised and approved by director Paul Schrader and cinematographer John Bailey, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
  • Two alternate English narrations, including one by actor Roy Scheider
  • Audio commentary featuring Schrader and producer Alan Poul
  • Program on the making of the film featuring Bailey, producers Tom Luddy and Mata Yamamoto, composer Philip Glass, and production designer Eiko Ishioka
  • Program on Yukio Mishima featuring his biographer John Nathan and friend Donald Richie
  • Audio interview with coscreenwriter Chieko Schrader
  • Interview excerpt from 1966 featuring Mishima talking about writing
  • The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima, a 1985 documentary about the author
  • Trailer
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Kevin Jackson, a piece on the film’s censorship in Japan, and photographs of Ishioka’s sets

    Cover by Neil Kellerhouse
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
Cast
Ken Ogata
Yukio Mishima
Masayuki Shionoya
Morita
Hiroshi Mikami
Cadet no. 1
Junya Fukuda
Cadet no. 2
Shigeto Tachihara
Cadet no. 3
Junkichi Orimoto
General Mashita
Go Riju
Mishima, age 18–19
Yuki Nagahara
Mishima, age 5
Yasosuke Bando
Mizoguchi
Hisako Manda
Mariko
Kenji Sawada
Osamu
Reisen Lee
Kiyomi
Setsuko Karasuma
Mitsuko
Yasuaki Kurata
Takei
Toshiyuki Nagashima
Isao
Hiroshi Katsuno
Lieutenant Hori
Hiroki Ida
Izutsu
Jun Negami
Kurahara
Credits
Director
Paul Schrader
Executive producer
Francis Ford Coppola
Executive producer
George Lucas
Producer
Tom Luddy
Producer
Mata Yamamoto
Writer
Paul Schrader
Writer
Leonard Schrader
Japanese script by
Chieko Schrader
Script research by
Akiko Hitomi
Associate producer
Leonard Schrader
Associate producer
Chieko Schrader
Associate producer
Alan Poul
Director of photography
John Bailey
Executive art director
Kazuo Takenaka
Production design
Eiko Ishioka
Tokyo editor
Tomoyo Oshima
Original music composed and arranged by
Philip Glass
Music produced by
Kurt Munkacsi
Music conducted by
Michael Riesman
Editor
Michael Chandler

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