Search - Mishima: Life in Four Chapters on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Adult Language, Sexual Situations Movie Release: 1985 DVD Release: 08/07/2001 Format: DVD - Soft-Matted WSE for 16x9 TV Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English, French, Japanese Subtitles: English, French, Japanese SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 0 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 6 Genres: Drama, Biopic [feature] See Also: Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters [Criterion Collection]

In Paul Schrader's unusual biopic, Ken Ogata stars as Yukio Mishima, perhaps the most celebrated Japanese novelist of the last five decades. The film begins with Mishima's youth, then moves forward in episodic fashion to his 1970 suicide, symbolically committed at a military site. Originally titled Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, the film is neatly divided into a quartet of acts, and the screenplay does not flinch in its depiction of Mishima's hyperactive sex life. Among the many neat directorial touches is the decision to offer the narrative in black-and-white, while depicting scenes from Mishima's novels in vibrant color. Written off as self-indulgent by those impatient with Schrader's fragmentary technique, Mishima was produced in Japan by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, an offshoot of Coppola's involvement with Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ken Ogata - Yukio Mishima
Masayuki Shionoya - Morita
Yasosuke Bando - Mizoguchi
Hiroshi Mikami - Cadet No. 1
Junya Fukuda - Cadet No. 2
Toshiyuki Nagashima - Isao [Runaway Horses]
Shigeto Tachihara - Cadet No. 3

A unique and unusual portrait of a celebrated artist receives a solid release from Warner Studios. The print is presented widescreen (anamorphic) with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The language choices are English, Japanese, and French, all in Dolby Digital 2.0. Subtitle choices are the same. A unique feature to this specific release is that by selecting the Japanese-language soundtrack, the film can be viewed as Schrader intended for the Japanese release, featuring actor Ken Ogata voicing the narration. The disc also has a commentary track provided by Schrader which, though not screen-specific, conveys in a succinct and intelligent manner the extraordinary story of how the film was made. The transfer itself is solid, faring extremely well through the black and white, color, and beautifully controlled interior set pieces. Supplemental material includes a "Cast and Crew" one-page text screen, production notes, and a theatrical trailer. There is also a one-minute deleted scene, which had to be cut for time considerations. Finally there is a ten-minute behind-the-scenes production video shot while the film was being completed. Though short, it is priceless. A noteworthy disc definitely worth viewing. ~ A.R. Ferguson, All Movie Guide