Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
- Starring:
- Ken Ogata, Masayuki Shionoya, (more)
- Director(s):
- Paul Schrader
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
- Category:
- Independent Films
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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
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 120 mins
Complete Cast:
- Ken Ogata - Yukio Mishima
- Yasosuke Bando - Mizoguchi
- Junya Fukuda - Cadet No. 2
- Shigeto Tachihara - Cadet No. 3
- Naoko Otani - Mother
- Masato Aizawa - Mishima, Age 9-14
- Kyuzo Kobayashi - Literary Friend
- Hisako Manda - Mariko
- Miki Takakura - 2nd Girl [Temple Of The Golden Pavilion]
- Setsuko Karasuma - Mitsuko [Kyoko's House]
- Mitsuru Hirata - Thug [Kyoko's House]
- Hiroki Ida - Izutsu [Runaway Horses]
- Ryo Ikebe - Interrogator [Runaway Horses]
- Kazuo Kato - Grandmother
- Imari Tauji - Madame
- Kojiro Oka - 1st MP [Runaway Horses]
- Alan Mark Poul - American Reporter
- Yosuke Mizuno - "Yukoku" Producer
- Tsutomu Harada - Romeo [Kyoko's House]
- Tatsuya Hiragaki - Actor [Runaway Horses]
- Shinji Miura - Pavilion Acolyte
- Sachiko Akagi - Thug's Girl Friend [Kyoko's House]
- Reisen Lee - Kiyomi
- Mami Okamoto - Juliet [Kyoko's House]
- Atsushi Takayama - Interrogation Policeman
- Sachiko Hidari - Osamu's Mother [Kyoko's House]
- Masayuki Shionoya - Morita
- Hiroshi Mikami - Cadet No. 1
- Toshiyuki Nagashima - Isao [Runaway Horses]
- Junkichi Orimoto - Gen. Mashita
- Go Riju - Mishima, age 18-19
- Yuki Nagahara - Mishima, Age 5
- Yuki Kitazume - Dancing friend
- Naomi Oki - 1st Girl [Temple Of The Golden Pavilion]
- Koichi Sato - Kashiwagi [Temple Of The Golden Pavilion]
- Yasuaki Kurata - Takei [Kyoko's House]
- Hiroshi Katsuno - Lieutenant Hori
- Jun Negami - Kurahara [Runaway Horses]
- Donald Richie
- Kenji Sawara - Osamu
- Eimei Ezumi - Ichigaya Aide-de-Camp
- Minoru Hodaka - Ichigaya Colonel
- Yuichi Saito - Student
- Yasuhiro Arai - Reporter No. 2
- Toshio Hosokawa - "Rokumeikan" Producer
- Tadanori Yokoo - Natsuo
- Shinichi Nosaka - Policeman [Runaway Horses]
- Ren Ebata - Reporter No. 1
- Naoya Makoto - Kendo Instructor [Runaway Horses]
- Fumio Mizushima - Reporter No. 3
- Roy Scheider - English Narration
- John Nathan - Biographer
- Director(s):
- Paul Schrader
- Writer(s):
- Leonard Schrader, Paul Schrader, Chieko Schrader
- Producer(s):
- Mataichiro, George Lucas, Mata Yamamoto
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Violence, Sexual Situations, Nudity, Adult Language, Adult Situations)
- Categories:
- Independent Films
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- 1985 - Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters - Cannes Film Festival - Best Artistic Contribution
- 1985 - Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters - Cannes Film Festival - Best Artistic Contribution
- 1985 - Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters - Cannes Film Festival - Best Artistic Contribution
