Rating: 
Summary: Don't shelve your VHS copy of Mishima
Review: I would like to see greater resistance to content alteration as we release such classics on this better medium.Was disappointed to notice a new narration track in the DVD release. What was in the original print a dignified, reflective narration, is now something morose and of a peculiar American accent -- really lacks the subtle animation Scheider was able to deliver in the cinema and vhs releases. Strangely, Roy Scheider is still credited; Is this really him? It sounds like he's had a stroke or two if so.
Rating:
Summary: the narration confusion..I think it's the same
Review: I'm rather confused about all these discussions about the narration being "changed", and apparently, so is Paul Schrader himself.
I have not seen the film at the original release, bI'm rather confused about all these discussions about the narration being "changed", and apparently, so is Paul Schrader himself.
I have not seen the film at the original release, but as for the difference between the fromer VHS editions of the film and this new DVD... the only difference about the narration is...that Ken Ogata's narration in Japanese can now be heard, which is great. The English-narrated sound track is...the SAME.
I first saw the film in an old VHS in a university class, and THE ENGLISH NARRATION WAS ALREADY THE SAME AS IT CAN BE HEARD ON TRACK ONE OF THIS DVD: "flat and matter-of-fact" as Mr.Schrader describes.
As a matter of fact, I did not recognize that it was Roy Scheider, though it was certainly his voice. This is very good for the film, since we are supposed to be listening to Mishima's inner reflection on his own life. It cannot be "acted out" loudly, since Mishima that we see in the film --especially in the main narrative line of it which is Mishima's last day ending with his suicide-- is always acting himself, rather flamboyantly. So the director Paul Schrader's choice of asking the actor not to "play" it, but making an "effort was made to keep the narrative flat and matter-of-fact" was very suitable for the mystery of the film.
Personally, I first did not like the narration being in English, then I started to feel that the very flat narration in a different language may be representing another dimention of Mishima's split personality that Schrader is exploring in the film.
But watching the film with Ken Ogata's narration was a revelation. The film definetely looks more complete with the Japanese narration. And Ogata did not need an English speaking narrator to represent this split, complex and enigmatic personality who is Yukio Mishima. It's far stroger to see the same actor incarnating those many personalities, and it also make far more sense.
The DVD is also on 1:1.85 aspect ratio, which is a huge improvement to 4:3 VHS, since now we can really appreciate John Bailey's extremely pricise framings and compositions. I have never been crazy about Eiko Ishioka's production design. Even for this film, when I first saw it I was interesting but not great, but Bailey's 1:1.85 framing really brings out the essence of the stories from her sets (though I still don't like them).
Of course a DVD has better image clarity than a VHS, plus the correct framing, plus Ken Ogata's own voice...the DVD edition is the best way to see the film.
And Mr. Schrader's commentary is very interesting and enjoyable (as he always is; one of the best director to do commentaries), including the horrifying story of the true reason why the film was banned in Japan. Very scary but very realistic for us Japanese.
Nevertheless, MISHIMA is a very interesting film but not the best among Schrader's works as director. My favorite one is AFFLICTION, and though Schrader himself dislikes the film saying the experience was a "nightmare", BLUE COLLAR.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally!
Review: I've been waiting many years for this movie to be properly released. Now lets see if we can get Koyaanisqatsi on DVD next!
Rating:
Summary: VALUABLE, SYMPATHETIC PORTRAIT
Review: If you are a devotee of the works of Mishima, this film will take your breath away. Dreamlike and anguished, the film explores Mishima's concerns with the nature of beauty and truth. Most important, the film allows Mishima to speak for himself via dialogue taken from his works...no silly analysis or deconstruction, just pure unadulterated Mishima. In a world where we all desperately, pathetically try to be "somebody else", this film is a tribute to a man who struggled to be HIMSELF, authentic and complex.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie--Lackluster Transfer!
Review: 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.]
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie--Lackluster Transfer!
Review: 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.]
Rating:
Summary: this, my original introduction 2 mishima & philip glass. . .
Review: is even better than i remembered :) the fascinating subject; the satisfying structure of its four-chapter organization; the lively contrast & interplay of the three simulataneous thread-elements (b&w past, color present & eiko ishioka-stylized novel segments); the rigorous, propulsive, kronos quartet-performed glass score (some of which was Not on the cd release, conFOUND it!); the obvious relish ken ogata pours into his portrayal; and even the unobtrusive roy scheider narration, make this flick a thoroughly competent, absorbing tour-de-force of a sort we rarely get. clear-eyed yet heady- vt
Rating:
Summary: Epic, noy always easy, but brilliant
Review: It has been said that perhaps only a non-Japanese could provide an assessment of the life of Yukio Mishima, the man modern Japan wants desperately to forget. For the majority of his life he played two roles to his own country: the brilliant, best-selling author and the clownish gadfly who exposed, inadvertently or not, some of Japan's touchiest issues. And then one November day in 1970, he went with a group of his cronies to visit a Japanese Self-Defense Forces general in private, held the man hostage, demanded to speak to the soldiers garrisoned there, and harangued them for half an hour to rise up and retake Japan for their emperor. He was jeered at and ignored. When he went back into the building, he muttered "I'm not even sure they heard me" (which was in fact quite true, since most of his words had been obscured by the press and police helicopters), and then proceeded to commit ritual suicide. The word on everyone's lips: why? Paul Schrader has made a movie which does not provide us with an easy answer to that question. He could have, actually; any number of pseudo-Freudian ruminations would have done the trick. But rather than settle for something as simple as explain, he has done something even more challenging and artistically fascinating. His movie "Mishima" attempts to recreate the inside of Mishima's mind, through events in his life and scenes from his fiction. Real life is in flat black and white; the dramatic moments are in blazing Technicolor, with Expressionistic sets and daring camerawork. Mishima presents something of a problem for anyone trying to do an objective analysis, since he seemed to openly delight in frustrating people. Born to a smothering, possessive mother and a mostly absent father, he grew up certain that he was going to die at any moment. When WWII came, he was declared 4-F and thus denied the chance to die gloriously for his country (and it's no small secret to the audience that his suicide may have been a way of reliving that frustrated feeling). After college, he began writing fulltime and quickly became the most important post-WWII writer in Japan. Obsessed with death, his own homosexuality and what he saw as Japan's capitulations to the West, he challenged as many of his readers as he could with these notions. As his sentiments drifted more and more towards explicit, fanatic nationalism, his writing in turn reflected that: less literary work and more essays expounding on the glories of noble youth sacrificing themselves for the rising sun. Most people shrugged, and they were doubly perplexed when he created the "Shield Society," a hand-picked crew of young paramilitaries designed to aid the Emperor if the need arose. All of this and more is dramatized in the film, which is assembled with great care and power. Rather than tell everything chronologically, the film moves back and forth through time, running excerpts from his novels parallel to each other and building them together to an emotional, rather than strictly chronological climax. The effect is far more overpowering than a straightforward front-to-back run-through of his life. Roy Scheider's surgically precise narration lends the film even more gravity. The whole thing is wrapped up in a pulsating, mirrorlike Philip Glass score. The movie isn't for everyone. Many people will no doubt be perplexed by Mishima -- but then again, so was Japan itself. For those who are interested in a real movie, one with courage and genuine artistic insight, look no further -- and it's great to have it back in print and in widescreen, no less.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful things they are my enemies
Review: It struck me whilst watching Mishima that the film has a very clear, but perhaps unintentional, interpretation of his behaviour in his final years. Mishima's decision to re-focus his life away from what he came to see as an artificial world of words to the real world of action and was, in fact, simply replacing one artistic activity with another. His final actions were performance art. Assesed objectively they served no genuine policital or social purpose at all. A film worth watching for anybody interested in Mishima's work or Japanese culture.
Rating:
Summary: A revealing film
Review: It struck me whilst watching Mishima that the film has a very clear, but perhaps unintentional, interpretation of his behaviour in his final years. Mishima's decision to re-focus his life away from what he came to see as an artificial world of words to the real world of action and was, in fact, simply replacing one artistic activity with another. His final actions were performance art. Assesed objectively they served no genuine policital or social purpose at all. A film worth watching for anybody interested in Mishima's work or Japanese culture.
|
