Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters [The Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Mishima was a film originally released in 1985 and is best described as a cult film or arthouse classic. The soundtrack was composed by Philip Glass and If you are familiar with the film music by Philip Glass, then Mishima could be seen as a cross between one of his portrait operas such as Satyagraha and the film Koyaanisqatsi.The film plot starts with a scene from the end of the film, and recounts the events leading up to the finale in a similar way that Pulp Fiction consists of separate motifs that form a coherent narrative (when you've finished watching it). Some of the film's storyline is hyper-surreal, and this is juxtaposed with a quasi-documentary view of the events leading to the last day in the life of Yukio Mishima, the protagonist.The film is shot in colour with certain past events in black and white. Subtitles are used throughout and the music of Philip Glass is integral to the film. The scenes are filmed in a theatrically stylised manner. For instance, some of the scenes are themed with super-saturated colour, such as pink or gold, and this becomes characteristic for that section of the film. Selective lighting, unusual camera angles and a Japanese aesthetic produce scenes which look as if they were part of a stage production in a theatre.Yukio Mishima is the main character of the film, which is a biographical and essentially non-fictional account of his life. He was an author, poet, bodybuilder, gigolo, homosexual, masochist, nationalist, samurai marshal artist, anarchist and a family man and the film attempts to piece all these together to reach the final conclusion of his life.The presentation of this DVD is special and it could rightly be described as being a souvenir edition. It consists of a cardboard slipcase which is eye catching, brightly coloured and glossy and it contains the inner case. This houses the DVD and a booklet with background information and photos. The Blu-ray DVD is a re-issue of former VHS and DVD editions. It includes additional features, in particular, filmed interviews which are really interesting and insightful.This film is a classic with multiple layers and themes that should keep you thinking about it long after watching it. I'm a Philip Glass fan, so the soundtrack was my main reason for watching this film but I can honestly say that it has been an unforgettable experience.

I first saw Mishima: A Life in four Chapters in 1985, and it made a deep and lasting impression on me (I was just 16 at the time). Since then, I've seen it many times, including at a BFI screening in the late nineties. So, when I saw this remastered version had been released, I had to purchase it.and I was not disappointed!The packaging is striking and beautifully designed, with more than a nod toward the aesthetic of Eikoh Hosoe. There is an accompanying booklet that briefly covers the film's history and of course its eponymous subject, Yukio Mishima. In addition to the remastered feature, there is a documentary on the making of Mishima, and a BBC documentary on Yukio Mishima himself (with lots of archival footage and interviews), alongside other supplementary material.The film can be viewed with English subtitles or with subtitles and a choice of two English-language voice-overs. My preference is to include the voice-over by Roy Scheider. Purists may prefer to watch the film with Ken Ogata's narration in Japanese.For admirers of Philip Glass, too, the film score is exquisite, with churning strings and soaring crescendos that continually foreshadow Mishima's inevitable and dramatic suicide.AT £25.99 it may be expensive, but in my opinion, it's well worth the money!(I've read a one-star review that claims this film has Spanish subtitles and is therefore incomprehensible. This is not the case as far as the Blu-ray version is concerned! So, please do not be deterred from purchasing by this inaccurate statement.)

Delighted to own this blu-ray. Product received exactly as described. One very happy customer!

Ecstatic! Super happy!

Fine

Really ! Don't they know that people will watch this film at home and normally at 3 meters away from the tv set?The subtitles use a small font and are white against black and white images or bright colour images!!!The editor was certainly in an editing suite, one meter away from a high, high res screen. Don't they know that this is not how people will watch the film? Don't they know people will not have their faces glued on the screen?Why some studios insist on ignoring this very important fact?I am sending the disc back for a full refund.