Yukio Mishima double from Criterion
Patriotism (1966)
Synopsis
Playwright and novelist Yukio Mishima foreshadowed his own violent suicide with this ravishing short feature, his only foray into filmmaking, yet made with the expressiveness and confidence of a true cinema artist. All prints of Patriotism (Yûkoku), which depicts the seppuku of a army officer, were destroyed after Mishima's death in 1970, though the negative was saved, and the film resurfaced thirty-five years later. New viewers will be stunned at the depth and clarity of Mishima's vision, as well as his graphic depictions of sex and death. The film is presented here with a choice of Japanese or English intertitles.
Special Features
* - New, restored high-definition digital transfer of the Japanese and English versions, with optional Japanese or English intertitles
* - A 45-minute audio recording of Yukio Mishima speaking to the Foreign Correspondents' Association of Japan
* - A 45-minute making-of documentary, featuring crew from the film's production
* - Interview excerpts featuring Mishima discussing war and death
* - New and improved English subtitle translation
* - PLUS: A new essay by renowned critic and historian Tony Rayns, Mishima's original short story, and Mishima's extensive notes on the film's production
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Mishima - A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
Synopsis
Paul Schrader's visually stunning, collagelike portrait of acclaimed Japanese author and playwright Yukio Mishima (played by Ken Ogata) investigates the inner turmoil and contradictions of a man who attempted an impossible harmony between self, art, and society. Taking place on Mishima's last day, when he famously committed public seppuku, the film is punctuated by extended flashbacks to the writer's life as well as by 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.
Special Features
* - DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES
* - New, restored high-definition digital transfer of the director's cut, supervised and approved by director Paul Schrader and cinematographer John Bailey
* - Optional English and Japanese voice-over narrations, the former by Roy Scheider, the latter by Ken Ogata
* - New audio commentary featuring Schrader and producer Alan Poul
* - New video interviews with Bailey, producers Tom Luddy and Mata Yamamoto, composer Philip Glass, and production designer Eiko Ishioka
* - New video interviews with Mishima biographer John Nathan and friend Donald Richie
* - New audio interview with coscreenwriter Chieko Schrader
* - Video interview excerpt featuring Mishima talking about writing
* - The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima, a 55-minute BBC documentary about the author
* - Theatrical trailer
* - PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Kevin Jackson, a piece on the film’s censorship in Japan, and photographs of Ishioka's sets
