ryuganji: film news from japan

Another Logboy find: Criterion are dipping into the oeuvre of bodybuilding ultrarightist homosexual author and playwright Mishima Yukio with two releases in June, one being Paul Schrader’s impressionistic biography “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters” and the other Mishima’s own “Patriotism”, the only film he ever directed. Incidentally, the most recent film adaptation of his work was Yukisada Isao’s “Haru no Yuki” (titled “Snowy Love Fallin’ in Spring” in English, would you believe) in 2005, starring Tsumabuki Satoshi and Takeuchi Yuko. Details from Criterion’s homepage follow below.

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Synopsis:
Paul Schrader’s visually stunning, structurally audacious collagelike portrait of acclaimed Japanese author and playwright Mishima Yukio (played by Ogata Ken) 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 (ritual suicide), the film is punctuated by extended flashbacks to the writer’s life as well as gloriously stylized evocations of his fictional works. With its rich cinematography by John Bailey, exquisite sets and costumes by Ishioka Eiko, and unforgettable, highly influential score by Philip Glass, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is a sincere 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, supervised and approved by director Paul Schrader and cinematographer John Bailey
* New audio commentary featuring Schrader and producer Alan Poul
* The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima, a 55-minute BBC documentary about the author
* New interviews with Donald Richie and John Nathan, collaborators and friends of Mishima Yukio
* New interviews with Bailey, producers Tom Luddy and Yamamoto Mata, composer Philip Glass, and production designer Ishioka Eiko
* A new audio interview with co-screenwriter Chieko Schrader
* A video interview excerpt featuring Mishima talking about writing
* Theatrical trailer
* New and improved English subtitle translation
* Plus: a booklet featuring a new essay by critic Kevin Jackson and a piece on the film’s censorship in Japan

Criterion Collection page

Patriotism

Synopsis:
Playwright and novelist Mishima Yukio predicted his own suicide with this ravishing short feature, his only foray into filmmaking (co-directed with Domoto Masaki), yet made with the expressiveness and confidence of a true cinema artist. All prints of Patriotism (Yukoku), which depicts the seppuku (ritual suicide) of a naval 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 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

Criterion Collection page