Mishima - A Life in Four Chapters (1985)

Paul Schrader’s 1985 biopic necessarily guts his controversial life — but the visual style is superb.

Graced with a throbbing orchestral score from Philip Glass and John Bailey’s luminous photography, this is appropriately monumental filmmaking.

From Philip Glass's glorious score to John Bailey's rich cinematography, Schrader's movie is never less than ravishing.

The gorgeous, artsy 1985 biopic Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is the best movie that Paul Schrader has yet directed.

Philip Glass’s score still takes the breath away.

Those unfamiliar with Mishima’s work may find the expressionistic novel sequences overly rich, but Schrader’s film is a visually arresting, imaginative and intelligent overview of a difficult subject.

The cerebral cool of Schrader's perspective sacrifices emotional connection to its subject.

It’s fetishistic, lyrical, narcissistic and, at key moments, borderline berserk. In other words, the movie captures its subject to a tee.