Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters: The Criterion Collection

chris,

how does schrader judge mishima (other than finding him a fascinating study)?

eddie

I don't know that he does. If he views him like he does Travis Bickle, then not well as Schrader has often expressed shock that people think Travis is a hero. I think he has more admiration for Mishima simply because he had a clear vision and went through with it and, unlike some megalomaniacs, didn't take anyone out in the process. Except his assistant. And he left his family in the lurch. And he disappointed a whole hell of a lot of fans though, let's be honest, if EBay was around then, they'd have been perfectly happy.

I doubt that Schrader approved of Mishima's ultra-nationalist leanings, but I don't really know.

I suppose I could listen to the whole commentary if I wanted to find out. But we don't care about "authorial intent" do we? :)

while it's useful to examine artifacts from a variety of perspectives, it's not a good idea to discard "authorial intent" (or auteur theory) for that matter. we have to take a comprehensive approach and see which combined rubrics give us the best overall picture.

at the very least, we can see if a director succeeded/failed at what he thought he was going to show viewers. :)