Paul Schrader Discusses Yukio Mishima | The Dick Cavett Show
Paul Schrader talks about his new movie 'Mishima' and the effects his screenplay 'Taxi Driver' had on the public psyche.
Date aired - 11/25/1985 Eddie Murphy, Paul Schrader
#PaulSchrader #Mishima #DickCavett
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Dick Cavett has been nominated for eleven Emmy awards (the most recent in 2012 for the HBO special, Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again), and won three. Spanning five decades, Dick Cavett’s television career has defined excellence in the interview format. He started at ABC in 1968, and also enjoyed success on PBS, USA, and CNBC.
His most recent television successes were the September 2014 PBS special, Dick Cavett’s Watergate, followed April 2015 by Dick Cavett’s Vietnam. He has appeared in movies, tv specials, tv commercials, and several Broadway plays. He starred in an off-Broadway production ofHellman v. McCarthy in 2014 and reprised the role at Theatre 40 in LA February 2015.
Cavett has published four books beginning with Cavett (1974) and Eye on Cavett (1983), co-authored with Christopher Porterfield. His two recent books -- Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets (2010) and Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic moments, and Assorted Hijinks(October 2014) are both collections of his online opinion column, written for The New York Times since 2007. Additionally, he has written for The New Yorker, TV Guide, Vanity Fair, and elsewhere.
#thedickcavettshow
It looks like they ripped off the set from The Adam Friedland Show
same breathing too eh
I keep running into other fans in the weirdest places😂
@@gravenewworld6521Never thought Adam making a fool of himself in a room with Paul Schrader would introduce me to such a cool historical character
imagine if talk shows were still like this
The goons on late night have a median IQ of 80.
@@nhmooytis7058 A combined IQ of 80.
@@roelvinckens5553 exactly!
podcasts are like this.
@@Iancreed8592 Good point. It's true that in general they haven't been invaded yet by commercial lobotomy.
-no overbearing audience -calm, on topic conversation -no gimmicks -charismatic host That is good TV
Still a misrepresentation of Mishima. The Jonathan Bowden lecture on Mishima is more powerful and honest, and gives more cultural context. I recommend finding it here on YT if you still have an interest in YM 10 months later.
@@SkullOfTheAbyss yeah thx for the recommendation
" ...when life turns to art ... " paraphrasing Paul.
It's the kind of TV that I miss.
@@SkullOfTheAbyss Thank you.
Paul schrader is a legendary writer. It blows my mind how he was never even nominated for an Oscar for raging bull or taxi driver.
Didn’t play the Hollyweird game.
A true original nominated for the Oscars? That would be against their first rule.
@@roelvinckens5553 not so much in the 70s/80s, lots of great films. But Schrader was a maverick.
@ken m and do both badly
Too real
What a brilliant conversation. So focused on the subject matter. Cavett was a step ahead of everyone else.
ahead and everyone else dropped the ball and left us in the wasteland of USA conversation
As the interviewing bar is set quite low, it is not too hard to be a step or two ahead. Was disappointed in this interview on a few occasions when Schrader was interrupted whilst gathering his thoughts. Otherwise, it was an absorbing 20 minutes.
Yes he was. I've realized his brilliance and dry humor as I've aged. 😊
@@waynemontpetit8181 #Truth
everything is scripted, mishima's life and death was a protest against this
I worked at Paramount when Paul Schrader had an office there. I used to have long crazy conversations w him about Calvinism & Sam Fuller & everything under the son relating to movies. I was all of 24 years old & Paul was already a legend for having written Taxi Driver. I remember his blazing intelligence. This clip reminds me that Hollywood doesn't appreciate this kind of intellect.. He was so much more intelligent than any of the "suits" on the lot & studio heads I worked with. Since I'd gone to UCLA film school for 4 years, he enjoyed talking to me since I knew who his personalized license plate referred to. He had a silver Jaguar with a license plate that read Ozu. If you are a fan of Taxi Driver & have never seen Rolling Thunder check it out. Schrader outdid himself on that one but the studio did not want to touch it w a ten foot pole or promote it for fear of inciting accusations of racism [anti-Latino].. Great movie w Oscar-calibre performance from William Devane. Peace & happy 2021.
"There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide." - Camus ... If there is no God in your philosophy, you haven't realized your religion. Mishima and Andy Kaufman!
Which son?
Mishima is one of the best films by an American director, ever.
One of the best films ever made.
most of the best films are made by americans.
Quite ironic
@@jonasseorum5471 how's life,in your bubble?
@@jonasseorum5471 no
I was trying to find some quality Schrader interviews, and I shouldn't even be shocked to discover that Dick Cavett did one with him. Who doesn't think this guy had the greatest talk show ever?
Fallon, Kimmel, and their contemporaries couldn't hold Dick's jockstrap.
I loved Cavett, I’m 68.
NHMO OYTIS same here, but I’m 23
@@gravenewworld6521 same here, but i'm 19 :D
mudit malhotra 😂
Isn't it incredible to think that this kind of intellectual discourse could once took place on a mainstream talk show. Even scientific/ nature documentaries of the 70s/ 80s had far more bite, and were filled with more technical information than now; I'm thinking of Attenborough's 'Life on Earth' as an example.
Seeing this level of discussion on a mainstream talk show feels unthinkable today. It's diverted away to podcasts nowadays, and even then you have to search out the gems.
Schrader kind of faded into cinema history, in part due to his Kafkaesque approach to film making. He was a master of conveying nihilism and futility in his movies, which tended to frustrate critics with their blurred and inconclusive narratives. His fascination with Mishima's hyperbole is a perfect reflection of his own artistic ambiguity. Like Mishima, Schrader tended towards the non-linear and inconclusive. Like Mishima, Schrader crafted uncomfortably haunting depictions of the human condition.
"Schrader... was a master of conveying nihilism and futility" Did this change, as he's still alive, still making films?
As the last century’s masters did so damn well. If you think about it, such great depictions of the tormented and deepest sides of the human nature were explored and illustrated until a few decades ago... the different approach now or even the different interests is very interesting. Quite disheartening sometimes. But yeah, he’s up there with the great masters of consciousness’ depiction for me
Marietta, NPR's Terry Gross interviewed him, last year I think.
He had a comeback with First Reformed
Nope, Schrader still writes, directs, and produces to this day.
Schrader was most definitely the man for the job. His insight into the complexity of Mishima is beyond jugement or veneration. A great man.
I bumped into "Mishima" movie when I was a teenager, and then rewatched it at the film school I attended. A masterpiece in so many ways. The different color palettes that were chosen to depict his memories, the present day of his death, and his novels. I still listen to the soundtrack composed by Phillip Glass which was so ahead of the minimalist music that were later composed for Amélie and The Piano. Mishima obsessions with San Sebastián, his grandmother, his right-wing political thougths, the painful view of beauty... I think is one of the best biopics I have seen. Then I read some of his books. The Golden Pavilion" being my favourite and "The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea". Makes me wanna watch the movie again. I'm currently discovering Dick Cavett since I'm from Colombia, South America, and never heard of him. What a great guy, so open to different ideas and sincerely interested in his guests.
And Cavett being from Nebraska, no less. He did attend Yale Univ., but a real Midwestern persona.
I thought he was English lol
Much respect to Schrader for taking the time to truly understand Mishima and his ideals although being a bit complex. Especially compared to someone like Oliver Stone's take on Morrison, Schrader knew how to make a genuine biopic
Dick Cavett : on point Jimmy Kimmel : did you dye your Arm pit hairs?
awe, does jimmy kimmel call out your cult leader trump?
@@tomitstube no man. Jimmy asked this question to the once upon a time in Hollywood actress
@@Sadgamer-143 and what was her answer?
The two individuals and their shows are entirely different in their intent.
@@tomitstube kick the politics mane no government cares about us anyway
A film that to this day has not been matched in the filmography of Yukio Mishima, a masterpiece that will stand alone.
Oh look, articulate, informed individuals discussing topical content.
What an anomaly! :-O
The level of intelligence and maturity is exceedingly rare for American television, then or now. And 19:50 - what delicious irony in retrospect.
Absolutely. It amazing how much we've been dumb downed over the past 25 years.
totally insane to compare the two
John To compare what two?
spb 78 uhh sorry that's not how i meant to phrase it, to compare talk shows today and in the past, maybe it was just the Dick Cavett show though, idk
15:30 British viewer here. No Dick not offended at all. I have often thought the British and Japanese shared many manners. Great interview. Sadly in both the USA and UK it would be rare to find a mainstream TV show discussing a figure like Mishima today with some intelligence.
Actual intelligent conversation by people of substance. I’m 68 and was a big Cavett fan!
I'm 28 and I'm a big fan
I'm 22 and last year I discovered Mishima, what an incredible man with such a pained passion burning inside him.
You're old enough to be mature enough to know better.
@@TheSpiritOfTheTimes I'm also mature enough to hold my own opinion based on what falls before me. He wasn't a perfect man, thats not what I'm implying, I'm simply stating that his whole story, his entire arc, is one of sheer beauty.
@@TheSpiritOfTheTimeswhat do you intend to say with this kind of Statement?
He was a genius artist but a fool in the political arena. And a horribly insecure little man. Fascinating subject for a film though.
@@silversnail1413 To me, his political stances seem more performative protest against how he perceived the current order of things around him, than any notion held by him of having the answers for the best path forward politically. Even any fascist leanings he expressed would be the necessarily transgressive nature of actual art
"When the culture itself is insane then the man most opposed to it -but who bothers to explain himself- will appear schizophrenic. He may or may not be but it won't be decided by the culture itself. Both sides are unreliable it seems. I myself refuse to choose a narrative. But I will live as if I've chosen sides," the inmate said. - Sanction
Watched the movie yesterday here in Copenhagen, definitely an experience and it looks strangely modern in its photography and set design. Produced by Coppola and Lucas. Also, great music by Philip Glass.
One of the best movies I've ever seen.
I love Paul Schrader, glad to see this classic interview up.
That was a fascinating interview. Thank you for sharing it.
This is an absolutely brilliant conversation. Compelling and well researched. This is what talk shows and interviews should be about.
Another well made episode by Dick Cavett with the brilliant Paul Schrader...who needs to make more movies now with his level of filmmaking
Thanks for uploading this
Fascinating conversation. Dick Cavett's success was to let the guest express himself freely.
So glad there's a few quality Dick Cavett interviews on KZhead. Always thought he was a masterful host: understated humour, dignified, makes his guest feel comfortable and rarely (if ever) appears to be intellectually out of his depth with his guests. Great to hear Paul Schrader mention John Donne too - the Nick Cave of the 17th century!
Interesting and very appropriate that this aired on the 15th anniversary of Mishima's death. Thank you for preserving and sharing intelligent TV, as rare an artifact as it is!
What an intelligent talk show, thanks for uploading
That was truly marvellous viewing. Paul Schrader is a truly intelligent visionary. Dick was a wonderful host as always. I adore this channel; it gives me my regular dose of much needed intellectual, witty and informative conversation that chat shows these days DO NOT HAVE (Jimmy Fallon par example).
Awesome gem of an interview Schrader is a great writer 🤘
Amazing intellectually advanced talk!
Fascinating interview! I love when smart people talking about smart matters!
'i'm sorry, i've offended another empire-'
12:05 These photos have been released under the book called "Death of a Man"
Dick Cavett was an exceptionally good interviewer
I just watched "Mishima" today on LaserDisc. The LD was released in 1998 in the U.S. Although the LaserDisc format was huge in Japan, it wasn't released there on LD. Plenty of time for it to have been, as the film came out in 1985 and the LD format existed from 1978 to 2001.
Mishima opened October 4, 1985. $5 million budget. box office just over half a million.
Well this was great
Adam is looking a lot younger and, dare I say, virile here .
"I wanted to make the film about the writer anyway because if I want to do a movie about a homosexual or a right-winger there's plenty of those but there's only one Mishima so I did it about the writing, when art turns to life." Yes, focus on what is unique without pigeon holing and generalizing.
Wow, awesome interview ! Really liked the point about the importance of art in filling the antisocial part of our nature, kind of a tool for the shadow work... Just like sports.
It's a very accurate observation. As the times become more difficult to navigate socially, art and music become even more powerful tools of communication
@@liammorrison4284 Appreciate it , Sir.
I enjoyed this, I saw the movie a while back, interesting to hear what Schrader had to say about it, a unique movie.
What a gem
Never understood Mishima as much I wanted to until I heard Schrader talk about him
Paul has a really deep understanding and interpretation of mishimas life, but i cant imagine this interview without Dick Cavett leading it along. Don't know if someone like jimmy fallon would want this conversation on his show lmao.
Dick Cavett was the best interviewer ever
My favorite of his is First Reformed but Mishima is cinematographically absolutely stunning and unique
Paul Schrader is the most fascinating writer that ever lived because he think he is fighting demons. But the demons are just bisexuality
Brilliance.....
I remember seeing this conversation when it first aired.
What year was that?
@@TheTalkWatcher 1985 dickcavettshow.com/index.php/component/zoo/item/10-18-1985 The film "Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters" was released in that year.
ok boomer
sorry haha
@@geokaker9630 No problem snowflake
Awesome.reading runaway horses currently
How did you like it?? Did you read the first part of the tetralogy, too? Haru no Yuki it is, I don't know its english name, I read it in German. I really loved that first book, it was delicate and dreamy, with spikes on the edges. Honba (Runaway horses) was an incredibly powerful thing, I felt like I was inside a young mans developing muscles :D
Yet another reason why Cavett was the best at what he did.
I dont think Michima was nuts. Nor is the wish for death all that odd. He just spoke of these things instead of drowning in alcoholism, drugs, consumerism, and adoration of the US. Samurai blood...he was rightly proud
All fascists are insane
fantastic intelect
Mishimi...too brilliant for talk shows
Mishma was an interesting dude.
Our culture has failed. This is an amazing interview
God damn. Both men are at the top of the heep. Schrader still is, but Dick Cavett was SO fucking good.
And you look at Shraeder and he looks half Elton John and half Andy Richter... but then he starts talking and it's just magic
Also the brilliant Rolling Thunder.
Have the photos referred to mid-way through this, ever been released? This interview itself is now almost 35 years old.
Check out the book “The Death of a Man” (Rizzoli)
The movie "Mishima" came out in 1985, and I have been living in the Tokyo area since 1981. I recall that no *major* Japanese movie theater dared to show the film because they feared violence from the far-right, who at the time still used to drive through the city streets in sound-trucks blaring military music, as if World War II were still going on. Fortunately, you don't see, or hear, these nutcases much anymore. Excellent interview with Paul Schrader, anyway.
519DJW Japan is still occupied by the United States military.
Don’t those “far right” speakers still persist in Japan? Unless I am mistaken this story sounds dubious.
@@craigharrison1274 I'm sure there are still tiny cells of them, but you don't see or hear them in their sound-trucks anymore. Moreover, nobody paid any attention to them, even when they were around. On the other hand, no one has the guts to "offend" these crazies--even today, when they are no longer contributing to noise pollution with their martial music.
@@519djw6 I saw and heard their sound trucks in the 90's Shibuya.
Everyone in Japan is far right compared to an average American
Very interesting interview. Such a shame that long form conversation seems to have gone out of fashion these days.
Have you ever heard of a podcast dude?
For sure, in depth, free form and intelligent conversation is alive and well in podcasts, where there is no hard clock denoting commercial breaks and program lengths.
Anyone who’s interested in Yukio Mishima should also read Kenzaburo Oe’s “The Day He Himself Shall Wipe My Tears Away,” it’s a really severe repudiation of mishima’s views/life and I think it helps better illustrate the reasons for the criticism Mishima faces in Japan.
Mishima's nationalism and chauvinism has no place in our world
@@ShakamotoKyoujyu I definitely agree with that.
@@ShakamotoKyoujyu I will keep it alive
@@Stephen-so9oi u r dum
Why so hard to understand; the Samurai Cult in Japan's history always incorporated seppuku! He probably saw that committing this act was a quick convincing way to associate with the Code of the Samurai.
His death is very close to the plot of one his novels Runaway Horses
11:20 i am looking at a picturing of mishima squating right now lmao
this guy should go on the adam friedland show
awesome fucking movie; and the soundtrack. jebuss murphy.
He was a far right fanatic
#Wow
I was dating a girl who had a book autographed by Mishima. I don’t know where she got it from. She said she would give it to me when I learned to read a whole Japanese book. We eventually broke up. But thinking back , some of her feelings she shared about Japan’s role in WWII now seem to align with someone who would seek a Mishima autographed book.
Cool. Do you regret not getting the book?
@@jikorijo4516 no. It wouldn’t have been worth staying another minute in that relationship.
based
It's really surprising to see how easily Dick Cavett finds a way to relate to something not just foreign but repulsive to the average American of that time, and I have tremendous respect for him as a human being. I'll bet he'd be open to taking hallucinogens.
read his book! He got high with janis joplin jumped in the pool and ruined his expensive watch!
When the soul is dead all that’s left is performance
I was pleasantly surprised by this interview and Shrader's perspectives. Mishima is now a lightning rod attracing the praise and obsession of alt-righ, masculinist, fascists. Mention of Mishima is again popular but the people doing it are generally bad news. Here Shrader and Cavett both do helpful thing by connecting the views of Mishima fans and (cultural nationalist) literary critics of his time to popular nativist conceptions of Japanese exceptionalism which continues to dominate--though these two men do awkwardly naturalize that exceptionalism with cultural determinism and orientalist reductionism, lol. Fascinating stuff.
Is this supposed to be english?
@@leesimmons5453 u ever read any books?
Yes, me read books, good books. And me recognize psuedo-intellectual gibberish when me see it.
sure would have been nice to see some commercials in there-
1:48 Coke!
Is that Adam Friedland?
Paul is one of the greatest human beings of his time. I love him more deeply than some of my friends.
i'm sure your image of him is very beautiful.
That's one way of framing Mishima's death.
they amplified the voice to make him appear in control
When I was younger I thought that Mishima was a kind of hero. Now I realize he was a crazy sociopathic narcissist.
Great movie about a deeply disturbed man who was engulfed by his internal fantasies and disconnection from the world. Sometimes I wonder if he painted himself into a corner with his acolytes and his grand plan and he had to commit Seppuku whether he totally wanted to or not, guess we will never know.
The whole thing was a stage for him to die on and he probably orchestrated it so that he'd be able to die the dramatic, brilliant death he always wanted.
I think his followers were so enthralled by him that they would’ve been relieved in a way if he had backed down. But he himself couldn’t see that out, and Idk if he would’ve taken it if he had
Christ, how much did Paul smoke? You can hear him wheezing and hacking all through the intro and he sounds the same on his commentary tracks. Plus he has that weird nasal voice that would indicate either a medical condition or some serious cocaine use in his time. Amazed he's still alive today. Brilliant writer and filmmaker to be sure.
Cocaine and Hollywood go together like eggs and bacon
3:50
Dick Cavett is so sharp he said 54 instead of 45 and turned it into a joke about asian languages reading right to left
「日本人は世界の人々と全く同じだ、というと彼らは怒るが、世界の人々と全く異なる、というと彼らは喜ぶ」という指摘は一面的でありながらも示唆的。
11:15 I disagree, there are photos of Mishima barbell squatting.
Schader was right about one thing, all the "loose cannons" out there.
Foreshadowing
Mishima never forgave himself for missing the opportunity to die for the Emperor toward the end of WWII. He faked Tuberculosis and did not have to serve, so he missed the fate of many common Japanese Men who did heed the call and died for their Emperor. Guilt was the well spring of his talent.
He had a brother. My father-in-law was sequestered with his brother during WW2, when Japan's plans were to administrate China, and rounded up Chinese students to indoctrinate them. My FIL didn't tell them he already spoke Japanese, as one of his grandparents spoke it well. He was imprisoned in Japan after they found him with some of Mao's writings He later graduated from Toyko Institue, (as did my wife) and returned to China, only to do eight years in re-education camps there. He also did time in the USA leasing a plane to return to China. I heard the strange story in grade 9 in between the folk and rock songs on the radio, and it stuck in my mind. He's considered the father of supply chain economics, LJ Lui, but his being in political prison in THREE countries must be an Olympic record.
@@dwightstjohn6927 many polish socialist had simmilar multiprison record - first when Poland was under occupaiton of Imperial Russia, Prussia and Austro-Hungary, then after I world war and quick democracy years, they were jailed by military goverment known as sanacja, then, when II WW broke out many of the ended in German and soviet camps and then, after the war, many of them were again captured after getting back to country by local communist goverment. Kazimierz Pużak, socialist who was prissoner of tsarist Russia after II WW was captured by and flown into soviet Russia, and then flown to Poland, where he died in prison, probably because guards thrown him of the stairs.
That little women joke was hilarious
val kilmer discusses yukio mishima.
i thought this was an oliver reed clip when i clicked on it
why did he open the interview with "why schrader?"
I think he simply means that he wouldn't be the first person most would guess would be the one to tell this story.
@@ShootMeMovieReviews I took it to mean, "Why did Schrader undertake this project?"
I'd say he did the "lines" share alright..
Agree, it seems as almost everything area of social life was not so much scripted, sensationalized and manipulated by the producers of these shows. Nowdays with a few exceptions, talk shows and the like are nothing but trash talk, comedial and brainless. I dont watch them anymore since they insult audience's intelligence. Sad spectacle.