Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)

After writing the scripts for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, Paul Schrader moved into directing, and this was his personal pet project. Produced by Francis Coppola and George Lucas, and with a sumptuous score by Philip Glass, Mishima, A Life in Four Chapters is that rare thing, a genuinely indie film made on a Hollywood budget and from within the system.