"Shogun" (1980) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Jerry London

Writers:

James Clavell (novel)
Eric Bercovici (writer)

Release Date:

15 September 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History | War

Plot:

A English navigator becomes both a player and pawn in the complex political games in feudal Japan.

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Power | Shogun | Jesuit Priest | Honor

Awards:

Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 5 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Richard Chamberlain	...	Pilot-Major John Blackthorne / Anjin-san
Toshirô Mifune	...	Lord Yoshi Toranaga
Yôko Shimada	...	Lady Toda Buntaro - Mariko
Frankie Sakai	...	Yabu
Alan Badel	...	Father Dell'Aqua
Damien Thomas	...	Father Alvito
John Rhys-Davies	...	Vasco Rodrigues
Vladek Sheybal	...	Captain Ferriera
Yuki Meguro	...	Omi
Hideo Takamatsu	...	Lord Buntaro
Nobuo Kaneko	...	Ishido
Hiromi Senno	...	Fujiko
Michael Hordern	...	Friar Domingo
George Innes	...	Vinck
Leon Lissek	...	Father Sebastio

Also Known As:

"James Clavell's Shogun"

Runtime:

60 min (10 episodes)

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M (DVD rating) | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Daiei-Kyoto Studios, Kyoto, Japan

Company:

Asahi National Broadcasting Company

Trivia:

James Clavell based the character of John Blackthorne on Will Adams, a real-life English sea captain and adventurer, whose experiences in late 16th-century Japan are paralleled by Clavell's story.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Anjin-san receives a flintlock pistol as a gift from Lord Toranaga. Flintlock pistols were not in wide use until 1630, thirty years before the show's setting. The wheel lock and match lock pistols and muskets, also used in the show, are correct. Additionally, the Europeans were reluctant to export the latest firearms to Japan, preferring to keep the superior weaponry to themselves.

Quotes:

[after Blackthorne's guard prevented an assassination attempt by Rodrigues]
Pilot-Major John Blackthorne: Captain Yoshinaka was right to search him. Was that your idea?
Lady Toda Buntaro - Mariko: Please excuse me, but I was afraid for you.
Pilot-Major John Blackthorne: Sad, isn't it? Not being able to trust anyone.
Lady Toda Buntaro - Mariko: It is not sad, Anjin-san. It is just one of life's most important rules.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Just Shoot Me!: Nina's Birthday (#1.4)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

BLACKTHORNE'S SHANTY

Awesome

Bleeding fantastic,A story of infinite mystique and intrigue. everyone should watch this beautiful drama based on true stories of 16th century japan, the era of the samurai. James Clavell has created a masterpiece.Packed with weaving story lines to fill up anyones brain. In this show the main character takes you on his journey with him almost literally, you can feel the emotions and will fall in love with these perfectly written characters.

The story takes itself very seriously and at times reveals harsh realities for the English adventurers who are one of the first peoples to find the japans, which where said to be a myth for a long time to keep pirates away,you get to see in detail what discovering a new people/culture could have been like,but not just any culture, the way of the samurai. Prepare yourself to be educated and propelled into learning what it means to be samurai and more importantly, Japanese. Clavell also gives you a taste of what women and non samurai folk go through to uphold their honour as a Japanese person, Honour being a very important word here,so important that suicide even comes with the job. In japan everyone has so much belief that everything and everyone has a purpose that the importance of this is just as important as existing. If you don't exist with purpose and self respect of this purpose then you are expected to recognise this and commit sepoku(suicide),(if your not a samurai then this will be done for you).if you don't recognise this you are not worthy of yourself therefor must be sent to the afterlife before you disgrace yourself any further.

So who are we to say what is write and what is wrong, see for yourself just what being honourable is all about.