Shogun 

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

Stars:

Richard Chamberlain, Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Shimada

Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 5 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Richard Chamberlain	...	Anjin-san / ... (5 episodes, 1980)
Toshirô Mifune	...	Lord Yoshi Toranaga (5 episodes, 1980)
Yôko Shimada	...	Lady Toda Buntaro - Mariko (5 episodes, 1980)
Furankî Sakai	...	Yabu (5 episodes, 1980)
Alan Badel	...	Father Dell'Aqua (5 episodes, 1980)
Damien Thomas	...	Father Alvito (5 episodes, 1980)
John Rhys-Davies	...	Vasco Rodrigues (5 episodes, 1980)
Vladek Sheybal	...	Captain Ferriera (5 episodes, 1980)
Yûki Meguro	...	Omi (5 episodes, 1980)
Hideo Takamatsu	...	Lord Buntaro (5 episodes, 1980)
Michael Hordern	...	Friar Domingo (5 episodes, 1980)
Nobuo Kaneko	...	Ishido (5 episodes, 1980)
Hiromi Senno	...	Fujiko (5 episodes, 1980)
George Innes	...	Vinck (5 episodes, 1980)
Leon Lissek	...	Father Sebastio (5 episodes, 1980)
Edward Peel	...	Pieterzoon (5 episodes, 1980)
Eric Richard	...	Maetsukker (5 episodes, 1980)
Steve Ubels	...	Roper (5 episodes, 1980)
Stewart MacKenzie	...	Croocq (5 episodes, 1980)
John J. Carney	...	Gingel (5 episodes, 1980)
Ian Jentle	...	Salamon (5 episodes, 1980)
Neil McCarthy	...	Spillbergen (5 episodes, 1980)
William Morgan Sheppard	...	Specz (5 episodes, 1980)
Mika Kitagawa	...	Kiku (5 episodes, 1980)
Seiji Miyaguchi	...	Muraji (5 episodes, 1980)
Tôru Abe	...	Hiromatsu (5 episodes, 1980)
Shin Takuma	...	Naga (5 episodes, 1980)
Hyôe Enoki	...	Jirobei (5 episodes, 1980)
Miiko Taka	...	Kiri (5 episodes, 1980)
Midori Takei	...	Sono (5 episodes, 1980)
Ai Matsubara	...	Rako (5 episodes, 1980)
Yumiko Morishita	...	Asa (5 episodes, 1980)
Hiroshi Hasegawa	...	Galley Captain (5 episodes, 1980)
Akira Sera	...	Old Gardener (5 episodes, 1980)
Rin'ichi Yamamoto	...	Yoshinaka (5 episodes, 1980)
Yûko Kada	...	Sazuko (5 episodes, 1980)
Masumi Okada	...	Brother Michael (5 episodes, 1980)
Yôsuke Natsuki	...	Zataki (5 episodes, 1980)
Takeshi Ôbayashi	...	Urano (5 episodes, 1980)
Yoshie Kitsuda	...	Kyoko (5 episodes, 1980)
Masashi Ebara	...	Suga (5 episodes, 1980)
Setsuko Sekine	...	Genjiko (5 episodes, 1980)
Atsuko Sano	...	Lady Ochiba (5 episodes, 1980)
Orson Welles	...	Narrator (5 episodes, 1980)

Storyline

John Blackthorne, an English ship pilot, whose vessel wrecked upon the Japanese coast in the early 16th century is forced to deal with the two most powerful men in Japan in these days. He is thrown in the midst of a war between Toranaga and Ishido, who struggle for the title of Shogun which will give ultimate power to the one who possesses it.

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Plot Keywords:

japan | shogun | epic | power | warlord | 

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Taglines:

All the conflict, adventure and intrigue of feudal Japan ...

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

15 September 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

James Clavell's Shogun

Filming Locations:

Daiei-Kyoto Studios, Kyoto, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Asahi National Broadcasting Company, Jardine Matheson Co. Ltd., National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (10 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Dolby Digital 5.1) DTS (DTS HD MASTER AUDIO 5.1 Mix) Mono (Glen Glenn Sound)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Toshiro Mifune was wearing his Toranaga samurai gear he went completely into character, grunting and growling constantly and always with an angry look. Nobody dared to go close to him in such moments.

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Goofs

During the earthquake scene, when two of the "crevasses" open up to drop samurai into them, you can see the wooden planks used to loosely cover the crevasses so people could walk on them until their supports were blown, hidden by a thick layer of dirt.

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Quotes

Vasco Rodrigues: Listen to me, you whore-gutted, pock-marked, motherless scum... I need a favor.

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Connections

Referenced in Indiana Jones: Making the Trilogy (2003)

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Soundtracks

BLACKTHORNE'S SHANTY
Words and Music by Eric Bercovici

User Reviews

Excellent, well worth owning to watch over and over!

Richard Chamberlain gives an excellent performance as well as all the Japanese actors in this well-made adaptation of Clavell's novel. It sticks fairly well to the plot of the book.

Super-rich in history with one of the most interesting characters, Anjin-san (Japanese for Mr. Pilot). Anjin-san is marooned in feudal Japan and makes a decision to change his Western thinking and fit in to the totally foreign but alluring Japanese society.

He is drawn into a forbidden love with a Japanese noblewoman, while battling jealous Japanese nobles and fanatical Jesuits. He earns the trust of Lord Torenaga who is a wise tactician in the art of waging war and diplomacy. Can Anjin-san survive the constant perils he is put into and win the hand of the woman he loves? Many scenes are in Japanese, but if you had no problem with The Last Samauri, it should pose no problem here.