Shogun (1980/I) (TV)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Jerry London

Writers:

James Clavell (novel)
Eric Bercovici (writer)

Release Date:

15 September 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

Plot:

An English navigator becomes both pawn and player in the deadly political games in feudal Japan.

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Shogun | Feudal Society | Feudal Japan | Battle

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Richard Chamberlain	...	Pilot-Major John Blackthorne
Toshirô Mifune	...	Lord Yoshi Toranaga
Yôko Shimada	...	Lady Toda Buntaro - Mariko
Frankie Sakai	...	Lord Yabu
Alan Badel	...	Father Dell'Aqua
Damien Thomas	...	Father Alvito
Michael Hordern	...	Friar Domingo
Vladek Sheybal	...	Captain Ferriera
Yuki Meguro	...	Omi
Noburo Kaneko	...	Lord Ishido
George Innes	...	Vinck
Leon Lissek	...	Father Sebastio
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Toru Abe	...	Hiromatsu
Anne Bancroft	...	Narrator of US home video version (voice)
John J. Carney	...	Ginsel
Masashi Ebara	...	Suga
Hyoei Enoki	...	Jirobei
Hiroshi Hasegawa	...	Galley Captain
Stephen K. Hayes
Ian Jentle	...	Salamon
Yûko Kada	...	Sazuko
Mika Kitagawa	...	Kiku
Yoshie Kitsuda	...	Gyoko
Stewart MacKenzie	...	Croocq
Ai Matsubara	...	Rako
Neil McCarthy	...	Spillbergen
Seiji Miyaguchi	...	Muraji
Yumiko Morishita	...	Asa
Yosuke Natsuki	...	Zataki
Takeshi Ôbayashi	...	Urano
Masumi Okada	...	Brother Michael
Edward Peel	...	Pieterzoon
John Rhys-Davies	...	Vasco Rodrigues
Eric Richard	...	Maetsukker
Atsuko Sano	...	Lady Ochiba
Setsuko Sekine	...	Genjiko
Hiromi Senno	...	Fujiko
Akira Sera	...	Old Gardener
William Morgan Sheppard	...	Specz
Hideo Takamatsu	...	Buntaro
Miiko Taka	...	Kiri
Midori Takei	...	Sono
Shin Takuma	...	Naga
Steve Ubels	...	Roper
Orson Welles	...	Narrator (voice)
Rinichi Yamamoto	...	Yoshinaka

Directed by
Jerry London

Writing credits
James Clavell		(novel)
Eric Bercovici		(writer)

Produced by
Eric Bercovici	....	producer
Ben Chapman	....	associate producer
James Clavell	....	executive producer
Kerry Feltham	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Maurice Jarre

Cinematography by
Andrew Laszlo

Film Editing by
James T. Heckert
Bill Luciano
Donald R. Rode
Jack Tucker
Benjamin A. Weissman
Jerry Young

Casting by
Tatsuhiko Kuroiwa
Maude Spector

Art Direction by
Joseph R. Jennings

Set Decoration by
Tom Pedigo

Costume Design by
Shin Nishida

Makeup Department
Masato Abe	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Ben Chapman	....	unit production manager
Shinji Nakagawa	....	unit production manager: Japan
Keisuke Shinodo	....	unit production manager: Japan
Kazuo Shizukawa	....	unit production manager: Japan
Wallace Worsley Jr.	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Phil Cook	....	first assistant director
Masahiko Okumura	....	assistant director: Japan
Charles Ziarko	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Ed Charnock	....	painter
Al DeGaetano	....	construction coordinator
Phill Norman	....	graphic designer
Marty Wunderlich	....	property master
Shoichi Yasuda	....	set decorator: Japan
Hideo Yoshioka	....	construction coordinator: Japan

Sound Department
Howard Beals	....	sound editor
John Glascock	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Bob Dawson	....	special effects (as Robert Dawson)

Stunts
Shinpachi Miyama	....	stunt coordinator: Japanese crew
Glenn R. Wilder	....	stunt coordinator (as Glenn Wilder)

Camera and Electrical Department
Chuy Elizondo	....	camera operator
Ken Johnson	....	key grip
Vern Matthews	....	key grip
Sal Orefice	....	gaffer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Toshiaki Manki	....	wardrobe

Music Department
John La Salandra	....	music editor
Gary Ulmer	....	music recordist

Other crew
Chiho Adachi	....	consultant
Chiho Adachi	....	interpreter
Chris Bartlett	....	foreign production coordinator
Luca Bercovici	....	dialogue coach
Frank Cardea	....	production executive
Rosa Gonzalez	....	assistant production accountant
Banjuro Hemura	....	consultant
Banjuro Hemura	....	production services
Don Henry	....	production accountant
J. Steven Hollander	....	auditor
Fred Ishimoto	....	special consultant
Larry K. Johnson	....	script supervisor
Anna Mills	....	assistant: Eric Bercovici
Umeo Minamino	....	advisor: Jerry London
Chiyo Miyakoshi	....	script supervisor: Japan
Valerie Nelson	....	assistant: James Clavell
Phill Norman	....	title designer
Alicia Rivera Frankl	....	production accountant (as Alicia Alon)

Production Companies

• Asahi National Broadcasting Company
• Jardine Matheson Co. Ltd.
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
• Paramount Television
• Toho Company

Distributors

• Toho Company (1980) (Japan) (theatrical)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

Other Companies

• Glen Glenn Sound  sound post-production
• Tohokushinsha Film  production services and consultation
• Westheimer Company  titles and opticals

Also Known As:

James Clavell's Shogun (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

125 min (edited version)

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Daiei-Kyoto Studios, Kyoto, Japan

Company:

Asahi National Broadcasting Company

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Jet Contrail Visible at very top of screen in opening shot.

Quotes:

Father Alvito: You are a heretic Dutchman pirate! You're going to die.

Movie Connections:

Edited from "Shogun" (1980)

Not very good if you've seen the miniseries.

Basically, trying to fit a Clavell epic into a 2-hour movie is like trying to fit the entire Sears catalog into a single 30-second ad. While the miniseries is a masterful adaptation, covering all of the essential plotlines and perhaps even adding to the understanding for Mariko's and Blackthorne's relationship, the 2-hour cut is piece-meal and poorly edited. in short, it doesn't make sense, and it doesn't do justice to Clavel's greatest epic.

It is also a great read, by the way.