Monday, November 14, 2005
Shōgun
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1*
- Commentary: I got this as a nod to Mom (see mention) but, lo and behold, I enjoy it, too. It's not even a guilty pleasure for me. It's got some great actors in it, I enjoy the fact that the Japanese is not subtitled in English because it keeps the viewer in the same position as Anjin-San and, well, it's an involving production. Mom could probably watch this 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
The interesting thing about this series and the book upon which it is based is that there is much historical background upon which they are based. Check out the Wikipedia article, linked below, and cruise through the actor list with its historical equivalents.
Update 2/9/18: I recently rewatched this series over a few nights, mainly to see if I wanted to donate it to the library. I vaguely noticed some "dating", but was still swept up. It will be remaining in my collection, for awhile, at least.
Update 5/13/2022: You may think that, by now, this series is close to the donate-to-the-library box. Not so! I've actually watched the entire series, over a weekend, about four months ago, in the depth of winter. I know its structure as a mini-series is dated but I continue to find it engaging, worthy of a winter weekend, and, perhaps, even a mid-summer weekend when there's nothing to do but, well, watch a mini-series!
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Richard Chamberlain John Blackthorne Toshirô Mifune Yoshi Toranaga Yoko Shimada Lady Toda Mariko Frankie Sakai Kashigi Yabu Alan Badel Father Dell'Aqua Michael Hordern Friar Domingo Damien Thomas Father Martin Alvito John Rhys-Davies Vasco Rodrigues
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1980
Directed by Jerry London.
Labels: action3, adventure3, dramaA, mom-favorite2, period5, political4, popcorn-and-soda4, spectacle2, toshirô-mifune, TV2
