Shogun [5 Disc Box Set] [DVD] [1981] | ![Shogun [5 Disc Box Set] [DVD] [1981]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51FHHZZ8X6L._SL160_.jpg)
| Director: Jerry London
Actors: Richard Chamberlain, Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Shimada, Frankie Sakai, Alan Badel
Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £37.99
Buy New: £15.84
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Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 895
Format: Box set, PAL
Languages: English (Original Language), Japanese (Original Language), French (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region: 2
Discs: 5
Number Of Discs: 5
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.7 x 1.4
EAN: 5014437852038
ASIN: B00012SZDG
Theatrical Release Date: September 15, 1980
Release Date: April 5, 2004
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
From the golden age of the miniseries comes Shogun, the 10-hour, Golden Globe-winning saga based on James Clavell's bestselling epic novel. In his award-winning performance, Richard Chamberlain stars as John Blackthorne, the 17th-century English navigator on a Dutch trading ship. A storm runs the ship aground off the coast of Japan, a "torn and cruelly divided country" locked in a power struggle between Toranaga (the venerable Toshiro Mifune) and Ishido, two warlords who would be Shogun. Blackthorne gets over his initial culture shock ("I piss on you and your country", he defiantly proclaims to his samurai captors, which to his humiliation turns out to be an unfortunate choice of words) to become a trusted ally of Toranaga and the lover of the beautiful interpreter Lady Mariko (Yoko Shimada). Their forbidden, ill-fated romance--and Blackthorne's total assimilation into Japanese culture--is set against political intrigue as Toranaga prepares for the inevitable showdown with Ishido, and Blackthorne's growing influence threatens the local Jesuits who had built up a lucrative trade monopoly. Shogun was a production blessed with good karma, and it remains an awesome achievement from a bygone era when the miniseries was king. --Donald Liebenson
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 36
 Shogun February 27, 2010
Spider Monkey (UK)
Having recently read the book I had to buy this series as soon as possible and I am extremely glad I did. This series follows John Blackthorne who is an Elizabethan ship pilot who gets marooned in Japan and who gets embroiled in a war between samurai lords. He is made samurai and vassal to a Japanese lord and needs to learn about life in Japan quickly as his very life depends on it. There is all of this to the story and SO much more. This boxset has five discs with the series in four parts across four discs and the last disc having all the extras. There is also an excellent booklet with a history of the book and production of the series. This series has the most amazing costumes and film sets and over 3 million of the 23 million budget was spent on these aspects alone. This is very faithful to the book, with nothing added and only a very few minor points omitted. The story isn't compromised in the slightest and if you have enjoyed the book it feels wonderful to immerse yourself back into this world once again. Richard Chamberlain is simply excellent as Blackthorne and the Yoko Shimada is also superb as Mariko. The extras include a 13 segment documentary of the making of Shogun, Historical featurettes on Samurai, Tea Ceremony and Geisha, as well as audio commentary on various scenes. This series has all the aspects of the book that I adored so much, samurai honour, romance, a glimpse of feudal Japanese life, betrayal and intrigue, an epic adventure and so much more. You will follow Blackthorne as he develops from a wary and scared foreigner until he reaches the heights of samurai and confidant to his Lord Toranaga. This is a stunning series and gives full justice to the book, the style and effects may be dated now but the story is as gripping as it ever was and I feel it still holds it own against TV productions of today. This cannot be missed and is a series you will watch again and again.
Very close to the book February 17, 2010
E. Hooper (Sydney, Australia)
I bought this DVD to review after recently reading the book. I did not see it first time around and enjoyed the book so much that I wanted to watch this mini series. Most movie versions of books tend to use license and change events, sequence or add stuff in. This is not the case here. They stuck very close to the book. All the characters were very well cast and they did a great job of included major scenes. The book is highly detailed and having read it, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.
 The greatest tv mini-series ever made? January 25, 2010
Ian Williams (Sunderland, UK)
James Clavell's original novel is one of my all-time favourites, a magnificent epic tale packed to the gills with high adventure, the darkest deceit and treachery, tear-jerking love, nobility, and so much more. It's also a fascinating study of alien contact as Japanese society was so utterly different from that of Western Europe at the time and it is for a large part the story of an Englishman' growing understanding of his new home.
Even at eight and a half hours, a tv series couldn't begin to do more than scratch the surface of this massive and clever novel. That it does so as well as it does is little short of a miracle and it does so by focussing, albeit not completely, on the Anjin-san's story and his part in events. The script is good, the performances are good, the photography is good. Richard Chamberlain is surprisingly good, albeit less working class and gruff than Sean Connery (the ideal choice for the role, at the time) would have been. One the other hand, he's more convincing than perhaps Connery would with the more gentle side. But it's Yoko Shimada as Mariko who is the revelation and the best thing in it. Small and delicately beautiful, she exquisitely displays vulnerability but also the steel spine deep within. I defy anyone not to fall in love with her and it's the moving love story between Mariko and Anjin-san which is the core of this version of the story.
The presentation itself is nicely done. We have the opening credits at the beginning of Disc 1 and the closing credits at the end of Disc 4. None in between, no annoying recaps, just the full uninterrupted drama. Excellent. The behind the scenes stuff is also nicely done.
That said, it hasn't worn as well as it should. On a visual level, the background landscape is far from sharp though people are much clearer. John Rhys Davies as Rodrigues the Portugese pilot is as over the top as he always is (about one decibel below Brian Blessed), George Innes as Vinck also similarly stands out particularly in his excruciating going mad scene. Much of the subtelties of the novel are inevitably lost. And it just feels dated. It makes me think that it's time for a remake with all the sex and violence and cgi muscles that are available to today's audiences. There is certainly no shortage of decent macho alpha male actors available, though finding another Yoko Shimada might prove much more difficult.
But, in the end, is Shogun the greatest tv miniseries ever. Well, I watched the first two hours on Saturday evening and finished the remaining six and a half the following day. So, yes, it is, but of its time.
Good old times! January 19, 2010
Rene Lott (Switzerland)
I remember seeing Shogun when I was a little boy. This collection completely brought it back to my mind.
Shogun January 11, 2010
Goldfinger (UK)
I loved the series when it was originally shown on TV and even more now, so many years later. I can recall how myself and work colleagues 'spoke' Japanese learned from the story. Moreover this habit continued long after the series ended!
It's incredible how the viewer almost becomes part of the story and the fact that so much of the dialogue is in Japanese becomes totally irrelevant.
It's an amazing epic which I recommend to all.
Furthermore, learning about the making of the series and the challenges faced behind the scenes to bring this story alive for us to enjoy was most enlightening.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 36
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