|
ShogunRating:
Release Date: 23 September, 2003 Retail Price: $79.99 OUR Price: $56.56 You SAVE: $23.43! Cast: |
Shogun Reviews
Effective DVD version of the mini-series
At its release as detailed in the DVD special features, the mini-series Shogun took much of America by storm. Most Americans at that time had little knowledge of medieval Japan. The series provided a window into a world that could be funny, enchanting, horrifying, but always dazzling. To achieve the kind of singular vision, the film makes daring efforts towards authenticity. The most notable is the decision to leave most Japanese dialogue in the film untranslated. This is not quite as overwhelming a challenge as it sounds. The film has confined itself to presenting the novel almost entirely from the point of view of the hero, English sailor John Blackthorne, so that we share much of his confusion as he tries to comprehend the events unfolding around him. The film was shot in Japan and it shows. There is always a strong feeling of place. This is true for the sets and costumes as well. Nevertheless, the film still looks and feels like a miniseries. There were some clear budgetary constraints. But clearly it would be impossible to collapse the byzantine plot of the novel Shogun into a 2-hour film and the use of Japanese locations and technical crew and Japanese cast as well as the increased length of time available to tell the story more than makes up for the deficiencies of the miniseries format. The cast is excellent. The film made Richard Chamberlain king of the miniseries. The extras are rewarding as well. There is some material on Japanese history and customs and a great deal on the making of the film much of which is quite as astounding as the film itself. The DVD transfer seems excellent. My only complaint is that the film is not broken out as it was when it was originally shown. After the opening credits, the film is presented in full with no breaks or recaps as in the original. With a film of this length, the original presentation would have made the film a bit easier to watch. Nevertheless this is a worthwhile and entertaining package very well-presented and as worth seeing today as when it was initially released.
It's great!
My purchase was wrapped securely and shipped very quickly overseas. I received it a lot faster than I'd expected. Thanks!
More Customer Reviews (57 total)
© 2004, 2005, 2006 DVD Booty | Don't Plunder Our Cache of Booty, Matey!
Hosting made possible by donations from mortgage rates, Velocity Finance, and Debt Teacher
