Rating: 
Summary: Shogun Again
Review: Shogun is probably the best TV miniseries ever produced. I would have purchased the complete set on VHS...but alas my apartment was far too small for the sheer volume of tapes. However, here it is now on slim DVD for my viewing pleasure.
Here is the story: Pilot Major Blackthorn and his shipmates are unfortunately wreck their ship into Japan. It's a big chain of islands...fairly sturdy, so the ship is broken beyond repair. Next a surly samurai pees on the Pilot major's back. Then some of his crew get boiled for awhile. A little later, Blackthorn meets the would-be shogun and is shagged a few times by a kindly concubine. Then Ninjas try to kill him. He has a bath or two. Then at some point he is blinded for awhile...almost has to commit suicide because he's not so good at picking up new languages (nearly dooming an entire villiage to being hacked to bits). In between he is bothered by Jesuits and smugglers and the competing would be shogun.
Sure that's alot of stuff for one movie...but it is 10 hours. A GREAT 10 hours. When you are done watching it, go read the book. It's only a million and a half pages...but it's worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: A neat combination of History and Drama
Review: I have read Mr. Clavell's book, plus read about the history of feudal Japan, including the battle of Sekigahara and the arrival in Japan of the English Pilot Smith. By the use of these historical events in order to make his novel, Clavell's book gives a great insight into Japan of the year 1600. The movie is a great adaptation of the book and does not dissapoint the viewer. The only real change from history in both novel and movie is the changing of names of the principal characters. Despite this, it is captivating to watch.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Story; 'eh' DVD
Review: No need to recount this marvelous story. However, the DVD is an opportunity lost. After seeing the absolute miracle that Paramount did cleaning up the grainy VHS version of LeMans, you'd think/hope/pray they'd use the same technology on Shogun. Sadly, it appears they put more into packaging and a so-so additional interviews disk, rather than cleaning up the core mini-series (which I have on VHS, for comparison). The price is right on this classic, and for the hours and hours of entertainment, I'd still recommend it...even with lament over an opportunity lost.
Rating:
Summary: Not Bad, But...
Review: The overall story is good, given that it's a work of fiction the historical inaccuracies can be overlooked. The one major problem with the DVD is with the subtitling. I was hoping they would include english subtitles for the lines spoken in Japanese, however, they have english subtitles for the lines spoken in english! What good is that? I can understand if it's for the hearing impaired, but why not have the subtitles for the Japanese lines. It would help a lot towards understanding the story better. Other than that, it's a good series. The scenery is beautiful and the acting is okay. Toshiro Mifune is excellent as always and Yoko Shimada is wonderful. I recommend this series, but can't give it an outstanding review.
Rating:
Summary: Great Entertainment,
Review: When I was ... very young I saw Shogun when it first aired on TV, and haven't seen it since until the release of the DVDs (I did see the 2.5 hour version - I will never speak of THAT again). In the intervening decades I read the book about 5 times. I rate these DVD 5 stars because you will have a very hard time finding a better entertainment value for your money. This show was fantastic. The storyline (which I will not repeat) is complex and fascinating, and the miniseries does it justice. The acting is superb - my personal opinion is that Yoko Shimada makes the series. Markio is an extraordinarily complex character, and Ms. Shimada's portrayal captures her wonderfully. Plus Yoko is unbelievably beautiful. You can't go wrong looking at her for 9 hours. But that is not to take away from Blackthorne, or Alvito, or Yabu, and of course Tishiro Mifune as Toranaga. Stellar performances all. The miniseries faithfully reproduces the main substory, the rise of the Englishman to Samurai. Much of the other substories, the interactions of the Japanese characters mainly, are not fleshed out. This is not a criticism, since the resources were limited and the language barrier formidable. Lastly, the score by Maurice Jarre completes the miniseries. The score, as much as the acting, storyline, and scenery, helps make the series a masterpiece. I do have criticism about the DVDs. One is, of course, the deleted scenes. Since it's been 23 years I don't remember everything about the series, and I sometimes think I remember scenes that were only in the book. However, with 5 DVDs no scenes should have been left out. Especially the nudity. If I could watch those scenes on NBC when I was ... young, I should be able to see them now. I do question the claim that 3 hours were cut. The 12 hour miniseries included commercials, and the opening and closing credits for each episode.
Next is the over-narration by Orson Wells. Nothing against the venerable Mr. Wells, but the voiceover noticeably detracts from some scenes. Sometimes the point is to be as confused as Blackthorn, but other times there is plot movement that the book clearly wants the reader to understand. Many times the interactions are later summarized in English. Regardless, while 23 years ago subtitles may have been taboo, they certainly aren't now. In this respect Paramount should have updated the series with subtitles. Finally, while the packaging is adequate, a booklet would have been a great touch, including pictures, chapter titles, etc. So some minor criticisms, but again, this is fantastic entertainment and a great investment.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest miniseries of all time. A fine story.
Review: "Shogun" is, in my opinion, the greatest miniseries ever made. It is a very faithful adaptation of James Clavell's bestselling novel, and a great story it is. This is the story of Pilot-Major Blackthorne of the ship "Erasmus," which is the first English ship to navigate to the orient. Shipwrecked in Japan circa 1600, Blackthorne must adapt to the Japanese culture or die. This is a wonderful story of an extraordinary man who is thrust into a highly civilized but very alien culture--a culture wracked by intrigue, politics, powerful Jesuit priests, and imminent civil war. The friendship between Blackthorne and Lord Toranaga is very satisfying, and the story of his love for the Lady Toda is touching. First and foremost, this is the story of a clash of cultures. Blackthorne initially considers himself more civilized than his Japanese hosts, but by the end of the story he comes to appreciate the culture's emphasis on politeness, cleanliness, and honor. He ultimately is assimilated and becomes an intimate advisor to Lord Toranaga and a samurai in his own right. Other reviews have pointed out various historical inaccuracies to the story, and I will only say that such inaccuracies do nothing to detract from what is ultimately a fine story. This miniseries is remarkably free from overlong tedious "filler" scenes, and instead for the most part moves along smartly, holds the viewer's interest, and is highly entertaining. The DVD is of very high quality both audio and video, and constitutes a very good value. I had not seen Shogun for many years, and if there are any missing scenes on this DVD I don't remember them. This appears to be a fairly complete reproduction of the miniseries. I have read Mr. Clavell's novel several times, and this miniseries does a fine job adapting it to the miniseries format, and is quite faithful to the story, taking no liberties with it. "Shogun" is a story that will hold the interest of most viewers. Recommended
Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Mini-Series - DVD Could Have Been A Little Better
Review: What more is there to say about this mini-series? It's incredible, so check it out. The picture quality is incredible (compare it to the 2 hour movie edit, which looks dark and grainy - the DVD looks like it was filmed in the last couple of years!), and the sound is great too. I must say that after finding out there's a 12 hour version of this, I was a little disappointed. The 9 hours was engaging, but I was left wanting so much more. Now I know why! :) Surely Paramount could have fit another three hours onto the 4 discs? Also, why did they take out the nudity? The movie edit has it, and it's not like this version on DVD was going to be broadcast on television. The movie edit version also has a different scene on the docks, when a blinded Blackthorne is being escorted to his ship past the Black Ship and her crew. In the mini-series version, Father Dell'Aqua along with a group of Christian samurai are confronted by Ferreria, the Black Ship captain, and his crew, who intend to burn Blackthorne on a stake. In the movie version, there is no Ferreria character, nor is there a Father Dell'Aqua, so the dock scene that version was an alternate take! Blackthorne is instead escorted to the docks area by his brown samurai where he stops to have an amicable conversation with Rodriguez who is now the Black Ship captain rather than just the pilot. They must have planned the movie edit from day one for this alternate scene to even exist. It's too bad they didn't include this as part of a deleted scenes feature. Overall, the set is amazing. The making of featurette is very interesting, although the featurettes about the history of Japan and aspects of its culture are somewhat dull. It's definitely worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: the not so complete mini-series
Review: With this being my "holy grail" of dvds,i was a tad bit annoyed that a 12 hour mini series was cut down to 9 hours.
after watching the nine hour version i was less annoyed...even after cutting three hours out of this the main story is intact however alot of what made shogun so charming the first time has been removed while they trimmed the fat.little tidbits like when blackthorne asks for "ohnna" thinking this the name of the first woman he met but finding out that ohnna means woman....obviously not critical to the story but when you are as "ANAL" as i am and what ammounts to a 1/4 of the original mini series has been cut out you tend to dwell on whats missing and not whats there.i will live with the cuts because i also own the full vhs version,but if paramount tries to release a 12 hour directors cut in the future i will never buy another paramount product again.
now on to the dvds at hand....as i said nothing critical to the story has been removed..and as i am prone to watching this in one sitting the extra three hours of my life i got back was fine with me.the picture quality is like brand new vhs on a brand new vcr...when considering this is 20 years old it looks great.
all in all make this a purchase but if you are upgrading from the vhs version hang on to your vhs copy...if you haven't watched this in twenty years you should enjoy this as much as the first airing
Rating:
Summary: Editing woes
Review: The color and sound are excellent in this new DVD set. The only disappointment was that they have deleted scenes. It hasn't detracted from the story line however, it was totally unnecessary given a 5-DVD set. I have grown to expect deleted scenes and dialogue inserted into DVD's due to their storage capacity. Paramount made a poor choice!
Rating:
Summary: Shogun on DVD
Review: First aired over 20 years ago, this well done mini-series probably changed forever America's perception of Japan. The new DVD version is presented on 4 DVD's, with the fifth DVD for the bonus features (interviews with the surviving members of the cast, the directors, and historical notes). The video quality is decent (if less than outstanding) and the opening scenes of the Erasmus have edited so that the anachronistic shadow of a helicopter is seen only for a fraction of a second. I have not seen the VHS version, but I recall another brief scene that also has been edited out on the DVD version. The production is faithful to Clavell's novel, and well done. In both Shogun and Gaijin, Clavell changed the names of the actual historical figures: Toronaga Yoshi is Tokugawa Ieyasu, John Blackthorne is Williams Adams, Ishido is Ishida Mitsunari, and -mentioned briefly in the story- Kuroda is Oda Nobunaga, and Nakamura is Toyotomi Hideyoshi. What is called "Osaka Castle" in this production is actually Himeji Castle, the most often filmed castle in Japan, but I do not recognize the one used as Toranaga's (Edo) Castle. A weakness of the bonus material is that it gives no information on any of the sites used. For example, historically Himeji Castle had been awarded by Tokugawa (again, Toranaga in this story) to his son-in-law, and is not only one of the most beautiful buildings in Japan, but also a National Treasure as one of the few original castles remaining.
If you enjoy Shogun, you may enjoy Kurosawa's Kagemusha, currently only VHS in the US. One of the characters in this film is Tokugawa Ieyasu.
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