MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

michael_the_nermal I enjoyed "Shogun" a great deal more than a bloated, overlong historically-set miniseries that followed a few years later, "North and South." In spite being twelve some-odd hours in length, "Shogun" does not feel like it goes on forever like "North and South," has much better actors, and moves at a decent pace. It has the formula of historic romances, including a soap opera love between the Western man and an Eastern woman, whom he is forbidden to love. "Dances With Wolves" and, of late, "Avatar" follow a similar formula, but I enjoyed the love story between Lady Toda and John Blackthorne in "Shogun" much more than in those movies. "East meets West" romances, including those between Western men and Eastern women, and even including those set in Japan some time in the past, are pretty standard in literature and film; but, somehow, I enjoyed how this formula played out in "Shogun" more than others. This may have to do with the long running time of the miniseries, which allowed for a credible romance to develop; a three-hour film would have to, by comparison, develop this plot rather quickly."The Last Samurai" repeats the theme of a Westerner of no great title in his own homeland earning the respect of the Japanese nobility, earning the title of samurai, and aiding the nobles for their own ends. Somehow, I like how this formula played out in "Shogun" even more. Richard Chamberlain (TV's Dr. Kildare) is insanely fun to watch. His American accent does not hinder his role; in fact, it makes it very enjoyable. His character of John Blackthorne does undergo a change throughout the story, but still maintains a healthy skepticism of Japanese culture and of the trustworthiness of the Portuguese Jesuit priests who have insinuated themselves amongst the Japanese noble houses. Other wonderful actors include John Rhys-Davies (perhaps best known as Gimli from Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" movies) is superb and fun to watch as Portuguese pilot "Rodrigo-san." Toshiro Mifune, perhaps the Japanese actor best known outside of Japan, credibly and subtly conveys the menace and wiles of the enigmatic Lord Toranaga (a fictionalized version of the real-life Ieyasu Tokugawa). The actors who played Lady Mariko Toda and Father Alvito, though relatively unknown, deserve commendation for their excellent acting.If you have any money saved up, try to rent separate discs of "Shogun" when you can until you have seen the whole series. It makes the experience more manageable (each disc is about two-and-a-half hours in length) than to see the whole damned thing at once. You will not regret it!

mx44 I'm really mad today because I expected to see a good show.Instead I've seen something.Almost everything is changed.I know the book by heart and this changes made me scream and swear all the time.Blackhtorne seems to be quite stopid,Mariko knows English I guess,not Portuguese,Toranaga is just a cruel leader(when he's the main character in the book). What sort of trickery is this? Blackthorne is a great character in the book(Latin is a must,also for Mariko,Alvito is magnificent,Toranaga is the puppet master etc),but they everything look so dull.To bad I can't give it a ZERO! But I tell you a simple thing: "Read the book and open your mind!"

Dean S (deansawas) This miniseries does a credible job in presenting the cultural landscape during the Shogunate years. Not only is it a historical (somewhat modified) adventure, it demonstrated the advances the Japanese had made in medicine, iron-working and in other areas. It shows the differences between the Western and Eastern attitudes towards cleanliness and religion- which had not been presented before. It also shows the stratified class society of those times. A shock to our delicate sensibilities - but, at least an attempt to show it in a positive manner. The costumes and background was very accurate for the time and it was the first honest attempt to portray the Japanese in a kindly manner since before Pearl Harbor. Could it have been better - yes, could it have been more historically accurate - again yes, BUT it sure was light years better than the horrible attempts that had littered the movie landscape in prior years. It also encouraged people to see Toshiro Mifune and Kurosawas' other classics such as Rashomon, etc. Definitely worth watching.

lohrasb I watched the series first in 1991, when satellite TV had just come to UK. All these years I wanted to watch the series, again!Only this time, I had no idea how much it was going to effect me! Back then, I was eighteen and it seemed just another swash-buckling adventure. Almost a decade later, I could actually see people and their lives! Back to time when honour and shame actually meant life and death!I even got the audio book! It helped me realise how Jerry London's adaptation remained true 2 the text! The book certainly complements the series and fills in the missing gaps!James Clavell was captured by the Japanese in Singapore and spent most of the Second World War in captivity. It is quite astonishing that instead of hating his captors he came to admire their culture and simply demonstrate the mutual prejudices of both sides!With the exception of Toshirô Mifune, it is quite disheartening to find hardly anything on the Japanese cast of the series! After much search I came across a small passage on Yoko Shimada , who starred alongside Richard Chamberlain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoko_ShimadaMiko Taka, Lord Toranaga's (Toshirô Mifune) consort starred alongside Marlon Brando in the movie Sayonara 1957! And yet there's nothing on her, either.It's been said that Yoko Shimada was the only Japanese, speaking English in the series. But, that is not true! Further down the line, a Jesuit Japanese priest appears, who also speaks English!