“Shogun” tells the story of John Blackthorne (Richard Chamberlain), a 17th century English navigator shipwrecked off the coast of Japan. He is rescued and becomes involved in a deadly power struggle by Toranga (Toshiro Mifune), a feuding warlord bent on becoming the supreme military dictator. As Blackthorne becomes more and more involved in the chaos around him he finds himself vying to become the first ever foreigner to become a Samurai Warrior. On the surface this sounds like a fairly simplistic story, but it is far from that. It was based on the best selling novel by James Clavell and takes almost nine hours to tell. That’s right. “Shogun” isn’t just a movie… it’s a mini-series. Spread out over five discs, the package is as impressive as the story it holds. “Shogun” was the mini-series, which after airing back in the early 1980s, that became the standard by which all other mini-series were judged.

Over the last twenty odd years, many have come and gone but only a few still sit in the memory of those who watch. If you asked me to name any two mini-series off the top of my head, they would be “Roots” and “Shogun,” all the others are a blur.

I hadn’t seen “Shogun” since it’s initial airing so many years ago, but after re-visiting it again on DVD I find that it has not lost any of its power. Though it’s not a perfect film, having a few weak spots to bog it down, what stands out is the sheer size of the production.

Richard Chamberlain has long held the reins as ‘king if the mini-series’, and for good reason. He is a fine actor, whose performances always brought every nuance of a character. This just happened to be the one that out him on the map. Pairing him with the powerful Toshiro Mifune also helped to make this the memorable show that it was.

Paramount has done a wonderful job of delivering “Shogun” to the masses. The quality of the transfer is gorgeous, though I wonder if to would have been possible to have turned it into a Widescreen presentation. Aside from that, both the picture and sound are nearly flawless.

I also mentioned the packaging earlier, which sold me on the set immediately. When you slide the disc holder out of the box you initially see the same picture from the cover. But as you start to unfold it, part of a larger picture of a sword and scabbard lying on a velvet material is revealed. As you open it further, more and more of the picture is exposed, until you see the full length of the sword. It’s not necessarily spectacular, but the photo is beautiful and its colors striking.

Now, as if nine hours of mini-series aren’t enough for you, be prepared for the extras. They are few, but all are worthwhile. The first you might catch is the commentary by Director Jerry London. As you might expect, he doesn’t talk through the whole thing, he just chimes in at certain intervals and reveals thoughts and background on some of the scenes.

What I enjoyed even more was the documentary on the series. It’s broken up into 13 segments, but I chose to watch them all together. Most of what is presented here is fascinating, more so in the revelations of how things were done ‘behind the scenes’ twenty years ago as opposed to how some of it might have been done with today’s technology. In many ways, the old ways are still the best.

“Shogun” still leads the pack as far as quality goes in the min-series arena. Its release onto DVD is long overdue. I have to wonder if its being done because of the upcoming Tom Cruise film, “The Last Samurai?” Well, for whatever the reason, its finally here and I hope it finds its way into many a household. Its storytelling as its finest.

Directed by: Jerry London
Starring: Richard Chamberlain, Toshiro Mifune, Yoko Shimada
Extras: 13 Segment documentary on the making of “Shogun”, Historical Featurettes on The Samurai, The Tea Ceremony, and The Geisha, Audio commentary by Director Jerry London on select scenes
Specifications: Full Screen, English 5.1 Surround
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 9/23/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Shogun: The Series an A.