James Clavell's Shogun on FX, premieres on Feb 27, 2024

[peter]

 

Onto the news, Shogun is getting a remake with Sanada Hiroyuki playing Toranaga and it's filming in Vancouver!

It's kind of big news for me because I am a bit of a samurai nut, it's filming in my neck of the woods, and there are some really cool samurai actors like Sanada Hiroyuki, Asano Tadanobu, and fellow Canadian Kanagawa Hiro!  Sorry, I'm geeking out over this.

From the Variety article:

The FX series adaptation of the James Clavell novel “Shōgun” has rounded out its main cast.

Anna Sawai has been cast in the lead role of Lady Mariko, joining previously announced leads Cosmo Jarvis and Hiroyuki Sanada. In addition, the ensemble cast will now also include: Tadanobu Asano, Fumi Nikaido, Tokuma Nishioka, Takehiro Hira, Ako, Shinnosuke Abe, Yasunari Takeshima, Hiroto Kanai, Toshi Toda, Hiro Kanagawa, Nestor Carbonell, Yuki Kura, Tommy Bastow, Moeka Hoshi, Yoriko Doguchi and Yuka Kouri.

Furthermore, Jonathan van Tulleken has come aboard to direct the first two episodes with production now underway in Vancouver. The show has received a 10-episode order at FX.

“Shōgun” is set in feudal Japan. It charts the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai. John Blackthorne (Jarvis), a risk-taking English pilot major ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him. Lord Toranaga (Sanada), a shrewd, powerful daimyo, is at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals. And Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties, must prove her value and allegiance.

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/shogun-fx-series-hiroyuki-sanada-cosmo-jarvis-1234980183/

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/shogun-series-at-fx-rounds-out-main-cast-1235078058/

https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/tv-series-shogun-wraps-filming-in-ucluelet-1.5602463

 

 

Edited January 20, 2023 by peter
removing material under NDA

[peter]

https://www.tricitynews.com/local-news/game-of-thrones-meets-feudal-japan-on-port-moodys-waterfront-4184063

 

[Dynaman]

I really liked the first one and it has aged well for a miniseries of the eighties (many of them have not aged well).  Happy to give this one a look too though.

[roboemo]

I don't know but part of me also feel that they are also capitalizing on Nioh, which also had James Clavell-type story but with William Adams fighting Demons in Fantasy Japan.

[peter]

  On 10/4/2021 at 10:06 PM, Dynaman said:

I really liked the first one and it has aged well for a miniseries of the eighties (many of them have not aged well).  Happy to give this one a look too though.

Expand  

There were some heavy hitters attached to the original version - Mifune Toshiro and Richard Chamberlain.

Some big shoes to fill, but Sanada Hiroyuki is a household name in Japan.  I'm not familiar with the actor playing Blackthorne.

[peter]

  On 10/4/2021 at 10:19 PM, roboemo said:

I don't know but part of me also feel that they are also capitalizing on Nioh, which also had James Clavell-type story but with William Adams fighting Demons in Fantasy Japan.

Expand  

I've never even heard of Nioh until you just mentioned it.  I thought maybe that other game, Ghosts of Tsushima (in terms of video games)?  But honestly, I'm not much of a gamer so I don't really know.

There hasn't been a really solid samurai film targeting western audiences since The Last Samurai, so maybe they just felt it was time?  I've only seen snippets of the original, but it looked pretty epic for the time.  

 

 

[Dynaman]

  On 10/4/2021 at 10:30 PM, peter said:

There hasn't been a really solid samurai film targeting western audiences since The Last Samurai, so maybe they just felt it was time?  I've only seen snippets of the original, but it looked pretty epic for the time.  

Expand  

Well worth it to find it on video or streaming.  

[peter]

  On 10/5/2021 at 1:16 AM, Dynaman said:

Well worth it to find it on video or streaming.  

Expand  

I've read about Hideyoshi, Ieyasu (Toronaga was based off him) and Nobunaga, so I sort of know what it's about, but I should familiarize myself with the content of this story. 

[Dynaman]

  On 10/5/2021 at 5:35 AM, peter said:

I've read about Hideyoshi, Ieyasu (Toronaga was based off him) and Nobunaga, so I sort of know what it's about, but I should familiarize myself with the content of this story. 

Expand  

Clavell's works are fiction based on historical events.  So don't get too worried about the actual history.  Darn good story though.

[peter]

OK, will definitely try to find it somewhere and watch it.

I wish I could talk about the current production more, and why I think it's going to be awesome, but I can't disclose anything beyond what is already publicly available.

 

Edited October 5, 2021 by peter

[arrow]

I'm rewatching the original at the moment. That's fun that they are  re-doing it.

[Podtastic]

  On 10/4/2021 at 10:30 PM, peter said:

I've only seen snippets of the original, but it looked pretty epic for the time.  

Expand  

Its worth watching. I dont remember it being massively action packed, but still good.

Hope the remake is as good and not too slow moving, I really could use a good sword slashing samurai something to watch. 😁

Edited June 26, 2022 by Podtastic

[Sildani]

Found the DVD set at Goodwill for five bucks. Time to tuck in!

[Old_Nash_II]

Final trailer

 

 

 

[Raikkonen]

I'm so loving this series. 

A rare gem during the age of fatty and tasteless buffet streaming. 

[Wolf-1]

  On 10/5/2021 at 5:35 AM, peter said:

I've read about Hideyoshi, Ieyasu (Toronaga was based off him) and Nobunaga, so I sort of know what it's about, but I should familiarize myself with the content of this story. 

Expand  

Essentially; Nobunaga has come and gone, Hideyoshi just recently passed and we are dealing with the same fall-out that followed in real life; underage heir technially will rule but the Regents who were put in place to hold the power for him would much rather just take it for themselves.  English Blackburn is just there to stir the pot up every possible way, so far. 

[TangledThorns]

Guess I'm gonna have to sign up for HULU soon, lol.

[Tking22]

Yeah I'm all caught up and this is absolutely the best thing on TV right now, it's frakking fantastic. Excellent performances, the show is gorgeous, there's intrigue and drama, it's just a 10/10, highly recommended. 

[Raikkonen]

First 3 episodes down, all fantastic so far and we still haven't had a glimpse of the trailer's best parts. Says a lot. 

[Duke Togo]

The series is moving very fast and they're condensing events more than I thought they would given the run time of it. I suspect they're saving a chunk of time for

  Reveal hidden contents

a big battle at the end of the series that was never in the book.

 

[azrael]

I really need to sit down and watch this along with Masters of the Air. 😔

[Roy Focker]

This show is really good.  Last episode our English man was hardly in it. Majority of it focused on the Japanese cast  and they got all the juicy dramatic scenes.

[Tking22]

Easily best show of 2024, after I finish up the series I'll probably check out the book too. 

[Big s]

  On 4/12/2024 at 3:08 PM, Tking22 said:

Easily best show of 2024, after I finish up the series I'll probably check out the book too. 

Expand  

It’s definitely a good show for a semi historical drama. My lady absolutely loves it and gets mad that we gotta wait for the next episodes every time one ends. It’s so far an early highlight for the year and will be tough competition for best show of the year for most people. It’s still only the first quarter and there’s a few shows I’m interested in coming up soon and one I haven’t had the chance to start yet 

[Big s]

Up until the last couple episodes, I thought this show would be in contention for best show of the year. Now I see that it’s in contention for either the most hated or hopefully forgettable shows of the year. It started out so good and kept giving hope things would go somewhere interesting and it just gets more and more depressing and ends as a total teaser with nothing but depression. 
 

  Reveal hidden contents

Second to last episode is like putting a loved one on suicide watch because the main lady keeps trying to kill herself only to be stopped constantly. There’s action scenes, but they come off more as rich people ordering their subordinates to die for them to prove a point. The lady finally dies after trying constantly trying to either kill herself or get killed by others. This gives hope that in the last episode we will finally see Crimson Sky.

Towards the end of the last episode we find out that Crimson Sky already happened. It was all just manipulation of perception to lead to a final battle that we will never see. All that training with canons and such basically for nothing, just a distraction. The main character is dying a horrible death and seems blind and bedridden back home while kids hold the helmet he was given in defense of his master in a battle that never gets shown. We are left waiting for an epic end in a final episode that’s just an epilogue to the events of the last episode. Whe don’t even find out how the main character gets back home

Overall, I feel manipulated by the creators of the show into thinking this was gonna be a great show with a truly epic conclusion and felt completely let down. It’s pretty and gruesome. And a lot of depressing people doing a lot of depressing things.

Seriously..F..k this show, I wish I never started it

[azrael]

Looks like someone didn't read the book or watch the original 1980-miniseries. 😁 They all end the same way.

  Reveal hidden contents

The whole idea is that Toronaga skillfully manipulated the situation to benefit him and he barely has to lift a finger. Everyone turns against Ishido guaranteeing when they meet at the Battle of Sekigahara, Ishido's forces WILL lose.

 

[Big s]

  On 4/25/2024 at 12:35 AM, azrael said:

Looks like someone didn't read the book or watch the original 1980-miniseries. 😁 They all end the same way.

  Reveal hidden contents

The whole idea is that Toronaga skillfully manipulated the situation to benefit him and he barely has to lift a finger. Everyone turns against Ishido guaranteeing when they meet at the Battle of Sekigahara, Ishido's forces WILL lose.

 

Expand  

I did read the book, but saw the original many years ago and have long forgotten it. I think that’s a poor excuse for a terrible final couple of episodes. 

[mechaninac]

  On 4/25/2024 at 6:24 AM, Big s said:

I did read the book, but saw the original many years ago and have long forgotten it. I think that’s a poor excuse for a terrible final couple of episodes. 

Expand  

Well, the alternative would be for the show's producers and writers to pull a GoT season 8 and just make stuff up; thereby guaranteeing that they bollocks thing up and end up pleasing almost no one.  That they respected and adhered to the source material is a glowing testament to their restraint and deference to the book's author... a rare and commendable thing this day and age.

[Big s]

  On 4/25/2024 at 6:40 AM, mechaninac said:

Well, the alternative would be for the show's producers and writers to pull a GoT season 8 and just make stuff up; thereby guaranteeing that they bollocks thing up and end up pleasing almost no one.  That they respected and adhered to the source material is a glowing testament to their restraint and deference to the book's author... a rare and commendable thing this day and age.

Expand  

A book is a different thing that relies heavily on imagination. A show is something that we have to be shown to be satisfied, especially when the entire buildup of the show leads to something that is only hinted at with many things left unfinished.

When the kids were looking at the helmet and talking about its damage and just showing the main character rolling in bed without showing that great battle was a giant middle finger to the audience.

It reminded me of the episode that made me stop watching startrek DS9 when a bunch of Klingons were going into an epic battle and instead of the epic battle it cut to them singing and partying. I think I stopped liking Startrek for a long time after that

[Duke Togo]

As someone who has read the book twice and has seen the original miniseries probably 10 times over the past 30 years, I'm glad it ended the way it did. They did a really excellent job with the new miniseries, with my only quibble being that  Blackthorne doesn't come across as inquisitive (or perhaps intelligent) as the character should be. But, maybe I'm wrong on this and I just need to do a rewatch.

[roboemo]

Yeah, I think this more had to do with Clavell not actually familiar with Feudal Japanese warfare. Like most just used textual examples like him at military meeting or lecturing with battle plans rather than specifics.

[Duke Togo]

  On 4/25/2024 at 6:18 PM, roboemo said:

Yeah, I think this more had to do with Clavell not actually familiar with Feudal Japanese warfare. Like most just used textual examples like him at military meeting or lecturing with battle plans rather than specifics.

Expand  

To the best of my recollection, Clavell doesn't depict warfare in any of his novels. That's simply not what they're about.

[roboemo]

  On 4/25/2024 at 7:10 PM, Duke Togo said:

To the best of my recollection, Clavell doesn't depict warfare in any of his novels. That's simply not what they're about.

Expand  

Yeah; just remembered a tv trope entry about this.

[Big s]

Seems that a second season is coming. Maybe we finally get that battle after all. Either that or another season of being teased without a payoff 

[Roy Focker]

Each book the miniseries is based on took place in a new time period, new location and new characters. If a second season took place with the surviving characters from season one, I could see them using the Siege of Osaka.