Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I just spent the weekend watching the complete video tape version of this classic mini-series and I thought I would give the one tape version a second viewing. To be fair, this version is, as others have noted, an above average job of reducing "Shogun" to a single cassette. But doing so really takes away a complete dimension from this epic. Ultimately it is comprehensible only to those who have read the book and/or seen the complete mini-series. You will constantly be thinking back to what they have cut out, filling in all of the jettisoned backstories of the supporting characters who gave "Shogun" its breadth and depth (especially Lord Yabu and Omi). You also lose the sense of the political intrigue, focusing more on the love affair between Pilot-Major Blackthorne and Mariko. Consequently, viewing this edited version is only going to make you want to go back to the complete mini-series or Clavell's novel. Therefore, you should just go do that in the first place. "Shogun" is on a level with "Roots" and "I, Claudius." Can you imagine them doing this to either of those classics?
Of course this begs the question: Why did they even bother to make this version? If memory serves, this was released at a time when no one had really tested the market in terms of making an entire mini-series available on tape. Fortunately, our local library has not only "Shogun" but just about every other major mini-series you can mention. Once I month I grab one for a major weekend viewing session. It is truly the only way to go.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Shogun (2 Hour Feature) (1980)
Get 9% OFF
Click here for more information about Shogun (2 Hour Feature) (1980)
0 comments:
Post a Comment