Sunday, July 04, 2010

"I promised her rings for her fingers..."

Day 17 - Favorite mini series

That would be Shogun, which I can't believe came out thirty years ago!! I was twelve, and I still remember waiting anxiously for each part to air to find out what happened. I was completely entranced by the setting, the characters, the plot. I loved learning little bits of Japanese as Blackthorne did. I loved Mariko. I loved the cultural differences, the history, the samurai, and Orson Welles narrating. I loved Toshiro Mifune as Toranaga. The mini-series would not be half as powerful without him. It was such a beautiful mini-series, filmed in Japan, with gorgeous costumes and scenery. I loved the theme. Most of the plot even stayed with me over the years, which I can't say of other mini-series we watched back in the '80s, like the interminable (at the time - my opinion may be different now) Winds of War. When Shogun came out on DVD, I bought it immediately. I watched it again and found I loved it even more than I had as a kid. It held up just fine. Definitely everything a mini-series should be.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yes. This.

So long since I've seen Shogun. My dad used to have it on video, but I think I was probably 13 or 14 last time I watched it. Will have to look out for it on DVD.

Sigh. One thing with this meme (and the last) - my list of things to buy is just getting longer and longer...