Shogun (which I'm not permitted to spell correctly as the macron O is an "invalid character") is a masterfully written and artistically splendid adaptation of the 1975 James Clavell novel of the same name (which was also adapted for TV in 1980 -- I'm told that if you belong to the same generation as my parents, this was more than likely the first Japanese you ever heard/learned). In this version, we get Cosmo Jarvis as the marooned Englishman John Blackthorne; Anna Sawai as the troubled Lady Mariko, who becomes his translator; and a phenomenal Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Toranaga, a mighty daimyo who becomes the target of other regents in Japan in a story that shows the dawn of Tokugawa shogunate.
It's a bit funny that it came out right around when Denis Villeneuve made his comments about how movies are the ideal place for visual storytelling, whereas TV is more about dialogue. Along comes Shogun, which looks appreciably better than many of the movies we've seen from Hollywood in recent years, most notably in terms of lighting -- Matt Zoller Seitz joked that this show reminded us that good lighting is, in fact, allowed on TV.
It's not as "realistic" as, say, the murky battle in the Game of Thrones episode The Long Night, but is this what we want in fantastical art? Recall the conversation Peter Jackson had with a crewmember when shooting the Cirith Ungol sequence in Return of the King: "Where is that light coming from?" "The same place as the music."
It's a show that puts in effort and details in ways that too few shows bother to even try. I even noticed environmental details, like a scene set during a period of thawing, where snow can be seen and heard sliding off the building while the characters are speaking -- this wasn't necessary to include, but it helps the show feel more real and immersive, while also denoting the passage of time during Blackthorne's stint as Toranaga's military trainer.
There also is the purposeful use of swirly bokeh, especially in shots that show Blackthorne's point-of-view, accentuating the dreamlike and confusing quality that Japan has to him, and of course, the costumes and sets are nigh flawless. It is, simply put, a brilliant show, and the fact that so few are talking about it is a damn pity.
It's a bit funny that it came out right around when Denis Villeneuve made his comments about how movies are the ideal place for visual storytelling, whereas TV is more about dialogue. Along comes Shogun, which looks appreciably better than many of the movies we've seen from Hollywood in recent years, most notably in terms of lighting -- Matt Zoller Seitz joked that this show reminded us that good lighting is, in fact, allowed on TV.
It's not as "realistic" as, say, the murky battle in the Game of Thrones episode The Long Night, but is this what we want in fantastical art? Recall the conversation Peter Jackson had with a crewmember when shooting the Cirith Ungol sequence in Return of the King: "Where is that light coming from?" "The same place as the music."
It's a show that puts in effort and details in ways that too few shows bother to even try. I even noticed environmental details, like a scene set during a period of thawing, where snow can be seen and heard sliding off the building while the characters are speaking -- this wasn't necessary to include, but it helps the show feel more real and immersive, while also denoting the passage of time during Blackthorne's stint as Toranaga's military trainer.
There also is the purposeful use of swirly bokeh, especially in shots that show Blackthorne's point-of-view, accentuating the dreamlike and confusing quality that Japan has to him, and of course, the costumes and sets are nigh flawless. It is, simply put, a brilliant show, and the fact that so few are talking about it is a damn pity.