...this is not that.
While it was certainly groundbreaking and a huge hit at the time, in retrospect great parts of it was rather cheasy and cheapish, and come on, none of us REALLY bought Richard Chamberlain as a rugged and battle hardened sea officer ;)
The 2024 version feels a great deal more modern and budgeted bigger.
It's rougher, it's dirtier, the action scenes are crafted much better, the camera work is much better and reminds you of a Hollywood blockbuster, the lighting and visuals are stunning to the point of being art, and they are underlined by sound effects and a score which amplifies the mood of every scene perfectly.
The script is much richer and intricate than the original series, with better dialogue allowing the much enlarged gallery of characters more complexity and debth, which is especially important to American and European audiences, when depicting a very "foreign" culture... and it is all perfectly executed by a stellar cast, some of whom are getting their international breakthrough on this show.
I just love it, it's probably not only the show of the year, but something we will constantly crave more of in years to come, and which competitors will try to copy.
I should mention this is based off the first 6 episodes, so we are yet to see large scale battle scenes (but looking at the teaser clips, they look exellent), and we are yet to see the all important ending so I will reserve a possible 10 for then - but I am quite hopeful that is where it lands.
It's a show that makes you annoyed it is a limited series, by nature of James Clavell having written only one novel on feudal Japan.. but I actually predict this will be such a big hit, that FX will attempt to have scripts written for either a prequal, continuation - or spin offs - because that period of Japanese history is ripe with potential - and come on, who doesn't like samurais?
This is a must see show, even if you don't like samurais, even if you don't like period dramas, even if you don't like foreign language entertainment, even if you don't like subtitles - because if you don't watch it, you will be the person left out of the conversation, when the topic becomes entertainment.
Enjoy :)
