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The recent FX miniseries "Shōgun," a 10-episode adaptation of James Clavell's epic 1975 novel of the same name, was a massive success. It earned strong enough ratings and reviews that FX renewed it for another two seasons, even though the source material was already fully covered. We don't know how the series can possibly maintain its quality with two of its best characters gone, but it'll at least be interesting to see the show try.

With all this talk about the 2024 show, it's easy to forget that "Shōgun" had already been adapted into a TV show over forty years earlier. That miniseries was only five episodes long (extended to six in subsequent media releases), and they were all released on NBC over the course of one week in September 1980. The miniseries wasn't well-received in Japan (more on that in a...

The recent first season of the FX series Shogun has continued its awards success into 2025, with the acclaimed show prevailing at Saturday’s WGA Awards and as one of the big winners at last month’s Golden Globes. But a key figure on a previous adaptation of the book does not quite understand the appeal of the recent version.

Jerry London, who directed the nine-hour Shogun that aired on NBC in September 1980, remembers his project as challenging, and says that producers initially pushed for a director of Japanese descent. “I had to convince them that I knew what I was doing,” London tells The Hollywood Reporter. “So after about a month or so, they accepted me and everything went well. But it was a very difficult show to do, and it turned out great.”

The director emphasizes that the new version felt much different from what he tried to accomplish with his miniseries,...

Its place in the Emmy record books already secured after the Creative Arts, Disney/FX’s Shōgun went for a historic sweep, adding four more wins tonight for a staggering total of 18 Emmys in one season, a bench mark that may never be reached again.

That included the Outstanding Drama Series trophy, accepted onstage by series co-creator/executive producer/showrunner Justin Marks and star/producer Hiroyuki Sanada. They were joined by fellow cast members and producers, including executive producer Michaela Clavell whose father, the late James Clavell, wrote the Shōgun book and executive produced the 1980 NBC miniseries adaptation, winning the Outstanding Miniseries Emmy alongside the late Eric Bercovici.

Marks thanked Disney and FX executives for greenlighting “a very expensive subtitled Japanese period piece whose central climax revolves around a poetry competition.”

“We share this award with our extraordinary cast and crew from Japan and North America,” he added. “Shōgun is a show about translation,...

For five consecutive nights in September 1980, NBC’s Shōgun captivated audiences, drawing between 23M-29M viewers each night. The miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain, Toshiro Mifune and Yoko Shimada, was also a critical success, earning 14 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Limited Series.

Taking on a TV classic is always risky but FX’s adaptation of James Clavell’s novel delivered, becoming FX’s most-watched show ever based on global hours streamed. And this morning, it topped its predecessor with 25 Emmy nominations — the most of any program this year — including Outstanding Drama Series.

The remake, whose haul helped FX net a record 93 Emmy nominations and Disney an all-time high 183 noms, accomplished that in a very competitive field of dozens of linear networks and streamers producing hundreds of original series a year. In 1980, there were three networks, ABC, CBS and NBC.

Related: Emmy Nominations Analysis: Fresh Blood Livens Up The Race For TV Gold...

Shogun's cast members are already landing exciting projects post-series, like Cosmo Jarvis in "Alto Knights" with Robert De Niro. Hiroyuki Sanada and Tadanobu Asano will reunite in "Mortal Kombat 2," reprising their roles as Scorpion and Lord Raiden. Anna Sawai, a breakout star from Shogun, may make a major comeback in "Fast & Furious 11" to boost the franchise.

Some members of the outstanding ensemble cast of the critically acclaimed series Shgun have already confirmed their next highly-anticipated projects. Shgun's robust cast, led by the formidable Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Toranaga and the breathtaking Anna Sawai as Lady Mariko, is undoubtedly one of the best aspects of the celebrated limited series, which earned a near-perfect 99% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Many viewers believe Shgun is the greatest miniseries in recent memory, and it is already in an excellent position to be considered for the Outstanding Limited Series Award at the 2024 Emmys.

Shogun's near-perfect 99% Rotten Tomatoes score is a strong indicator of its award chances at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards. The original 1980 Shogun series won 3 Emmys and was highly acclaimed, setting a high standard for the 2024 adaptation. Shogun is already being hailed as the best miniseries of the year, with strong potential to win Outstanding Limited Series at the Emmys.

One Emmy-winning series from 1980 already provides a great indication of Shgun's awards chances. Following the epic conclusion of Shgun titled "A Dream of a Dream" which was released on April 23, 2024, the complete Shgun series is now available to stream on Hulu or watch on demand through FX. Although Shgun episode 10 ends without showing the war between Lord Ishido and Lord Toranaga, a conflict that has been brewing throughout the entire series based on the real-life Battle of Sekigahara, the finale was one of the best episodes of the critically acclaimed...

Since its premiere on February 27, FX on Hulu’s “Shōgun” has become one of the most popular limited series of this Emmy cycle. Based on James Clavell’s 1975 titular novel, the historical series created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks revolves around an English sailor (Cosmo Jarvis) shipwrecked in Japan at the start of the 17th century in the midst of political upheaval surrounding a powerful daimyō (Hiroyuki Sanada) and a samurai (Anna Sawai) torn between her loyalty and faith. With the series already midway through its run and receiving critical acclaim and awards attention, let’s re-examine NBC’s original 1980 miniseries — which garnered 14 Emmy nominations and three wins –- to determine potential categories for the current program.

Here are the 1981 Emmy nominations and wins for the first “Shōgun” television adaptation:

Best Limited Series (Won)

James Clavell, Executive Producer

Eric Bercovici, Producer

Best Movie/Limited Actor

Richard Chamberlain as John...

In an age where remakes and re-adaptations have earned a wildly detested reputation, Hiroyuki Sanada’s Shōgun may justify the need for a fresh iteration. The 2024 show is slated to revisit the 1975 novel of the same name by James Clavell, which was previously brought to audience entertainment on the television format in 1980.

The original miniseries was produced by Paramount Television and written by Eric Bercovici, and at the time was immensely well-received.

A still from Shōgun (2024). Credit: FX

However, those acquainted with the first adaptation noticed that there was more to be told, and from a perspective that didn’t treat the Japanese point of view as secondary to English navigator John Blackthorne’s. This inclusivity characterizes the nuanced, complex story that Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks, and executive producer Michaela Clavell intend to tell in their recent limited series.

In a recent interview, the mentioned creatives discussed why the Sanada...

Class-act director John Boorman continues to mix genre grit with European-flavored art cinema, and the result is another winner. Toshiro Mifune and Lee Marvin fight a miniature two-man war when they’re marooned together on the same tiny island. Boorman’s strong direction and Conrad Hall’s knockout cinematography insure a maximum visual impact; it’s great filmmaking all around.

Hell in the Pacific

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1968 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date June 27, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Lee Marvin, Toshiro Mifune

Cinematography: Conrad Hall

Art Direction: Anthony Pratt, Masao Yamazaki

Film Editor: Thomas Stanford

Original Music: Lalo Schifrin

Written by Alexander Jacobs, Eric Bercovici story by Reuben Bercovitch

Produced by Reuben Bercovitch, Henry G. Saperstein, Selig J. Seligman

Directed by John Boorman

Former TV director and producer John Boorman barely survived a first feature with the Dave Clark Five, imitating Richard Lester’s success with the Beatles.

After all the debates, controversies, and stereotype accusations have cleared, looking back on Blaxploitation cinema today it’s easy to see healthy portions of the crime and action genres. Using these genres and the struggles of the black community, these films were created for those that wanted to see African American characters on the big screen not taking shit from the man, “getting over”, and–above all else—being the heroes in movies. In the documentary Baad Asssss Cinema, Samuel L. Jackson gives his take on the heroes of Blaxploitation: “We were tired of seeing the righteous black man. And all of a sudden we had guys who were…us. Or guys who did the things we wanted those guys to do.”

The unsung supporting players in these films that backed Fred Williamson and Pam Grier and many other stars were people acting and making a living off of it.

For those of you who don’t know him (and if you don’t, shame on you!), John Rhys-Davies has appeared in some of the most popular franchises of all time. He is probably best known for his portrayal of the dwarf Gimli in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy and as Sallah in Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (and criminally not brought back for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) but has also turned up in the James Bond saga (The Living Daylights), the Star Trek series (he played Leonardo Da Vinci in Voyager!) and Batman (voiced a character in the Animated Series).

And who can forget his Prof. Maximilian Arturo in the awesome sci-fi show Sliders!

He’s got a full and fantastic career behind him and this...

Corey Allen, who fatally challenged James Dean to a "chicken race" in the 1955 film classic "Rebel Without a Cause" before embarking on a career as a prolific TV director, died June 27 of natural causes in Hollywood, two days before his 76th birthday.

With the May 29 death of his longtime friend Dennis Hopper, Allen was briefly the last surviving member of the "Rebel" main cast. He played Buzz Gunderson, one of the pic's antagonistic tough guys in a leather jacket.

Allen collected an Emmy Award for a 1983 episode of "Hill Street Blues" after being nominated for another series episode two years earlier. He earned a CableACE award in 1984 for an episode of "Paper Chase" and received DGA TV noms for his work on "The Streets of San Francisco" and "Hill Street Blues."

As an actor, the ruggedly handsome Cleveland native also appeared in 1958 films "Darby's Rangers" and "Party Girl" (also directed...