The series did roughly follow the James Clavell novel, though much was left out. Partly due to the novel being so complicated, but also because the series was geared less to explain history of 1600 Japan and its relation to Europe than it was to introduce America to Japanese culture when most Americans knew little about sake and ninjas.
Visually the movie was pretty, but the story focused far too much on the love affair between Blackthorne and Mariko, wife of another samurai, with their spending a lot of time laying together and saying repeatedly how much they love one another. Enough already, we got the idea. And what about Mariko's husband, he just lets it all happen? (The novel explains how this problem ended up being bypassed.) Good if you want light entertainment, but read the novel for a much more long and complicated but more thorough and logical story.
Visually the movie was pretty, but the story focused far too much on the love affair between Blackthorne and Mariko, wife of another samurai, with their spending a lot of time laying together and saying repeatedly how much they love one another. Enough already, we got the idea. And what about Mariko's husband, he just lets it all happen? (The novel explains how this problem ended up being bypassed.) Good if you want light entertainment, but read the novel for a much more long and complicated but more thorough and logical story.