In Shogun, historical realism is everything. From its first and shocking first chapter, the Star+ series makes it clear that in addition to being a successful adaptation of James Clavell's book, it is a drama with its own weight. That, thanks to its recreation of medieval Japan and the way it explores the tortuous political conflicts that surround the shogunate in which the story takes place. What begins with an apparent succession conflict ends up being a demonstration of manipulation in large spheres of power and the breakdown of the leadership of power in the region. At least, in the way Japan interpreted it at the time.
A similar premise depends largely on the historical detail that is incorporated into the history of Shogun. A point that the production has taken into account when breaking down its complicated board of interests. From the way to delve into morality, behavior and the point of view of loyalty, to honor suicide. The truth is Shogun analyzes his argument through the idea that the context — and its precision in his story — is of enormous interest to enrich the result on screen. Which becomes more evident from chapter to chapter.
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But in addition to the above, Shogun made one thing clear: historical dramas have recovered their value and, especially, the public's interest. To celebrate the above, we leave you five movies that you will like if you enjoy Shogun. From an elegant Western with an existentialist background to a film that delves into the complicated terrain of the bombings of Japan during World War II. The selection covers the best of a genre that is essential to understanding Hollywood and its importance today.
Tombstone: The Legend of Wyatt Earp
George P. Cosmatos' film is considered one of the best westerns of the last forty years. With its ability to explore both the historical setting of 1879 and its complex characters, Kevin Jarre's plot is a tribute to the genre. But more than that, it uses the setting of a hostile and brutal American West to analyze the good, evil and morals of the time.
The story, which follows Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) in his attempt to pacify the brutal city of Tombstone in the middle of the gold rush, avoids commonplaces to tell his story. So his protagonist is much more than a benevolent figure with justice. Before that, Russell brings an at-times uncomfortable ambiguity to the role, which makes his character one of the most memorable in American Western films.
But it is Cosmatos' portrait of the century and the territory that sustains the film's considerable personality. From close-ups that go into houses and taverns built with wooden planks, to the careful detail in the setting of outfits and decorations. Tombstone: The Legend of Wyatt Earpis a well-constructed journey through a hard and raw story. One of its strongest points and that has made it a modern classic of the genre.
Ocean of Fire
In 2004, Joe Johnston took the story of the life of adventurer Frank Hopkins and turned it into an allegory of hope and a sense of purpose. Ocean of Fire, is much more than a historical drama with an antihero as a protagonist. At the same time, it is a celebration of the ideals that They led many of the globetrotters of the mid-19th century to explore new frontiers.
But especially the film celebrates a feat that still surprises today. Hopkins (played by Viggo Mortensen), is a stranger everywhere, like the protagonist of Shogun. So, with nothing to lose and a lot to gain, he ends up in the middle of the Arabian desert in the middle of an event capable of changing his life from now on. That is, if he manages to travel the three thousand mile race on the back of his mestizo horse Hidalgo. A celebration of daring and resistance, which at that time could only be undertaken by national participants or those from noble lineages.
The film not only tells of Hopkins' feat – recreating the real event with astonishing realism – but also its most emotional part. The competitor, who would later write a book about the experience, would insist that it was his faithful horse that allowed him to succeed. An element that the film highlights and turns into the most human dimension of its story.
Crusade
Ridley Scott has an evident predilection for historical dramas. The director, who last year released the controversial Napoleon, with mixed results, he already had experience in bombastic scenarios, which use history as a backdrop. In 2005, she filmed Crusadein which, through a solitary character, He toured Jerusalem and the lands in the middle of the religious dispute that crossed medieval Europe, an era that he shared, in part, with Shogun.
Balian of Ibelin (Orlando Bloom), is the bastard son of a knight who will try, by all means at his disposal, to achieve recognition and glory in the midst of the crusades. But what begins as a journey in search of reclaiming his name, It will become a battle to safeguard everything you consider valuable and loved.
Shot in lavish locations, the film surprises by turning the Loarre Castle (Huesca) into an unrecognizable setting. He also does it with Portocarrero (Palma del Río, Córdoba). Both, transformed into places of the oldest France. For its final scenes, in which Balian returns to his lands, the historical section becomes the perfect symbol of his inner peace. The most interesting point of the film.
G.I. Jane
Also by Ridley Scott, the film is focused on a drama that depends on context to be understood. G.I. Janebased on the life of Danielle Alexandra, shows the disparity, pressure and violence that the American military exerts on its female officers. Especially those who have decided to continue the complicated hierarchical pyramid, through harsh training and pressure from their male peers.
Jordan O'Neill (Demi Moore) must prove his worth in the middle of a hostile scenario. In particular, when her ambitions and aspirations within the military collide head-on with the rigorous and archaic methods of promotion. Forced to undergo brutal training that will become even violent as it goes on, the officer will understand a crucial point. That his rise to the formal place he aspires to depends not so much on his ability as on his perseverance.
G.I. Jane It caused annoyance and controversy at the time of its release, but it also left something clear in its wake. The story presented, which shows gender inequality in the North American military world, details the struggle of those who faced the establishment to achieve success.
Torah! Torah! Torah!
This 1970 classic by Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku, Toshio Masuda, is available in its expanded and remastered version in the Star+ catalog. The narrative about the Second World War, from the point of view of the victors and the losers, surprised. At the same time, it moved the world, in a decade of special social movementsas turbulent as Shogun.
At the same time, he deepened the idea about the future and the possibility of understanding a world full of differences. This, despite the fact that the film recounts the Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor. However, also, what such a provocation meant for Asia and what it had to suffer, due to the inevitable consequences he had to face.
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Frontal, brilliant and terrifying at some point, the film is considered a gem of war drama similar to Shogun. But, at the same time, a historical drama that analyzes its characters, both the winners and the defeated, from a deep perspective. Its most remembered feature.