Shōgun Review: 11 Ups & 2 Downs
10. Up: The Staggering Cinematography & Set Pieces
In order to best capture its awe-inspiring attention to detail and historical accuracy, achieved over a decade of painstaking research, Shōgun wastes not a frame to show off its momentous set pieces, with cinematography as grand as it is keenly focussed on the minutiae.
Shot by the likes of Sam McCurdy (Lost In Space) and Marc Laliberté (American Gods), Shōgun is epic in the truest sense, a brilliantly constructed arrangement of magnificent set pieces that help amplify the majesty of Japan, but also the quiet horrors of its political turbulence and looming violence.
From dazzling shipyards to stunning fields and gorgeous buildings, Shōgun moves through the decadent areas of Japan and the downtrodden with equal care and attention, capturing a world in flux with detailed sets you can pause your TV on and study for hours.
All of this is amplified by strategic lighting, casting its doomed characters in shadow and royalty in shiny rays. It's all beautiful to gaze upon, but perhaps the true power of Shōgun's cinematography is how prophetic it is, how many shots foreshadow something still to come.