George R. R. Martin Praises FX’s ‘Shogun’ Despite Criticizing Book Adaptations

George R.R. Martin, renowned for his A Song of Ice and Fire series, which inspired HBO’s Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, has remarked that the majority of film and TV adaptations pale in comparison to their original source material.

On his website, under his ‘Not a Blog‘ page, Martin shared his thoughts on the topic of adaptations. He recalled a panel discussion he participated in alongside Sandman creator Neil Gaiman back in 2022. While he refrained from commenting on the Netflix adaptation of the comic book series, he remarked that “very little has changed since then” in regards to adaptations. “If anything, things have gotten worse.”

Martin goes on to say, “Nine hundred ninety-nine times out of a thousand, they make it worse.” Yet, he did not comment on HBO’s adaptations of his own books, avoiding a potential misstep ahead of the airing of the second season of House of the Dragon.

Despite this, he lavished praise on FX’s Shogun, describing it as “superb.” The historical drama, based on the 1975 novel by James Clavell, sees Pilot Major John Blackthorne and what remains of his crew arrive in Japan in May 1600. The Pilot, whom the Japanese call ‘Anjin-san’, is thrust into a world of dangerous politics and intrigue between rival Japanese Warlords, the Regency, the Catholic Church, and the Empires of Spain and Portugal.

You can read George R.R. Martin’s full post below.

Everywhere you look, there are more screenwriters and producers eager to take great stories and “make them their own.” It does not seem to matter whether the source material was written by Stan Lee, Charles Dickens, Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl, Ursula K. Le Guin, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Raymond Chandler, Jane Austen, or… well, anyone. No matter how major a writer it is, no matter how great the book, there always seems to be someone on hand who thinks he can do better, eager to take the story and “improve” on it. “The book is the book, the film is the film,” they will tell you, as if they were saying something profound. Then they make the story their own.

They never make it better, though. Nine hundred ninety-nine times out of a thousand, they make it worse.

Once in a while, though, we do get a really good adaptation of a really good book, and when that happens , it deserves applause.

I can came across one of those instances recently, when I binged the new FX version of SHOGUN.

Must confess, I was dubious when I first heard they were making another version of the Clavell novel. It has been a long time, a long long LONG time, but I read the book when it first came out in the late 70s and was mightily impressed. (I really need to give it a reread one of these days, but there are so many books, so little time). And the 1980 miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain as the Anjin was a landmark of long form television, right up with with ROOTS; why do it over again, when that version was so good?

I am glad they did, though. The new SHOGUN is superb. Better than Chamberlain’s version, you ask? Hmmm, I don’t know. I have not watched the 1980 miniseries since, well, 1980. That one was great too. The fascinating thing is that while the old and new versions have some significant differences — the subtitles that make the Japanese dialogue intelligible to English speaking viewers being the biggest — they are both faithful to the Clavell novel in their own way. I think the author would have been pleased. Both old and new screenwriters did honor to the source material, and gave us terrific adaptations, resisting the impulse to “make it their own.”

But don’t take my word for it. Watch it yourself.

Acting, directing, set design, costume… it’s all splendid here. Along with the writing.

And if SHOGUN is a big enough hit, maybe the same team will adapt some of Clavell’s other novels.

George R.R. Martin

In recent years, adaptations have taken center stage, particularly in the realms of books and games. There has been a series of successful adaptations, including the recent blockbuster Dune: Part Two, Netflix’s The Witcher, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. With upcoming shows like The Last of Us season 2 on the horizon, adaptations are poised to become even more prevalent.

As for Shogun it has become a runaway hit for FX, smashing streaming records on their platform. It has garnered praise for its historical accuracy and epic storytelling. The series is available for streaming on Hulu in the US and Disney+ in the UK.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook Instagram Twitter(X) YouTube TikTok