Shogun original release, without Orson Welles?

Hi Forum,

I joined because Google brought me here with the following question:

has there ever been a public release of the original "Shogun"? That is, the version without Orson Welles narration, as it was originally released? Seems like everything on DVD/Bluray is from the re-release with his obnoxious voiceover, added in because the producers thought US audiences were too dumb. (No, really.)

Thanks for your help!

 

My memory is only the 2-hour movie had the voiceover, but not the 3-hour TV mini-series. It's been a long time: I actually worked on the movie version and saw the network version a month before it, but that was almost 40 years ago (39 years this coming September).

I'm not sure if both are out on home video today or just one. The movie version is actually more explicit and violent than the TV version, so to make the "ultimate" version with everything, you'd have to cut them both together.

 

"pillowing"

 

The 10 hour miniseries original broadcast had no voice over, the 1983 version has. Unfortunately the latter is used now.