A Gamer's Journey (Shenmue Documentary) goes to Kickstarter

That one at the Forbidden City where Akira (now Ryo) carries someone out down the steps always reminded me of the 1987 production - The Last Emperor, produced by Bernardo Bertolucci, with the soundtrack done by Ryuichi Sakamoto (the composer who also composed the Dreamcast's boot start-up sound, as well as the soundtrack of the Dreamcast game - L.O.L), it was about the last of the Qing dynasty (the one the Chi You Men supposedly are trying to ressurect or ressurect something from).
254id_474_w1600.jpg
Scene-from-The-Last-Emper-002.jpg
It was very accurate to the detail of his life, from his time in the Forbidden City to his capture by the red communists, the Japanese involvement in Manchuria (or Manchukuo - as it was Japanised as when it became a puppet state of the Japanese empire), including his Scottish tutor and advisor - Sir Reginald Fleming Johnston, whom wrote a book called 'Twilight in the Forbidden City' - which he dedicated to Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi, and when he went to the Scottish isle of Eilean Rìgh in Loch Craignish, the emperor Pu Yi granted him official permission to fly the imperial dragon flag there, making Scotland the only other nation on earth besides China permitted to carry the flag.
Johnston.jpg
Screenshot_20230416-174219_Chrome.jpg
The story echos a bit of Thomas Blake Glover in Japan - where Scotland and Japan went through a similar process of industrialisation from a fuedal clan system (this is also supposedly the story that Madame Butterfly is based on - also referenced in Shenmue), and Deborah Kerr who played a tutor for the Siam emperor (Thailand) which was a dramatised musical called 'The King and I'). Reginald Fleming Johnston wrote a series of books alongside his highly detailed Twilight in the Forbidden City book, including; From Peking to Mandalay (1908), Lion and Dragon in Northern China (1910) and Buddhist China (1913), after the period of the Indian prince turned monk - Bodhidharma (who looks a bit like Ten Tei from Shenmue in his historic depictions) brought Chan Buddhism to China and Zen Buddhism to Japan.
A1Jv1s5KlKL.jpg
cf70acaa-298a-4343-8df4-21a525bec2f9.jpg
60e80660548e6c001e2a5454.jpg
After Aisin-Gioro Puyi's departure from the forbidden City in 1924, he went to the Japanese concession in Tianjin, the court he held there though was prone to petty factionalism at the time and he personally blamed Chiang Kai-shek (or aka 'Cash my check' as he was known by the Americans there at the time), while Reginald Fleming Johnstone was making efforts to grant him British asylum for the time, but at that time he was in Tianjin, he had everything from the Qing dynasty members to old Manchu bannermen to journalists prepared to write articles about a 'Qing restoration for the right price etc.
main-house.jpg
zanottitin_lastemperor.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 254id_474_w1600.jpg
    254id_474_w1600.jpg
    157.2 KB · Views: 1
  • 254id_474_w1600.jpg
    254id_474_w1600.jpg
    157.2 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:
Had a bit of time tonight so I went over the Shenmue Chapter photos from this topic and just brightend them up a little. So glad to finally see the detail of these up close!
Shenchap1-3.PNGShenchap2-1.PNGShenchap3-2.PNGShenchap4-1.PNGShenchap5-1.PNGShenchap6-1.PNGShenchap7-1.PNG

Has anyone from the UK got their Documentary yet, getting antsy for mine now :p
 
still waiting for my chance..
 
Have the US blu-rays all been mailed to backers yet? Just wondering as I haven’t received mine and want to make sure something hasn’t happened.
 
James (and Phil in the UK) have been super instrumental in making this operation smooth-ish as possible. Doing it alone would be impossible.

If anyone from Spain or Sweden happens to read this and wants to help out on that front that would be amazing! 🙂🙂
 
James (and Phil in the UK) have been super instrumental in making this operation smooth-ish as possible. Doing it alone would be impossible.

If anyone from Spain or Sweden happens to read this and wants to help out on that front that would be amazing! 🙂🙂

Adam,

I'm dying waiting for the digital version to be released to non-backers. I missed the Kickstarter and would love to give you money. Please release it soon!

Thanks!
 
Back
Top