7 /10 1 Votes
Country of origin Japan No. of episodes 26 First episode date January 1976 Number of seasons 2 | 7.1/10 TV No. of seasons 2 Running time 45 minutes per episode Number of episodes 26 Language Japanese | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring Atsuo NakamuraSanae TsuchidaKei SatōIsamu Nagato Original release 1973-1974 (Japan)1976-1978 (UK) Written by Shi Nai'an (original novel) Genres Historical period drama, Martial arts Similar Monkey, Outlaws of the Marsh, Pedar Salar, Oshin, Laughing in the Wind | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Water Margin is a Japanese television series based on Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Made in two seasons of 13 episodes by Nippon Television it was shown in Japan in 1973 and 1974 as 水滸伝 (Suikoden).
Contents
The novel details the trials and tribulations of 108 outlaws during the Song Dynasty. This adaptation follows Lin Chung (Atsuo Nakamura) and his clashes with the local government official Kao Chiu (Kei Satô).
For an English language version, it was adapted by David Weir without translations, using only brief plot synopses. The dubbed version, narrated by Burt Kwouk, was shown by the BBC from 1976 to 1978. An English novelisation, written by Weir, was released in 1978 as Water Margin.
The Water Margin is known for its sometimes obscure, but memorable philosophical quotes, such as "Do not despise the snake for having no horns, for who is to say it will not become a dragon?"
The water margin
Series 1
The first ten episodes were shown on the BBC from 21 September 1976 to 23 November 1976. The final three episodes were shown just before series 2 from 20 September 1977 to 4 October 1977.
Series 2
On the BBC series 2 followed on from series 1, shown from 11 October 1977 to 3 January 1978.
Home release
A DVD box set of the series was released in Region 2 format on 7 February 2005. Crucially this was an expurgated version, apparently identical to a censored version broadcast for children by the BBC in the early 1980s. An uncut DVD version has yet to be released.