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The Shadow (1994)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
1 July 1994 (USA) moreTagline:
The Shadow Knows! morePlot:
In 30's New York City, the Shadow battles his nemesis, Shiwan Khan, who is building an atomic bomb. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
4 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(11 articles)
Sam Raimi talks Spider-Man 4 and his love for The Shadow (From The Geek Files. 29 May 2009, 5:09 AM, PDT)
Jean Claude Van Damme Fights Vinnie Jones
(From Cinema Blend. 13 May 2009, 1:53 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Excellent adaptation, highly enjoyable more (113 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Alec Baldwin | ... | Lamont Cranston / The Shadow | |
| John Lone | ... | Shiwan Khan | |
| Penelope Ann Miller | ... | Margo Lane | |
| Peter Boyle | ... | Moe Shrevnitz | |
| Ian McKellen | ... | Dr. Reinhardt Lane | |
| Tim Curry | ... | Farley Claymore | |
| Jonathan Winters | ... | Wainwright Barth | |
| Sab Shimono | ... | Dr. Tam | |
| Andre Gregory | ... | Burbank | |
| Brady Tsurutani | ... | Tulku | |
| James Hong | ... | Li Peng | |
| Arsenio 'Sonny' Trinidad | ... | Wu | |
| Joseph Maher | ... | Isaac Newboldt | |
| John Kapelos | ... | Duke Rollins | |
| Max Wright | ... | Berger |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for fantasy action violence.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
108 min | Canada:93 min (edited version)Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreCertification:
Australia:M (TV rating) | Australia:PG | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-14 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Germany:12 (video rating) | Singapore:PGFun Stuff
Trivia:
The finale in which Cranston chases Shiwan Khan through a hall of mirrors was intended to be longer, with Khan taunting Cranston by displaying images from his violent past on the mirrors. An earthquake destroyed the set and the filmmakers, out of time and money, were unable to complete the scene as originally envisioned. moreGoofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Farley Claymore goes mad in the hotel attempting to kill the Shadow, the torch in his hand does not move in time with the light on the ceiling. moreQuotes:
Lamont Cranston: The sun is shining...Dr. Roy Tam: [finishing the code phrase of The Shadow] But the ice is slippery.
Dr. Roy Tam: You're an agent of The Shadow!
Lamont Cranston: [feigning ignorance] Who?
more
Soundtrack:
BART'S BOUNCE moreFAQ
List: "The Shadow" radio episodesmore
more (113 total)
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I don't really understand the bad rep this movie has gotten. Sure, its not "high art" (then again, Shakespeare, Dickens and Herodetus weren't meant to be, or perceived as, high art when they were written). What The Shadow was, and remains, in my eyes, is one of the best super-hero adaptations ever (the best until X-Men came out, in my opinion).
I'm not terribly familiar with the old radio drama Shadow, so I can't speak as to the details, but the feeling, the essence of the movie fits with what I've experienced. Much more importantly, it stand out well on its own.
Special effects play a major part, but are not of the over-played. Action is well done, and acting is acceptable, though rarely outstanding (the Shadow's cabbie Shrebnitz is an engrossing exception).
What really makes this movie stand out is the layering. Plots, characters, backgrounds, all are complex. The movie's basic plot is well-paced, occasionally a bit slow, but it makes up for it with the incredible wealth of details it packs in. Watching the movie, one gets the sense of an incredible amount of backstory for each character (little things, like the family life of some of the Shadow's agents, barely glimpsed, or even just the complex web of those agents across the city), or that around the corner there lies a world to explore.
This movie can be difficult to classify, which may lead to its unpopularity. Clearly its not a drama, not is it a comedy, nor even entirely an action. Scifi or fantasy are both possible descriptions, but they fail. The Shadow is comicbook style, in the truest sense of the genre. Complex characters, pull-pounding action, some jokes, some drama...it all mixes together. If you can get a bead on the style, its a very enjoyable movie, far ahead of most other super-hero films (Superman, Batman, the Phantom, etc.)
I recommend watching it, but only with an open mind.