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Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: PG13
Street Date: 11/02/04
Wide Screen: no
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: yes
Re-Release: no
Packaging: SleeveA mixed bag that received mixed reviews when released in 1994, this lavish film works overtime to honor the spirit and style of the vintage pulp novels and radio shows that made The Shadow a household name in the 1930s and ’40s. Alec Baldwin plays the Shadow, a.k.a. Lamont Cranston, who arrives in New York from his decadent life in Tibet, fully reformed and disciplined in his ability “to cloud men’s minds.” A crime fighter who lurks in the dark recesses of the city, the Shadow faces his most deadly challenge when Shiwan Khan (John Lone), the last surviving descendant of Genghis Khan, hatches a plot to conquer the world. The scheme involves a madman (Tim Curry), a hapless scientist (Ian McKellen), and various traps designed to catch and kill the Shadow, who must also contend with his blossoming romance with Margo Lane (Penelope Ann Miller), a slender beauty capable of a little mind play of her own. The movie’s art deco production design turns out to be a scene-stealer when the plot drags, and in the title role Baldwin is never given enough good material to create a compelling character. Still, The Shadow is true to the legacy that inspired it, admirably avoiding any conspicuous compromise of its 1930s style and setting. If you can’t get into the story, you’re sure to be hooked by the look of the production, which is never less than dazzling. –Jeff Shannon
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April 7, 2010
#1
Alec, you said it and the money has been offer. Leave this country now and take your rotten movies with you. You never know, they may appreciate you in France.
April 7, 2010
#2
No film with A.Baldwin is worth watching.
April 7, 2010
#3
The Shadow is a terrible movie. There’s no other way to put it. It’s ineptly directed, horrible acted, features cheesy special effects, and has some truly lame action sequences. Definitely a must miss.
April 7, 2010
#4
THIS IS ONE OF THE WORST SUPER HERO MOVIES EVER MADE. Even Remo Williams was better. At least Remo Williams had some humor and heart.
BATMAN BEGINS SEEMS LIKE RIP OFF OF THIS MOVIE, BUT SO MUCH BETTER. If you have seen Batman Begins, you have seen this movie. A guy living in the underworld in some Asian mountains find the light with a guru. He returns to the big city as a rich playboy and fights crime. He ends up fighting those who trained under the same guru. Although The Shadow did it first, and Batman Begins is a copycat, Batman Returns is a much better movie.
I really like Alec Baldwin, but in this movie, he is a cardboard character. How he turns from bad to good is never shown, it just happens. He really doesn’t show any emotion during the whole movie. He is a lot like the character he makes fun of in 30 Rock.
Not much is done with the concept of The Shadow. There is one short episode near the beginning of the movie tha shows what The Swhadow is all about, but it isn’t very thrilling or interesting. He just captures some criminals on a bridge, but there is no background to draw you into the story.
After that, it is more a supernatural story, and not much to do with The Shadow. A much better movie would have been to explore more about The Shadow, just like Batman Begins gives you a rich story about Batman, who he was and how he fought crime. But, it also gives you a backgrind story about the criminals he fights so there is tension.
The love story in this movie is also very weak.
This movie was killed by critics and was a bomb at the box office. But, sometimes the critics can be wrong and the movie fans might miss a winner. You can decide if you want to take the chance.
April 7, 2010
#5
Yes, the photography and the sets are good. Since there are plenty of fine actors in this movie there are bound to be a few good moments, if only by accident. Is this movie faithful to the original series? Probably. Also, watch ‘The Shadow’ and at some point you will witness every one of the elements that go into a great production. Only just don’t blink or you’ll miss them.
The special effects, while sometimes technically well done, are uninspired and totally lacking in subtlety. For the most part the dialogue is witless and easily anticipated. The acting, done often in exaggerated theatrical style like a 1950′s T.V serial, only serves to diminish the movie’s credibility. The Shadow’s diabolical laughter is so over done I cringed in my seat. The plot is nothing we haven’t all seen done, and done better, dozens of times before.
Where ‘The Shadow’ passes as an acceptible commemoration of the original radio and pulp series it fails almost completely by contemporary production standards.