Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Shade Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 26, 2019

Shade is one of those films where some fans may see a rather eclectic and notable cast list (including Gabriel Bryne, Sylvester Stallone, Jamie Foxx, Hal Holbrook, Melanie Griffith, Thandie Newton, Stuart Townsend and Dina Merrill, to name a few), find out that the film is a labyrinthine caper involving a bunch of card sharks with plotting that resembles well remembered efforts like The Grifters and The Sting, and then wonder, “Why have I never heard of this?” That lack of recognition may be due as much to the vagaries of show business as much as anything else (the film may have gotten waylaid by troubles surrounding the decline of RKO Pictures), though the film does leave a lingering “it could have been better” feeling after the final grift reveals who’s been playing whom. Writer and director Damian Nieman is evidently a card shark himself, and so some of the “tricks” in the film will be kind of cool for those who like “up close and personal” quasi-magic (a lot of the film takes place in Los Angeles’ legendary Magic Castle), but the underlying plot dynamics are arguably a bit too frayed to ever completely register and deliver the kind of “wow” moment that those getting to the end of The Sting for the first time might feel.

The Shade kind of presages The Prestige in a way, in that it offers a “breakdown” of various “stages” of a grift, much as the Nolan film does with regard to the “philosophy” of a magic trick. While that structural artifice is probably well wrought enough, the film perhaps plays a few too many ping ponging tricks of its own with regard to doling out a flashback that is revealed to ultimately be about a legendary card shark known only as The Dean (Sylvester Stallone). Somewhat like the underlying conceit of The Sting, a lot of the plot mechanics of Shade revolve around a gang of grifters trying to make the biggest grifter of all, The Dean, their own mark in what they hope will be a legendary takedown. Of course, it turns out there are all sorts of hidden competing alliances that play into the mix, with what is frankly a none too surprising reveal at the end. If the plotting and overall structure don't always work as well as they might, the film is filled to the brim with some really engaging performances, and one of the cool things that Nieman did here is have the major players coached in the art of card tricks, so that they're clearly doing their own "stunts".

Shade Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shade is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Marquee Collection, an imprint of MVD Visual, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.36:1. This presentation is frequently kind of roughhewn and even splotchy looking, something probably exacerbated by a higher than average number of optical dissolves, with detail levels being variable at times, often as a result of some widely variant lighting conditions. The whole opening flashback is bathed in a kind of weird blue tone, some of which struck me as looking at least partially being due to some fading, which is evident in other, less artificial looking, moments as well. The kind of mottled looking quality to the imagery can be spotted in several of the screenshots accompanying this review, and it can tend to make things look somewhat soft at times, even in close-ups. There does not appear to have been any significant restoration done, as evidenced by quite a few (and sometimes kind of odd looking) blemishes that dot the proceedings with fair regularity. The palette does look decently warm quite a bit of the time, and elements like a bright purple dress that Thandie Newton wears pop with a fair amount of vividness. My score is 3.25.

Shade Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shade features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks. Both tracks offer excellent fidelity, but the 5.1 track features some nice opening up of the soundstage in some of the big set pieces where a surprising amount of surround activity is garnered from something as "mundane" as poker players sitting around a table. A couple of other showier sequences, including a big tracking shot following Gabriel Byrne making his way through a nightclub are significantly more spacious in the surround mix. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout.

Shade Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of Shade (480i; 8:02) is a decent overview, with interviews and behind the scenes footage.


• Tricks of the Trade (480i; 14:35) is a really fun piece looking at the Magic Castle and card tricks.


• Damian Nieman Interview (480i; 4:11)


• Gabriel Byrne Interview (480i; 2:44)


• Jamie Foxx Interview (480i; 1:39)


• Melanie Griffith Interview (480i; 1:26)


• Paul Wilson Interview (480i; 00:30) is a brief snippet with one of the film's technical advisers.


• Stuart Townsend Interview (480i; 3:45)


• Sylvester Stallone Interview (480i; 00:57)


• Thandie Newton Interview (480i; 3:02)


• Trailers includes Shade (480i; 1:59) along with a couple of other MVD releases.


• Actor and Director Commentary features Damian Nieman and Stuart Townsend and can be found under the Setup Menu.

Shade Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Shade benefits from an at least somewhat unusual setting and some really nicely nuanced performances, but it may try to stuff one too many grifts into its wending story. While probably not as completely mind blowing as it's obviously aiming to be, this is still a rather invigorating effort at times from Damian Nieman, and I was kind of surprised (shocked, actually) to see this is his only feature film credit as writer and/or director. This cast certainly offers a wide variety of notable names, and fans of any or all of the actors in this production may well enjoy at least parts of this tale. Video is occasionally problematic, but audio is fine, and the supplements enjoyable for those considering a purchase.