6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
In 30's New York City, the Shadow battles his nemesis, Shiwan Khan, who is building an atomic bomb.
Starring: Alec Baldwin, John Lone, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Boyle, Ian McKellenComic book | 100% |
Supernatural | 1% |
Period | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Long before such things were as fashionable as they are today, The Shadow was a multimedia enterprise. Radio, pulp novels, comic books, film—The Shadow knew all of those in relatively short order from his perhaps inauspicious debut as a mere narrator of a detective series on a 1930s radio show. When The Shadow finally got his own show in the late 1930s none other than Orson Welles voicing wealthy man about town Lamont Cranston, whose secret identity was The Shadow. The radio broadcast gave the world the iconic line which has been imprinted on countless generations (including many born well after radio dramas bit the dust), “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!” While The Shadow is seen (probably rightly) as having provided fodder for later superhero outings like Batman, for whatever reason the character fell out of favor by the late forties, with a planned fifties television series never coming to fruition. The Shadow may well have drifted into the netherworld of forgotten former sensations, but perhaps in a sign of karma, Tim Burton’s 1989 version of Batman reignited interest in dark, shadowy superheroes battling a variety of outlandish villains. Though The Shadow began begin developed as early as 1990, the final film didn’t hit theaters until 1994, by which point Batman Returns had come and gone, perhaps taking a little wind out of this particular sail. The Shadow died a fairly quick death in its original theatrical run, decried by many for not fully living up to the character’s vaunted history and appearing here in a derivative approach that captured little of the romance and intrigue of the original formulation. Looking back on the film now from the vantage point of some twenty years, The Shadow is fun and visually quite enticing. Alec Baldwin might not have the appropriate self deprecatory qualities to play this particular role, and there is a certain rote quality to much of the plot mechanics, but there’s still the hint of what might have been an enjoyable franchise had things worked out a bit differently.
The Shadow is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. For such a purported box office bomb and so-called "pulp film", it's more than a bit surprising that The Shadow has been afforded two Blu-ray releases within the last year, though fans were understandably less than pleased with the bare bones Universal release that featured a botched transfer which was pilloried by my colleague Ken Brown. The news is much better with this Shout! release— maybe not perfect, mind you, but well within (sorry for this) shouting distance. Shout!'s Cliff Macmillan has confirmed here on our Forum that Shout! created a new HD master from the interpositive for this release. The most striking improvement here is the much more accurate looking color, which is now beautifully suffused and vivid. Flesh tones can be a bit on the ruddy side at times, but that's better than the anemic tones that hobbled the Universal release. Grain structure is also improved, though there is still occasionally chunky looking grain, especially in the (many) opticals. There's been some discussion that this release looks "too" soft, and while this is a relatively soft looking transfer, quite a bit of that softness can be ascribed to the prevalence of the aforementioned opticals. That softness may lead some to think this release is lacking in fine detail, but close-ups are quite good (see screenshot 1), and textures like Khan's ornate weaved costume reveal excellent detail. This release has none of the egregious haloing seen in the Universal release and retains a much more naturally organic appearance throughout. Some may find momentary flaw with the transfer's lack of shadow detail in some of the darkest scenes, but, after all, The Shadow was skilled at disappearing into blackness.
The Shadow contains DTS-HD Master Audio mixes in both 5.1 and 2.0. The 5.1 mix is filled with some fun surround activity, probably best exemplified by that half mad cackle that emanates from The Shadow's lips and which floats through the sound field like an ominous warning. The action sequences have some nice discrete channelization and panning effects, and there's occasional bursts of LFE courtesy of gunfights and some roaring motors. Dialogue is cleanly presented on both tracks and the film's neat Jerry Goldsmith score is also well represented.
The Shadow is a great popcorn movie, a silly, over the top escapade that can't be taken seriously, but (and this is important) doesn't expect to be. This is pure Saturday matinee mayhem, with a mysterious hero and hyperbolic villain, and a kaleidoscope of colorful supporting characters filling out the frame. Mulcahy keeps things moving briskly, and the film has a very sleek looking production design. This new Blu-ray features a much improved transfer and an appealing supplementary featurette. Recommended.
1996
Director's Cut
2003
2020
1989
Extended Cut
2007
2017
1978
Warner Archive Collection
1974-1976
2009
2019
2012
2003
1992
Director's Cut
1997
2008
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1966-1968
2019
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2011