Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Shadow Blu-ray Movie Review

Who knows what hope lurks in the hearts of Blu-ray fans?

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 19, 2014

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.

Screenwriter David Koepp had authored some high profile films (Jurassic Park, Death Becomes Her, Carlito's Way) before taking on adapting The Shadow, but even his prodigious talents were having a hard time finding a “hook” for the story until Koepp returned to that iconic line about knowing what evil lurks in the hearts of men. It was Koepp’s conceit to add a back story for hero Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin) that posited Cranston as a half mad (perhaps drug crazed) crime lord in the vast expanses of Tibet after World War I. Cranston is given the opportunity to redeem himself as his new alter ego The Shadow, an identity he assumes to bust gangland activity in New York. While it’s never really explicitly depicted, the implication is that Cranston’s Tibetan benefactors mentor him in a variety of mental techniques that allow The Shadow to “disappear” or to influence weaker minds with overwhelming suggestive techniques (think “These are not the Droids you’re looking for”, only in an Art Deco New York City of the 1930s).

We meet The Shadow dealing with some thugs on The Brooklyn Bridge dealing in his own inimitable way with bad guys. The guy he rescues becomes just the latest in a long list of beholden acolytes, a list which includes Lamont’s private taxi chauffeur Moe Shrevnitz (Peter Boyle). Morphing back into his role as Lamont at a local nightclub, the affluent playboy is mesmerized by the beautiful Margot Lane (Penelope Ann Miller), who, unfortunately for Lamont, shares his telepathic abilities. Meanwhile, Lamont is busy clouding the mind of his Uncle Wainwright (Jonathan Winters), the police commissioner, to keep him from investigating a burgeoning rumor mill surrounding the mysterious Shadow.

Meanwhile the local museum gets an unexpected crate which turns out to contain a very unexpected cargo, one Shiwan Khan (John Lone), the last known descendant of Genghis Khan, and a madman who was also mentored by the same Tibetan masters Lamont was all those years ago. Khan has managed not to use his powers only for good, and in fact has world domination on his increasingly powerful mind. Meanwhile, Margot’s scientist father (Ian McKellen) has disappeared and may be part of Khan’s mad plot. That suspicion is increased once Lamont and Margot become aware that the obsequious aide to Margot’s father, a slimy brown noser named Farley Claymore (Tim Curry), is in cahoots with Khan.

Director Russell Mulcahy burst upon mainstream cineplexes in 1986 with Highlander, a goofy film that succeeded, at least in dribs and drabs, despite not ever seeming to know how campy it actually was. Mulcahy’s tribulations with that film may have doomed him in the eyes of the studio bigwigs, for his post-Highlander oeuvre isn’t especially memorable. The Shadow actually is probably one of the best of the director’s later efforts, and the good news is both Mulcahy and Koepp are only too aware of what a campfest they are creating. The film has a nicely spry attitude about its silliness, probably best summed up in Curry’s over the top grimacing and leering.

The film’s production design is quite elegant, and some of the visual effects (including a dagger that comes to life, a la Ray Harryhausen) are inventive. Baldwin plays both Cranston and The Shadow close to his actorly vest, which is probably wise, which leaves the very colorful supporting cast to ham it up as much as possible. Miller is kind of a bland heroine, but she provides the requisite eye candy. The Shadow is a surprising amount of fun overall, if given half a chance. It is in fact the filmic equivalent to its pulpy roots—a completely non-demanding but enjoyable trifle, something akin to a non-nourishing piece of junk food, a morsel that’s tasty but probably filled with useless calories.

The Shadow Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Looking Back at The Shadow (1080p; 23:44) is a fun, informative featurette offering interviews with Russell Mulcahy, Alec Baldwin, David Koepp, and Penelope Ann Miller, among others. Baldwin looks pretty ragged in his segments.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:57)


• Photo Gallery (1080p; 8:17)

The Shadow Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.