The Shadow (1994)

In 1930s New York City, The Shadow (Alec Baldwin) battles his nemesis, Shiwan Khan (John Lone), who is building an atomic bomb.

Director:

Russell Mulcahy

Writers:

Walter B. Gibson (character The Shadow from stories), David Koepp

Stars:

Alec Baldwin, John Lone, Penelope Ann Miller

4 nominations.

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	...	Reinhardt Lane
Tim Curry	...	Farley Claymore
Jonathan Winters	...	Police Commissioner Wainwright Barth
Sab Shimono	...	Dr. Roy 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

Storyline

Based on the 1930s pulp fiction and radio drama series, this movie pits the hero against his arch enemy, Shiwan Khan (John Lone), who plans to take over the world by holding a city ransom using an atomic bomb. Using his powers of invisibility and "The power to cloud men's minds", The Shadow (Alec Baldwin) comes blazing to the city's rescue with explosive results.

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Plot Keywords:

villain | tough guy | hero | good man | good woman | 

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Taglines:

The Shadow Knows!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Fantasy | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for fantasy action violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 July 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Shadow

Filming Locations:

Pantages Theatre - 6233 Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,713,845, 4 July 1994

Gross USA:

$32,063,435

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$48,063,435

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Bregman/Baer Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 93 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo DTS Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the first museum scene, as the director is walking towards the loading docks he passes a skeleton of what appears to be a unicorn. The first sight of it is the shadow on the wall behind him, then as he passes, you can clearly see what looks like a horn attached to the skull, of what looks like a horse. This is not correct. The skeleton is actually that of the dinosaur Iguanodon. When first discovered in the early nineteenth century, the skeleton was incomplete, and it was thought that the Iguanodon had a horn on his nose. It was later found that this was actually a spike, where Iguanodon's thumb should be. This skeleton is trying to capture that misunderstanding.

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Goofs

When Barth and Lamont are having dinner, after Lamont rushes out you see Barth take two sips of his martini. In the first sip the drink is almost empty. The next sip is from an almost half full glass.

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Quotes

Margo Lane: We need each other.
Lamont Cranston: No we don't.
Margo Lane: We have a connection.
Lamont Cranston: No we don't.
Margo Lane: Then how can you explain that I can read your thoughts?
Lamont Cranston: My thoughts are hard to miss.
Margo Lane: And why is that?
Lamont Cranston: Psychically, I'm very well endowed.
Margo Lane: I'll bet you are.

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Connections

References Highlander (1986)

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Soundtracks

Some Kind of Mystery
Written by Diane Warren
Performed by Sinoa Loren (as Sinoa)
Produced by Jellybean Benítez for Jellybean Productions, Inc.
Arranged by Johnny Mandel

User Reviews

Old-fashioned and fun adventure with an enthusiastic portrayal of a stalwart hero

Exciting version of the popular comic books and broadcasting tale about the immortal crusader called ¨The Shadow¨ with very watchable FX and lots of fun . Several visual designs provide the highlights for those in the mood for a journey back to the radio past or a quick superhero adventure . As our stalwart hero , a billionaire playboy named Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin) is a master of illusion and defender of justice thanks to his alter ego . Aided by companion Margo Lane (Penelope Anne Miller) and a Cabman (Peter Boyle) he battles super-criminal named Shiwan Khan (John Lone) . He discovers his destiny and a old legacy as a superhero called The Shadow , the invisible man who walks , a seemingly relentless crime fighter . A mask and raincoat he finds himself battling his nemesis , the deadliest descendant of Ghengis Khan . He's helped by an attractive woman and both of whom travel to dangerous streets N.Y. to thwart a nasty criminal . Khan is a cold and megalomaniac killer who murders cruelty his victims, he wants to take a power to dominate the world , he is supported by a particular ally , a smarmy villain (Tim Curry) and his hoodlums . The hero and villain have equal powers , yet the heroine can be hypnotised by one and no other . The picture charges into a tale of a hero who turned from evil in Tibet and reemerged in New York City as a superhero holding extraordinary power to fight in that most wretched lair if iniquity . As in 30's New York City, the Shadow battles his enemy who is building an atomic bomb. But the caped crusader is trapped inside a locked chamber being helped by his girlfriend .

The Shadow is shown in this highly stylized big screen adaptation of the 30's radio show , the once starred by Orson Welles . Film gets exotic locations , derring-do adventures ,rip roaring , action-packed , tongue in check , it's a cinematic roller coaster pretty entertaining and with well made set pieces action , including numerous and elaborate FX . This exciting picture provides splendid production design by Joseph Nemec , while done more dynamically elsewhere , are fun and outstanding . This is an ambitious fantasy adventure with breathtaking special effects ; it has some well-staged scenes whose effectiveness owes much to Russell Mulcahy's strong pictorial sense . Older kids , teenagers may find the proceedings a bit hokey and paying little attention to logic , but everyone seems to be having a good time . The picture is a crossover among comic-strip hero , superhero feats , Saturday matinée serials and old-fashioned thirties movies . As this runs like an old Republic serial of the thirties or Forties on a multi-million dollar budget . Its arresting visuals , lavish realization and crude energy put filmmaker Russell Mulcahy on the map . Much of the dialogue springs as if balloons from the printed page and the interpretation is appropriately rudimentary . The picture has great loads of action , special effects abundant , glamorous cinematography by Stephen Burum and spectacular Jerry Goldsmith's musical score , including an enjoyable leitmotif .

The motion picture includes an interesting script by prestigious David Koepp and was rightly directed by Russell Mulcahy . Russell for some time worked in Britain as a filmmaker of video clips , but returned to his native country , Australia , to make his first fictional movie , ¨Razorback¨ . He was able to get the backing for what proved to be his greatest success ¨Highlander¨ . It led to two sequels , the first of which was realized by himself titled ¨Quickening¨ . He subsequently directed ¨Resurrection¨with Charlie Sheen and ¨Talos the mummy¨ , among others . Despite major stars and big budgets with which to work have not fulfilled their potential and he seemed less commanding with players than with action . The flick will appeal to adventure fans and comic-books enthusiastic . Rating : Good and amusing. Well worth seeing.