The Shadow (1994 film)

Name	The Shadow
Caption	Theatrical poster
Director	Russell Mulcahy
Producer	Willi BaerMartin BregmanMichael Scott Bregman
Writer	David Koepp
Starring	Alec BaldwinJohn LonePenelope Ann MillerIan McKellenTim CurryJonathan Winters
Music	Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography	Stephen H. Burum
Editing	Peter HonessBeth Jochem Besterveld
Distributor	Universal Pictures
Released
Runtime	108 minutes
Country
Language	English
Budget	$40 million
Gross	$48,063,435

The Shadow is a 1994 American superhero film, directed by Russell Mulcahy, and based on the character of the same name created by Walter B. Gibson in 1931. Alec Baldwin starred in the title role. The film is one of many featuring The Shadow, but it is the most expensive of those productions, with an estimated $40 million budget.

Plot

The story begins somewhere in Tibet after the First World War at the court of a powerful foreign warlord. American named Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin) has succumbed to his darker instincts during the war. He then vanished into the Orient, where he exists as a brutal warlord and opium kingpin under the alias of Ying-Ko (Mandarin Chinese > "Eagle's Beak").

One night he is abducted from his palace by servants of the Tulku (voiced by Barry Dennen), a holy man who exhibits otherworldly powers and knows Cranston's identity. He informs Cranston that he will become a force for good. Cranston objects but is silenced by the Phurba (voiced by Frank Welker), a mystical living knife that assaults Cranston, wounding him. Cranston is unable to refuse and remains under the tutelage of the Tulku for seven years. He learns to "cloud men's minds", a form of hypnosis that allows him to influence others' thoughts and bend their perceptions so he cannot be seen.

Cranston returns to New York and resumes his previous life. No one is aware of his past in the East; he is seen as a shallow and opulent playboy. He operates as The Shadow, a vigilante that terrorizes the underworld. Citizens who are saved by the Shadow are recruited to be his allies, providing him with informants and specialists. The existence of The Shadow is regarded by the public as nothing more than an urban legend. The Shadow's secret is endangered when Cranston meets Margot Lane (Penelope Ann Miller), an eccentric socialite who is also a natural telepath. He is intrigued, but unable to continue seeing her as he cannot keep his thoughts from her.

Cranston is challenged by Shiwan Khan (John Lone), another student of the Tulku who possesses even sharper powers but did not turn to good. Khan is the last descendant of Genghis Khan and plans to fulfill his ancestor's goal of world domination. He offers Cranston an alliance, sensing that bloodlust and a thirst for power still exists in his heart, but Cranston refuses. Cranston acquires a rare coin from Khan and learns that it is made of a metal called bronzium that theoretically can generate an explosion large enough to destroy a city. This suspicion is confirmed when he learns that Margot's father Reinhardt (Ian McKellen), an atomic scientist working for the War Department, has vanished.

Shiwan Khan hypnotizes Margot Lane and sends her after Cranston, hoping to force him to kill her and reawaken his darker side, but the attempt is unsuccessful. Cranston breaks Khan's hold on her but she is now aware of his secret identity. Cranston goes to rescue Reinhardt but is thwarted by several of Khan's henchmen. The Shadow suffers another setback when he confronts Reinhardt's former assistant Farley Claymore (Tim Curry), who has joined Khan's forces. Claymore traps the Shadow in a submersion tank, but he saves himself by mentally summoning Margot. The Shadow learns of Khan's hideout: the luxurious Hotel Monolith, a building in the middle of the city that Shiwan Khan has rendered invisible; it appears to everyone as an empty lot. Knowing that Khan has Reinhardt hostage and the completed bomb in his possession, he infiltrates the hotel for a final showdown.

The Shadow fights his way through the hotel, killing Claymore and Khan's warriors. He faces Khan and is subdued by the Phurba, sustaining multiple injuries until he forces himself to concentrate and overcome Khan's power. He takes control of the Phurba and sends it into Khan's torso, splitting his concentration which undoes both Reinhardt's hypnotic state and the hotel's invisibility. As the citizens outside see a building appear, the Shadow pursues Khan into the bowels of the building while Margot and Reinhardt disable the bomb. The Shadow defeats Khan by psychically hurling a mirror shard into his skull.

Khan awakens in an asylum, confused as to how he got there and discovering that his powers no longer work. He learns that the doctors saved his life by removing the part of his brain that harbored his psychic abilities. He demands to be set free, but is ignored along with the rants of the other inmates. Unknown to him, the doctor is an agent of the Shadow who has ensured that Khan is no longer a threat.

Cast

Alec Baldwin as Lamont Cranston / The Shadow

John Lone as Shiwan Khan

Penelope Ann Miller as Margo Lane

Peter Boyle as Moses "Moe" Shrevnitz

Ian McKellen as Dr. Reinhardt Lane

Tim Curry as Farley Claymore

Jonathan Winters as Wainwright Barth

Sab Shimono as Dr. Roy Tam

Andre Gregory as Burbank

James Hong as Li Peng

Joseph Maher as Isaac Newboldt

Max Wright as Berger

Ethan Phillips as Nelson

Sinoa Loren as Singer/Herself

Kate McGregor-Stewart as Mrs. Shrevnitz

Frank Welker as the voice of Phurba

Barry Dennen as the voice of Tulku (uncredited)

Production

Producer Martin Bregman bought the rights to The Shadow in 1982. Screenwriter David Koepp had listened to The Shadow radio show as a child when CBS radio re-ran it on Sunday nights. He was hired in 1990 to write a new draft and was able to find the right tone that the studio liked. Bregman remembers, “Some of them were light, some of them were darker, and others were supposedly funnier – which they weren’t. It just didn’t work”. Koepp's script relied predominantly on the pulp novels while taking the overall tone from the radio show with the actual plot originated by Koepp himself in consultation with Bregman. In an attempt to differentiate the film from other superhero films of the time, Koepp focused on “the copy line, ‘Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?’ and wondered how he knew what evil lurks in the hearts of men. And I decided that perhaps it was because he was uncomfortably familiar with the evil in his own heart”.

Soundtrack

The Arista Records label released a soundtrack album in 1994. The soundtrack featured selections from Jerry Goldsmith's score and other songs from the film.

;Track listing #The Shadow Knows... 1994 (Dialogue, performed by Alec Baldwin) [:08] #Original Sin (Theme from The Shadow) (Written by Jim Steinman, performed by Taylor Dayne) [6:27] #The Poppy Fields (Main Title) [3:16] #Some Kind of Mystery (Written by Diane Warren, performed by Sinoa) [3:48] #The Sanctum [3:33] #Who Are You? [4:02] #Chest Pains [3:26] #The Knife [3:05] #The Hotel [5:53] #The Tank [4:08] #Frontal Lobotomy [2:28] #Original Sin (Theme from The Shadow) Film Mix (Written by Jim Steinman, performed by Taylor Dayne) [5:02] #The Shadow Radio Show 1937: Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men? (Dialogue, performed by Orson Welles) [:29]

Reception

Critical reaction

The film was meant to be a summer blockbuster and the starting point for a new film franchise with toy, game and clothing lines. However, like The Rocketeer, another classic comic/pulp, many critics panned the film as 'corny' and it was a financial disappointment. The planned franchise never materialized, although some toys and merchandise were offered during its release period. Despite this failure, it retained a cult following in subsequent years, as well as success on VHS and DVD, much like two other 1990s pulp/comic adaptations, The Phantom and The Rocketeer.

The film received mostly mixed reviews, a 34% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus as "Visually impressive, but ultimately forgettable." The more detailed summary described the film as having "impressive" visuals and a story that does not "strike a memorable chord."

Entertainment Weekly placed the film on its "21 Worst Comic-Book Movies Ever" list. However, on Siskel and Ebert, Roger Ebert gave the film a positive review.

Box office

The film started off strongly debuting at No.2 but failed to sustain any momentum to profitablity. The film grossed $32 million domestically, with a worldwide total of $48 million. The budget was $40 million.

Other media

Video game

A Shadow video game for the Super Nintendo was developed to tie in with the 1994 film, but, after the low box office gross, was never released, though ROMS are available.

Pinball game

Midway (under the Bally label) released a Shadow themed pinball machine in 1994. Brian Eddy (Attack From Mars, Medieval Madness) designed the game. It was his first pinball game design, and it was moderately successful. Dan Forden composed original music for the game.

Novelization

James Luceno wrote the novelization which went deeper into the events of the film and included many nods to the radio show and the original pulp magazines, most significantly alluding to the fact that The Shadow's true identity was Kent Allard and that 'Lamont Cranston' was just another identity he assumed.

References

External links

Category:1994 films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:1990s action films Category:Mystery films Category:Neo-noir Category:Superhero films Category:The Shadow Category:Films based on radio series Category:Films set in the 1930s Category:Films set in New York City Category:Films directed by Russell Mulcahy Category:Universal Pictures films Category:Vigilante films