tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post5680254498471505905..comments2024-03-28T14:49:36.133-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: The Films of 1994: The ShadowJohn Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-57910217905120998532016-04-06T00:21:56.134-04:002016-04-06T00:21:56.134-04:00"The Shadow" has some really good moment..."The Shadow" has some really good moments and some fun sequences in it, but yeah it runs a bit too long and feels a bit familiar. It was certainly influenced by Burton's "Batman". But I think it is fair to say that the character in the radio dramas was very similar to Batman as well. His sinister voice would often drive the criminals into bouts of fear. A natural state when you have Orsen Wells providing the voice.<br /><br />In the end "The Shadow" is a movie I want to like more than I do. I will say that the score by Jerry Goldsmith is a blast. He takes the dark hero sound that Elfman created for "Batman" and added his own style to it. I really love that percussion motif for Khan and the Shadow's theme gets some awesome counterpoint going in the final battles. One of Goldsmith's most vibrant and exciting scores of the 1990s. Roman J. Martelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09545497713474664555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-34865945320795554382016-04-05T20:36:49.997-04:002016-04-05T20:36:49.997-04:00John,
Recently I was scouring the Book Off stores...John,<br /><br />Recently I was scouring the Book Off stores here in Los Angeles, looking for dvd's of both "The Phantom" and "The Shadow." Although I didn't find them, I was reminded by your review of my mixed feelings towards both, but my enjoyment of them nonetheless.<br /><br />Two things I remembered from co-workers who had also seen "The Shadow": One felt that the movie missed the point of Lamont Cranston's powers entirely. He felt that it was never stated but strongly implied that Cranston had learned Ninjitsu; that he was actually a ninja who had the ability to hide in the shadows and appear as if from nowhere. He felt that the movie treated the powers like magic, and were not respectful of the character's roots.<br /><br />The other had us both laughing due to the fact that when Cranston becomes The Shadow, he undergoes a transformation (using the morphing technology of the time) which is supposed to make him look more like the character as depicted on pulp magazine covers of the 30's. Ralph, who is Jewish, asked why Cranston turns into an old Jewish guy to fight crime. "They shouldn't call him The Shadow," he said. "They should call him The Shyster!"<br /><br />You probably had to be there.<br /><br />SteveAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13101722769411384962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-37941413230573395102016-04-05T16:41:56.118-04:002016-04-05T16:41:56.118-04:00When it first came out, I only found one person wh...When it first came out, I only found one person who really disliked The Shadow. "Did you miss the first of it?" "We walked in about five minutes late."<br /><br />As much as I dislike the current round of Marvel and DC movies seeming to explain the whole world each movie, it has a positive feature: you connect with the character. The Shadow ran through the introduction of Cranston too fast, and if you weren't already a Shadow fan, you weren't going to connect with him in the movie either. Also, Khan was too fast: he was too deeply connected to the city (especially making a whole city forget a motel) for just being there (apparently) a few weeks. Even a "I have had to hide myself from you for months" line would have helped there.<br /><br />I would love to see a Netflix or Amazon miniseries with a retelling of the same story. Amazon especially can deal with a period piece (The Man in the High Castle), and a 8 or 10 show season would let us work a Cranston arc where we cared that he had reformed, and allow Khan to both be comedically funny AND scary. <br /><br />(And the first person who posts "Johnathon Winters was wasted" should be sent to the cornfield. His performance IMHO saved the movie. He packed a LOT of comic relief into a very dense serious character.)Kentucky Packrathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01444480982718107017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-76304841448955037502016-04-05T11:19:43.811-04:002016-04-05T11:19:43.811-04:00John excellent review. I liked THE SHADOW film and...John excellent review. I liked THE SHADOW film and I think it deserves another reboot as so many other super hero characters have gotten. The right script, director and casting I think it could become a franchise.<br /><br />SGBSGBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137406272001346149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-73623665529698365422016-04-05T10:01:44.976-04:002016-04-05T10:01:44.976-04:00I think you hit the nail on the head with regard t...I think you hit the nail on the head with regard to the ironic twist of fate that dooms these period pieces. The comic book writers brazenly swiped from the pulps and comics strips, mainly because they were young, inexperienced writers who were just making a buck and didn't think their work would last beyond the next issue. The comic book characters endured while the radio, pulp, and comic strip characters that inspired them did not. By the time The Shadow came out, there was definitely a feeling of "been there, done that" about it.<br /><br />I recently read that Shane Black wants to do a Doc Savage movie with Dwayne Johnson. I think it's a step in the right direction to cast someone who looks more like the Doc on the Bama paperback covers rather than the WASP-y figure on the pulp covers (like Ron Ely). I just hope he doesn't set the stories in the 1930s. Doc Savage was meant to be a man of the times, using the latest technology, or even futuristic technology. A modern day, high tech Doc might stand a better chance at the box office than yet another 30s rendition whom young viewers will perceive as a cross between Superman and Indiana Jones.Neal Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17053148427058126745noreply@blogger.com