The Shadow

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?"

1994 1h 48m EN

😐

6.1

MID

🥫

38%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.1

IMDB

★6.1TMDB · 592🥫38%Rotten Tomatoes●50Metacritic★6.1IMDB · 28,356

FantasyActionCrimeAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Based on the 1930s comic strip, The Shadow is put up against his archenemy Shiwan Khan, who plans to take over the world by holding a city to ransom using an atom bomb. Using his powers of invisibility and "the power to cloud men's minds", The Shadow comes blazing to the rescue with explosive results.

“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?”

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Cast

Alec Baldwin
Lamont Cranston / The Shadow
John Lone
Shiwan Khan
Penelope Ann Miller
Margo Lane
Peter Boyle
Moe Shrevnitz
Ian McKellen
Dr. Reinhardt Lane
Tim Curry
Farley Claymore
Jonathan Winters
Wainwright Barth
Sab Shimono
Dr. Roy Tam

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Russell Mulcahy
Writers: David Koepp
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

32 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Shadow Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Russell Mulcahy, shot by Stephen H. Burum. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Honess shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Alec Baldwin and John Lone and Penelope Ann Miller carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0111143 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Russell Mulcahy directs. Stephen H. Burum behind the camera. Jerry Goldsmith scores. Peter Honess cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

132 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "The Shadow Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Russell Mulcahy, shot by Stephen H. Burum. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Peter Honess shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Alec Baldwin and John Lone and Penelope Ann Miller carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?".
8IMDB entry: tt0111143 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "new york city", "atomic bomb", "superhero", "ladykiller".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stephen H. Burum
Original score: Jerry Goldsmith
Editing: Peter Honess
Production design: Joseph C. Nemec III
Costume design: Bob Ringwood
Makeup / hair: Rick Provenzano
VFX supervisor: Gene Warren Jr.
Sound: Don Digirolamo
Stunt coordinator: Scott Hubbell
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $40,000,000
Box office: $48,063,465
Return: 120% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Shadow (1994)
Rotten Tomatoes: 38% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 50/100
IMDB rating: 6.1/10 · 28,356 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

4 nominations total

Part of

The Shadow Collection

The Shadow is a super hero. Who like many super heroes fights crime in New York City. Behind the mask of The Shadow is a young wealthy man known as Lamont Cranston, also known as Kent Allard.

Also by

Russell Mulcahy

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-09-24
★ 6/10
What's that in the shadow? The Shadow is directed by Russell Mulcahy and is based on the character of the same name created by Walter B. Gibson. It stars Alec Baldwin in the title role and support comes from John Lone, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Boyle, Ian McKellen & Tim Curry. It's written by David Koepp who was a fan of the radio show that was re-run when he was a child. The plot basically sees Lamont Cranston (Baldwin) gain an alter ego (The Shadow) in mystical Tibet and with his new powers sets about fighting crime back in the states. All is going well until Shiwan Khan (Lone) shows up. He's the last descendant of Gengis Khan, and in keeping with that particular family tree, he's intent on global domination. There's a lower tier of super hero movies that have either been poorly received in comparison to the big hitters like Bats, Supes and Spidey, or simply forgotten on account of how bad they are. The likes of "Daredevil", "The Phantom", maybe even "Darkman" and this here 94 piece, "The Shadow", are rarely mentioned by the super hero fan. Perhaps rightly it could be argued? But in spite of the tepid and unimaginative plot, "The Shadow" is an above average time filler that's at the least visually impressive. The 1930s Manhattan setting is excellently brought to life by the makers, and a pat on the back is due to them for not over doing the special effects. It looks and feels pulpy, and really there's nothing wrong with that at all. The cast in truth are just about OK, either under written or merely swamped by the production design, they turn up and play the movie as best they can. Hardly ground shaking and not really pumping the blood as an action movie should. "The Shadow" does however have a dreamy quality that makes it worth a watch. Perhaps a sequel or a remake with a better story may just arrive one day? 6/10
Wuchak2021-12-06
Genghis Khan’s descendant intrudes upon The Shadow’s urban world in 1930 After some kind of epiphany and receiving training in Tibet in the 20s, Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin) fights corruption in New York City in 1930-31 as the mysterious Shadow. When the last descendant of Genghis Khan comes to town (John Lone) Cranston sets out to stop his diabolic plans. Penelope Ann Miller plays a socialite, Ian McKellen her father, Tim Curry a mad scientist, Peter Boyle the Shadow’s cab-driving partner and Jonathan Winters the police commissioner. "The Shadow" (1994) is a worthy enough cinematic version of the radio/pulp/comic character that debuted in 1930. The movie obviously borrowed from “Batman” (1989), which is ironic since The Shadow partially inspired the character of Batman, who debuted almost nine years later in 1939. Anyone who likes the Batman tetralogy, “Dick Tracy” (1990) and “The Rocketeer” (1991) should appreciate this. The best parts beyond the superb recreation of New York City circa 1930 are Alec Baldwin as the shadowy crime-fighter and the authentic look of the Shadow. Baldwin was still lean & mean at the time and has that dark side to his personality to pull off Lamont Cranston. Meanwhile the look of the Shadow is perfect (with a prosthetic nose). While I liked the movie, it would've been better if they removed the campy elements (e.g. Tim Curry) and shot for the more serious, darker air of the future "Batman Begins" (2005), which was obviously influenced by this movie. Don’t get me wrong, the flick is serious and dark to a point, but there’s some eye-rolling comic book camp that plagues the proceedings. Since Cranston/the Shadow is easily the most interesting character, more focus needed spent on him. Instead we get this jarring supervillain when the story would’ve worked better with a more mundane rogue akin to Marvel’s Kingpin. The film runs 1 hour, 47 minutes, and was shot at the Universal backlot in Hollywood on five sound-stages with a five-day mini-unit tour of location shooting at Ambassador Hotel & Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena and Alabama Hills in Lone Pine, California. GRADE: B-
Rob2023-05-06
★ 8/10
A tongue-in-cheek nostalgic throwback to the thirties and forties. Love the style, the imagery and the period. Heaps of fun!