Shadow 4K UHD

Master of the modern wuxia martial arts and sword fighting art films of the early 2000's, Zhang Yimou, returns to the genre with his awesome style of fantastic action sequences and back-stabbing political intrigue. Shadow (2018) is very much like a darker Chinese variation on Japanese master Akira Kurosawa's epic late masterpiece Kagemusha (1980), with an emphasis on the complex, dramatic story of body doubles and vicious power plays. The highly visual motif of a black and white palette gives the film a washed out, nearly monochromatic look, that accentuates the bold blood reds, and adds a level symbolism of Ying and Yang to this well done philosophical fable. The film also has the classical Chinese mythic feel of the director's classics Hero (2002), House Of Flying Daggers (2004), and Curse Of The Golden Flower (2006) - all recommended. In my opinion these movies have appreciated in artistic value over the years. Also recommended: John Woo's excellent and vast cinematic version of the epic work of classic Chinese literature, The Romance Of The Three Kingdoms, Red Cliff (2009), Hou Hsiao-Hsien's beautiful The Assassin (2015), The Banquet (a.k.a. The Legend Of The Black Scorpion) (2006), even Korea's Memories Of The Sword (2015) and The Swordsman (2020), as well, and of course Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000). Well Go USA's Blu Ray also contains an English language dub and a couple of making of featurettes. This is one of my favourite films in Well Go USA's very cool library of Asian cinema and recommended to fans of the director and the genre.

A martial arts take on a Shakespearean style plays. Filmed in a black and white and grey style presentation that looks amazing on 4K. The second half's action sequences is breaking.

Know what you're getting into here. This is more of an art film with a bit of violence tossed in, and that is most definitely NOT to everyone's tastes.The black/white motif throughout the film is the biggest selling point, as everything is washed out save for certain environmental elements (blood, fire, wood, and the skin of the actors). Clothing, buildings, all else is black/white/grey. In terms of looks this one is a feast for the eyes. In terms of story, well, it's a bit weaker. It feels like a riff on Kagemusha, though it's not like "body double forced into the role he was impersonating" is a super exclusive story type. Basically the 'shadow' is twofold - the king and his commander, and the commander and his 'shadow' (the body double who we spend most of the film with). The commander, twisted in body and mind thanks to a festering wound that is slowly killing him, lives in the secret passages of the palace and plots to kill the man who crippled him and various other intrigues. His body double (trained since a young age to impersonate him) is still healthy and young looking, and is one of his chief instruments in carrying out this set of tasks. Everything else is spoiler territory, but there's a couple twists and turns to spice things up a bit.The fight choreography is solid, leaning into the fantastical and showy rather than brutal realism, but that's the flavor of the story we're watching (the Umbrellas of Pei are excellent, and the sequence that introduces them has a few other little toys and tricks on display). As stated previously this is NOT an action heavy story, so don't expect that going in. There's maybe three action sequences in the entire movie, though one is greatly extended.I would agree with some of the other reviews in that the film does drag on a bit past its welcome. The ride is fun, but you'll probably be checking your phone at about the 1 hour mark. Things don't pick up until the climax at around the 1 hour 30 minute point, and after that the end tumbles downhill recklessly. With that said, it's still well worth your time to sit down and watch IF you have the time and are in the mood for it.

I watched the movie to the end, but just like most people do in a real theater, I "walked out" during the end credits. That is, I stopped the playback and tried to write a review. Only movie aficionados watch end credits. They're mostly for the use of people in the cinema and scholars. Most others have no idea what a "grip" or "best boy" does. Nor do normal folk know why there are so many assistant directors or what they and their "units" are for. Mostly. the end credits roll is incomprehensible and boring--even more so in Chinese.BUT Amazon wouldn't let me rate the movie. The message said I needed to watch the movie first. So L had to go back, fast forward, to the credits, and let the video run out. Of course, the "Next Up" tried to run before the credits were quite done.I took that as an indication that I'd satisfied the app and came here to rate the movie. I gave it 3 stars. I had intended to give it 5 stars, but the extra hassle rated a zero. Thus, the 3 represents an average of the content and the convenience.I recommend the movie but be forewarned that rating is a pain in the. . .well, you know what I mean.

If you've seen (and liked) Zhang Yimou's other directorial work (Hero and House of Flying Daggers, 2 of his most popular) then you'll probably enjoy this one. For me, this is a favorite, not just of Zhang's work but of this genre in general. It's simply just visually spectacular. The entire film... costumes, scenery, sets, etc... are all in Black, White and Grey tones (And this is NOT filmed in B&W) and while that may seem like it could appear dreary, it really fits the overall emotional tone of the film... which is kind of dreary (lol), but the story itself is really interesting and virtually EVERY SINGLE SHOT could be a framed Art print. It's that visually beautiful. And there's a lot of really unique fight sequences that are expertly choreographed.I could babble on and on about what a fantastic film this is, but if you are a fan of Chinese Fantasy Period pieces, then you will probably love this film.

I wasn't expecting much more than a cheap wuxia action film when I bought "Shadow" but it exceeded any expectations I had except, ironically, the wuxia action which takes a back-burner to a really good royal political intrigue drama until the final act which features a fascinating one-of-a-kind blade-umbrella battle.For some reason they chose to go with a nearly monochromatic colour scheme which detracts from the excellent period costumes and sets but not from the great acting and directing. If they mentioned in the DVD extras why they went with that art direction I must have skipped over it.I only tried the English dub long enough to hear if it was any good -- it isn't -- so stick with the well-translated subtitles instead. (Why such big budget movies don't care about dub quality when there are so many good dubbing houses for TV dramas, animation, and video games I'll never understand.)"Shadow" easily deserves a place in your DVD collection along with such classics as "House of Flying Daggers", "The Emperor and the Assassin", and "Hero".

La calidad UHD es muy buena pero nunca había visto la película y la trama no me encantó

日本語吹替、日本語字幕が無いので購入される方は要注意。

I viewed it at home with friends, who hadn't seen it at the cinema like I had. It's magnificent;y filmed with wonderful sets and photography and a very moving, tragic story.

The director (Zhang Yimou) of 'Raise the Red Lantern", "Hero", "Red Sorghum", "House of Flying Daggers", "To Live", "Shanghai Triad", "Not One Less", "Ju-Duo", and many more classics, has made one of his best films ever. I was astounded by the style, and the substance, but the cinematography is just impeccable and was grossly overlooked by the Academy Awards (typical). At any rate, Yimou is back better than ever. Perfecto