Shanghai Express

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Louisa E I liked the movie's plot, although it could have been a touch faster. I liked the moral of the story, and while the end was predictable, it was well done. I wish they made Chang a bit more menacing, though. What I didn't like about this movie was the acting! Clive Brooks, who I usually really like, was terrible! And Marlene Dietrich wasn't much better. Both were so stilted and corny, and there was no chemistry between them. Maybe I should blame the director for this, as usually they are really good, but wow! It spoiled the movie for me! The only acting I did enjoy was Lawrence Grant. What makes this movie sing is the cinematography and design. The lighting was so well done - so classy and sublime. The outfits were iconic, making Marlene look stunning. 7.2/10. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/08/23 Full Review Michael C Good for the time I guess. However, nothing exceptional in cinematography (except Marlene Dietrich closeups), story or acting (just Marlene Dietrich being Marlene Dietrich). I have no idea why people think this movie is interesting, it really lacks any interesting plot developments, and the romance is just stupid...a woman who desperately wants a man to trust her love, but gives him no reason to? One thing I noticed was that no one in the movie drank, because the movie was made during prohibition. At that time in China, all the Brits would be downing gin! Yet another unrealistic element in an overall waste of time. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/09/23 Full Review Audience Member This film is about a group of European and American first class travelers on a train who are held hostage by a warlord during the Chinese Civil War. It was dubbed Grand Hotel on wheels. Marelene Dietrich gives a great performance and the film is useful as a piece of history. The real events of the 1923 Lincheng incident were more dramatic. The film presents a curious bifurcation on race in that the respectable white characters are seen as both flawed and racist and the film is surprisingly feminist. It's memorable for its stylistic black and white chiaroscuro cinematography. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review georgan g Marlene Dietrich is SO gorgeous, her outfits SO amazing, and her acting SO engaging that I was entranced. The cinematography clearly deserved the Academy Award it got. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member ...an eighty-two minute train ride across contemporary China rife with barely-comprehensible intrigue and a continuous barrage of ornately busy visuals. A passenger train complete with sliding glass doors and lavish interior is the dominant setting. China's then-colonialist division justifies the array of diverse accents and ethnicities in this warped, artificial version of the real thing. Like all of these films, Shanghai Express is a total Hollywood studio-based shoot. Though engaging in racial stereotypes and outright fictions about China, von Sternberg probably employed every actor, extra (and then some) of Chinese descent. Though the whole thing is culturally suspect by today's standards, it's interesting to think that back then, mounting a film like this one in this manner would seem downright progressive. The movie itself is a fair potboiler, but one doesn't board this train for the plot, nor for its destination. It's the journey and the scenery that are everything. Those, and of course the company of fellow travelers. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review William L A somewhat pulpy, populist exotic romance that is kicked up to a higher standard by a performance from Dietrich that perfectly captures her screen persona as the independently-minded, sexually liberated woman in chic evening wear surrounded by cigarette smoke and constantly delivering her aloof dialogue with a chill. Four films into their collaboration, Sternberg was fully aware how to place and effectively light his star to maximize her presence in front of the camera. The narrative sets itself up as something of a Murder on the Oriental Express predecessor, introducing a series of colorful and distinctive characters trapped in a train, but with the exception that Shanghai Express doesn't really take the time to explore or capitalize on most of them. The entire Chinese Civil War setting is really just dressing for the romance between Lily and Harvey; Wong's Hui Fei murders the top commander of the Chinese rebel forces (Oland's Chang, criminally underexplored) in his own camp before the group just sort of leaves with virtually no resistance or consequences. Though the film establishes itself on atmosphere and slickness, it's not always a winner in that department, with such nuggets as "How in the name of Confucius can I kiss you with all these people around?" The film may not focus exclusively on Dietrich, but she is doubtlessly the reason that this film hasn't slipped into obscurity, singlehandedly salvaging much of Shanghai Express on persona alone (though Wong is great as well). (4/5) Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/02/21 Full Review Read all reviews

Shanghai Express

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