The Shadow (film)



A 1994 Universal live-action film based off the pulp hero The Shadow, the movie follows the adventures of Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin), who uses his psychic powers as the Shadow to make up for the atrocities he committed in the past. But all is not well in the Big Apple - Shiwan Khan (John Lone), the last descendant of Genghis and fellow psychic, has come to finish his great-grandscestor's work, and he's not about to let anyone stand in his way. Margo Lane was played by Penelope Ann Miller.

No relation to the Hans Christian Andersen story of the same name.

"LAMONT: Psychically, I'm very well endowed. MARGO: I'll bet you are."
 * Absent-Minded Professor: Margo's father, Dr. Reinhardt Lane.
 * All-Star Cast
 * The Atoner: Lamont's work as the Shadow is so he can atone for the suffering he caused as the ruthless drug lord Ying Ko.
 * Berserk Button: Shiwan Khan presses it hard when he reveals he has control of the Phurba dagger, explaining to Lamont that he mastered control of it and stabbed the Tulku. Lamont, who was tasked by the Tulku to fight evil in order to redeem himself of his previous life as Ying Ko, snaps and tries to stab Shiwan with it - even though he fails, it shows how much he cared for the man that taught him.
 * Big Applesauce: Justified in that Shiwan is also here to test himself against Lamont, and if at all possible, get him to change sides.
 * Better to Die Than Be Killed: One of Shiwan's guards willingly falls to his death rather than be captured by the Shadow.
 * Black and Grey Morality: Lamont knows he's a bad person and struggles with his dark side (which manifests as The Shadow, who does bad things for good reasons), while Shiwan Khan is a brutal megalomaniac bent on total world domination.
 * Bland-Name Product: Llama cigarettes, an obvious parody of Camel.
 * Blasting It Out of Their Hands: The scene in the Chinese restaraunt ends with Shiwan and Lamont trying to shoot each other, only to have the bullets collide in midair. They both stare at the bullets for a moment afterward, completely dumbfounded.
 * Book Ends: "This is green. That's red." Also, "I'll know."
 * Brainwashed and Crazy: When Margo goes to her father's lab to find him, Shiwan puts her in a trance and sends her after Lamont. When he later confronts him about it, he tells him that he sent Margo to be killed, which would set Lamont back on the road to evil.
 * Brick Joke: "I'd like to give you a name," Lamont says to Shiwan, as he gave the name of a psychiatrist. Guess who takes custody of Shiwan in the end? The very same doctor.
 * "Nice tie".
 * The Butcher: Ying Ko, The Butcher of Lhasa.
 * Catapult Nightmare: Lamont goes through this twice.
 * Cement Shoes: The Shadow saves a science professor from gangsters who were going to dump him in the river for accidentally witnessing a crime.
 * Chekhov's Gun: When Ying Ko was first shown the ability to cloud men's minds - one of The Shadow's trademark abilities - it was used to hypnotize people into believing there was no temple. Once the Tulku cleared Ying Ko's mind, he was able to see the temple for all its glory. During the pursuit of Shiwan Khan, Lamont and Moe find themselves at an apparent dead end at a vacant lot; Lamont suspects something, and learns from Margo Lane that the lot was previous the site of the Hotel Monolith. The last record of it was its sale to a Far-Eastern buyer, and no one knows when it was torn down or who tore it down. Lamont speculates that the Monolith is still there, and confirms his suspicions by using his powers to bypass Shiwan Khan's ability and see it for himself, then asking a random passer what that building was, with the man dismissing him as a lunatic. Finally, when the Shadow wounds Khan, his ability wanes and causes the Hotel to become visible in the public eye.
 * Cool Car: Shrevvy's cab, the toy version of which received a full arsenal of weapons.
 * Deceptive Disciple: The Tulku tried to save Shiwan like he did with Lamont, but ended up getting killed for his troubles.
 * Dieselpunk: Of the Diesel Noir subgenre.
 * The Dreaded: Four characters have earned this trope and only two of them are the same person.
 * First is Lamont Cranston as both Ying Ko and The Shadow.
 * As Ying Ko, he's a ruthless drug dealer and barbarian who personally went on raids, slaughtering everyone he can to establish himself. By the time the Tulku met him, he had already conquered a huge chunk of Tibet just to plant opium fields. Although he left that life, grown men still shiver at the mention of his name.
 * While the Shadow is scary in his own right, his is a more subdued example. Local citizens have heard of him but think he's a myth. Criminals have definitely heard of him and are wise to run, save for the stupid ones that try to take him on in a fight. Farley Claymore is very afraid of him, simply because The Shadow survived his murder attempt.
 * The second is Shiwan Khan. This man has the same abilities as Lamont and is so feared that his own men would rather die than betray him. For good reason too, because if he doesn't feel like killing you personally, he'll force you to kill yourself. Even make you aware and scared, while unable to control yourself.
 * Then you have Shiwan's ancestor. Genghis Kahn. His real life history notwithstanding, the movie treats him like he is also an unstoppable force even in death.  When his coffin arrives in the New York Museum, the curators advise Nelson the security guard not to open it. It's also implied he too had some spiritual abilities since Shiwan arrived inside the coffin meditating in an effort to draw power from Genghis.
 * Dreaming of Things to Come: Lamont as Ying Ko dreams of the Tulku before he gets abducted to his temple, and later has a nightmare about Shiwan.
 * The Driver: Moe Shrevnitz.
 * Drowning Pit: Farley shoots the Shadow, locks him in a pressure testing chamber at his lab, and starts filling it with water.
 * Empathic Weapon: The Phurba. And damn that thing is freaky.
 * Enlightenment Superpowers
 * Mr. Fanservice: Lamont (Alec Baldwin) was quite dapper in the scene when he meets Margo.
 * : What the Shadow gives Shiwan Khan at the end.
 * Friendly Local Chinatown: Lamont follows one of Shiwan's men into one of these.
 * Glamour Failure: The Shadow "clouds men's minds", making them unable to see him. However, he still leaves signs of a physical presence. This is used against him twice, both times ending with him getting shot.
 * Hall of Mirrors: The Shadow chases Shiwan into a storage area of mirrors, and ultimately uses his powers to shatter them.
 * Hypnotic Eyes: Lamont and Shiwan have these, invoked with contact lenses, and changes in the lighting. The Shadow has metallic gray eyes while Shiwan's are black
 * I Owe You My Life: Inverted - When the Shadow saves Dr. Tam's life and enlists him as one of his agents. It's apparently how he recruits all his minions.
 * If I Wanted You Dead...: "Kill you? *chuckles* If I wanted you dead, Ying Ko, I would have your liver on a pole right now."
 * Also: "I would no sooner kill you than I would destroy a Rembrandt."
 * Innocent Innuendo:

"LAMONT: You are a barbarian. SHIWAN: Thank you. We both are."
 * Insult Backfire:

"Ying Ko: Wu you're a wonderful friend. Like a father to me. Wu: Thank you Ying Ko."
 * Jabba Table Manners: When Lamont confronts Shiwan Khan over him using Margo Lane against him. He sees Shiwan despite being well dressed, intelligent and talking civil, still eats like a barbarian would. With his bare hands.
 * Jedi Mind Trick: One of the Shadow's powers
 * Laughing Mad: Farley, until he falls to his death.
 * Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Roy Tam and his wife, are listening to the radio while having breakfast. When Mrs. Tam serves him coffee, they hear reports regarding The Shadow. She mentions that she thinks the reporters made up The Shadow, so that people would listen to the radio more. A nod to the franchise getting big on the Radio. Roy who has met The Shadow, knows better.
 * Nightmare Sequence: The first time is a warning about Shiwan's arrival, the second time is a nightmare about him pulling his face off, revealing Shiwan underneath, and the third time is a Flashback Nightmare of his time as Ying Ko.
 * Never Recycle a Building: Inverted - Shiwan made everyone believe that the building got torn down, though no one can remember when.
 * "Or if."
 * Not Brainwashed: Farley Claymore, who signed up with Khan in exchange for power.
 * Not So Different: "Accept the truth - there is no light without shadow, and you and I are that shadow."
 * Lamont's dream, in which he rips his own face off like a mask to reveal Shiwan's underneath.
 * This could, in fact, be seen to be the entire theme of the movie. Shiwan constantly urges Lamont to become like him again, on the premise that they're the same. Lamont finally proves this isn't so by taking control of his violence rather than letting it control him, like Shiwan does.
 * Not So Harmless: Claymore almost killed The Shadow.
 * Pet The Dog: As Ying Ko, the closest Lamont had to this trope was when Wu was held hostage, by a rival dealer. Said dealer, Li Peng boasts that even Ying Ko's hitmen aren't marksmen enough to shoot around him. Which Ying Ko agrees. He says the following line to Wu before ordering his men to shoot through him. Wu's response in thanks seems to be a mix of thanking him and preparing to face his death.

"LI PENG: (having just taken Ying Ko's accountant hostage) Even your men are not marksman enough to shoot around him! YING KO: You're right. (to the accountant) Wu, you're a wonderful friend. You're like a father to me. WU: Thank you, Ying Ko. YING KO: (to his marksmen) Shoot through him."
 * Product Placement: "Brooks Brothers. 75th and Madison."
 * Psychic-Assisted Suicide: Shiwan uses his powers to off a museum guard who saw him in Genghis's coffin, a cab driver who took him to his lair, and a marine who insulted his fashion sense. The Shadow later uses his powers to
 * Psychic Powers
 * Engineer Exploited For Evil: Dr. Lane, helped along by Shiwan's mind control.
 * The Renfield: Farley Claymore.
 * Sealed Evil in a Can: Shiwan comes to the States smuggled in his great-grandscestor's silver coffin.
 * Sexy Backless Outfit: Margo
 * The Shadow Knows
 * Shangri La
 * Shoot the Hostage:

"MARGO: (strained, nudging the green wire) This is green. (nudges the red wire) That's red."
 * Super Window Jump: Shiwan escapes the Chinese restaurant by jumping out a window after breaking the glass with his powers. Farley later dives through a glass mural, after the Shadow made him think it was an exit, with less pleasant results.
 * Unobtanium: Bronzium, believed by the Chinese to be what the universe was made of, and what Shiwan uses for his bomb.
 * Visible Invisibility
 * Voice of the Legion: The Tulku.
 * Wicked Cultured: Shiwan, later on. "I would no sooner destroy you than I would destroy a Rembrandt."
 * Wire Dilemma: Dr. Lane is forced to disarm the bomb without knowing how he built it. And did we mention that he's colorblind?


 * Wrong Wire: When Dr. Lane first tries to disarm the bomb, he accidentally makes the timer go to warp speed, and fixing it leaves him with only two minutes. Finally, he decides that it's "usually green"...
 * Yellow Peril: Fortunately averted. While the villains are Mongols, Dr. Tam is also Asian.
 * You Have Failed Me...: Shiwan killed one of his warriors hypnotized by Lamont.
 * Perhaps more pragmatic than the usual version. A minion who's vulnerable to your enemy's mind control is a definite liability.