Shanghai Express

Frustrated by the absence of any Region 1 DVD of 'Shanghai Express', I finally gave up and sprang for the German release from the news outlet Suddeutsche Zeitung. I wasn't sure what I'd get, but the price was right and any DVD of this film would be better than none at all, so...It was a pleasant surprise to get a high-quality transfer with good sound and removable (German) subtitles. No disappointment here whatsoever. I'm gonna go ahead and assume that if you're looking for this title you know what it is, you know it's next to impossible to find if you're an American viewer, and you want it. If all that's true, and you have figured out the region code problem, then all I need to say is go for it -- this is a nice edition of a great film, not a shoddy public domain re-release by any means.Since I've bought this version I've become aware that Universal has released 'Shanghai Express' in Region 2, which is available from Amazon UK at a decent price. I can't speak to the quality of that, but I can't imagine that Universal would screw it up too badly. [*] Still, I'm perfectly well pleased with the Suddeutschen Zeitung version, I'm happy to (finally) have this film on DVD, and to anyone contemplating a purchase, I highly recommend this edition. It merits five stars in every respect, including, of course, content, which I've barely mentioned. But you know what it is, and you know you want it -- go ahead. You'll have no regrets.(Incidentally, I also found at the same time that Universal has released the equally rare Dietrich/Sternberg vehicle 'Dishonored' in Region 2, which is also available at Amazon UK for a low price. Since I've already got 'Shanghai Express' I've ordered that, and I hope it looks as good as this!)[*]Edited 2/20/11 to say: This German version seems to have gone scarce, and it's currently for sale here at a very high price. Don't pay it. Go to Amazon UK (your US Amazon account will work there) and buy the Universal Cinema Classics version for about a tenth of the price. I've bought it and it's every bit as good a transfer as the Suddeutschen Zeitung release. (Of course, it's also Region 2, so you'll still need the appropriate player.) I've also found the Universal edition of 'Dishonored' that I mentioned above to be an excellent release and can recommend it, though the picture quality is lower than that of 'Shanghai Express' -- overall it resembles the Criterion release of 'Scarlet Empress'. But it's certainly worth watching, and having.

Josef von Sternberg was always a controversial film-maker yet he was a polished professional, who began as an immigrant youngster in Brooklyn, escaping the political turmoil of his native Vienna, cleaning the set and stashing the cans of film. He worked in every department, learned every craft, apprenticed to every one of the often 1000 specialists in the production team on an ambitious project. His breakthrough came when he returned to Europe and in 1930 made "The Blue Angel" in Berlin, discovered a lithe young aspiring actress named Marlene Dietrich, and worked with her in 6 Hollywood productions, demanding total creative control of each of them: he designed the sets, chose the costumes, selected the music, wrote the script, directed the actors, operated the camera but was especially proficient with his specialty, the dramatic and often surprising lighting. (One of his trademarks was always an actor in the foreground, in shadow, with highlighting only in the gleam of the eyes or the glints on the hair, with another actor in the background. full light on his face, a bewitching contrast.) All of this comes together in "Shanghai Express", probably his best, most congruent, most polished product, showing off Marlene Dietrich to maximum dramatic effect. The slinking walk, the seductive eyes, are framed by outstanding resources of furs and feathers and flowing gowns. In "Shanghái Express" she reaches the epitome of glamour.

Marlene Dietrich with her sexy eyes that burn a hole in your heart. this wonderful 1932 movie that was released in 2012 is an excellent enhanced print It almost looks like it was made a few years ago. Although it wasn't made in the right years to officially qualify as Film Noir, trust me, It is. Marlene who plays Shanghai Lily, a lady of the night (what else) along with an interesting and strange cast of characters on the "Shanghai Express" during a chinese revolution. One of my favorites is a flat chested Chinese dragon lady, very mysterious. Future "Charlie Chan" Warner Oland plays a Chinese Che Guevara with a Yen for Shanghai Lily who does not want any part of him. The love interest is Clive Brook who sure knows how to drag out a sentence, I never heard anyone talk so slow. Brook is a English Army Doctor who hasn't a clue how to operate with Marlene who adores him. All in all this is a good movie especially if your a Marlene Dietrich fan as I am. Its directed by the great Josef von Sternberg. They just don' make them like this anymore.I know, I keep on saying that.

Here is the legendary film that spawned hundreds of imitators, starring the one and only Marlene Dietrich in her early Hollywood signature role of Shanghai Lily. Actually, anybody else in this role would have been silly. Only a mysterious creature like Dietrich could carry this off.More of an ensemble picture than one would think, the film has a pretty straight-forward plot, which is unusual for a Von Sternberg film. Dietrich plays a coaster, which is a polite term for a hooker, in China. she and group of other strangers board the Shanghai Express enroute to Shanghai. On board, she encounters former love Captain Harvey, who is about as warm as ice water. During the trip, the train is hijacked by Chinese rebels, and Lily must choose to sacrifice herself for her former(and still) love to save his life.As I said, it all sounds hackneyed, but when watching, one can't help but be mesmerized. Dietrich is at her most exotic and alluring in this role, and you really can't take your eyes off of her. She carries the entire film in her hands, and the ending is the only one you can accept. Pure Hollywood hokum, but pure magic as well. Get this film and see for yourself. I highly recommend it!

A train bound for Shanghai is about to depart, and a motley group of passengers are boarding: stolidly handsome Captain Donald Harvey, a moody half-Chinaman named Chang, an unsmiling Chinese woman, an impatient middle-aged American, a flustered elderly lady with a small dog, and an irascible reverend.No one is quite who they seem, at least not by the time the train reaches its destination, after being shanghaid {sorry} by revolutionaries, the leader of whom being one of the above passengers.Shanghai Lily is the most intriguing of them, but that's mainly because she's played by the glorious Marlene Dietrich, in one of her most famous roles ~ "It took more than one man to change my name to Shanghai Lily", as she tells old flame Captain Harvey, and it's not hard to believe.Harvey is Clive Brook, an almost forgotten actor now, but an unlikely star back then in the thirties. His relaxed style is impervious to the point of blandness, though he spars pretty well with Marlene, who as usual gives the most natural performance in the film.Anna May Wong is the mysterious Chinese woman, and she plays a pivotal part in the drama, though I wish director Josef von Sternberg {Marlene's mentor} had given her a little more to do and say.Swedish actor Warner Oland is Chang, and he's suitably threatening. The bluff American is played by that wonderful actor Eugene Pallette, whose rasping voice could shave hair.The crowd scenes are brilliantly handled, with the photography and sets dazzling. This is arguably the best of all the seven movies Dietrich and von Sternberg made together {including their first, The Blue Angel} and is a film worth watching again, if only for its visual audacity, and of course for Marlene at her most beautiful, most erotic, and most lovable. Still only 30 when she made it, she has an inner glow that no other actress of the day possessed, not even Garbo.

Two female leads of extraordinary beauty and fascination: Dietrich and Wong. Both lit and filmed in Von Sternberg's sumptuous black and white – never has a film been more delicious to look at. Racial attitudes to the Chinese characters show the film's age and limit the scope of Anna May Wong's performance: one feels that she could have done much more than was asked or allowed, and that the camaraderie of the two women, a wonderful aspect of the film, could have been explored further. A disillusioned Army officer, played by Clive Brook, learns the sterling quality of Dietrich's character –– the theme of the film is the power of love to transcend suffering and human limitation. A non-human hero throughout the film is the magnificent Chinese locomotive which pulls the Express across war-torn China, through thick and thin, and we hear many tones of its almost living voice. A film to return to and to savour.

"It took more than one man to change my name to Shanghai Lily" said by the heroine, played by Marlene Dietrich, to her former lover, a straight-laced English army officer, played by stiff upper lipped Clive Brook. So you know where this is going, don't you? However, she may be a tart but she has principles, as becomes clear as the film proceeds.Uncommonly, for 1930s Holloywood, there are two strong women characters in this film, the other played by Chinese-American actress, Anna May Wong.Despite the hokum it's a good adventure with the most amazing film work. They certainly knew how to light a woman in those days.

Shanghai Express is a gorgeous film. If you like films of the 1930s, this one is a must-have. The actors and the locales are beautiful and exotic. The lead actors have real chemistry and the cast of supporting characters,played by the greatest character star actors of the '30s, is wonderful. All are interesting, engaging and fun to watch. The beautiful lighting is of major importance in creating the ambiance all through the film. The costumes, of their period, are lovely. The setting is wartime in China and the director, Joseph von Sternberg, while concentrating on the romance, still manages to convey wartime atmosphere without putting much overt blood and violence on the screen. Aside from the reunion and rekindling of the romance between Dietrich and handsome Clive Brook, there are sensitively told stories of the role racism played in the lives of two of the characters played by Anna May Wong and Warner Oland. The only aspect of the film which might be problematic for 21st century viewers is the very stagy acting. But I love it. Shanghai Express is one of my all-time favorite films. In the US and Canada you must have an all-region DVD player to watch this. I bought one to watch this and other great films only available in non-North American formats.

As a fan of Marlene Dietrich, I felt this movie was by the best of her early American releases and collaborations with director Josef von Sternberg. The acting and direction are flawless and the whole compact timeframe of just 78 minutes made the whole storyline rattle along at a decent pace for the era the film was made in.The only downside I would say is that there are no DVD extras but at such a low price, it doesn't really matter. I would highly recommend this wonderful little film to anybody who wishes to find out more about either Marlene Dietrich or Josef von Sternberg. (And also to anyone who wishes to find out how America percieved China in the early 1930s!)