Raimi to bring new Vision of The Shadow
Posted by Rodneyon 23. 01. 2009in News Chat
The Shadow has long been collecting dust on Sam Raimi’s shelf and every now and again he reminds us that he plans on doing a movie about the pulp comic character.
Well now he actually has more people involved other than rumours. Michael Uslan gave us some insight on the project.
Uslan has promised that the latest version would be a brand new take on the character — and Uslan’s cryptic description might leave visions of The Spirit dancing in your heads. “I think the one thing going in is we all see The Shadow as more of a force of nature than a specific person in a secret identity. The Shadow may actually be many people.” But they’re also doing the proper research to stay true to the character. “We’ve gone back to the pulp roots, the comic book roots of The Shadow, with a dash of the radio roots. But we’ve deeply ensconced ourselves in the world of pulps and comics.”
I am a fan of the old pulp style heroes, and I actually thought the 90s version of the Shadow was pretty true to the origins and feel of the pulp comic.
I have a lot of faith in Raimi, but I hope he doesn’t change the Shadow into something he is not. Force of Nature was never a quality that identified The Shadow. The Shadow was a man with an enlightened telepath of sorts that could peer into the soul and cloud the senses.
Only the shadow knows the darkness that lies in the hearts of man.
I think his take is an interesting concept, I just hope he doesn’t try to fit it to an intellectual property just for name recognition. Hell, make that movie but don’t try to pretend that it is The Shadow.
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Sounds good
I enjoyed the Bladwin film when i was young and I love the character so I hope with this new version it can be even better.
Much like The Spirit or The Phantom, The Shadow is a c-level superhero and I doubt there is any built-in following for this property.
That sounds about right Al.
No no no. The Shadow is a lot like other properties left over from the radio age. Forgotten by many but save by a few. Remembered by those who know what it means to have sound effects that aren’t meaningless “drops”. There was a time when CGI didn’t mean shit because CGI didn’t exist. All you had was story and theater of the mind. I can only hope that Sam Raimi knows that imagination is an important part of the visual medium.
There are so many versions of The Shadow to choose from… the Pulp hero that evolved from almost a ghost to a man with ‘secrets from the orient’ and two alter-egos, who directly inspired Batman…
Or the radio play version who blundered into mad schemes as a millionaire playboy with his socialite plaything, Margot Lane…
Or the 60′s novels version, basically the Man From UNCLE is a cloak and hat…
Howard Chaykin’s 80′s version, swapping .45′s for Uzi’s in 1980s NYC…
Not to mention the Archie Comics version *shudder*
It’s difficult to know which is the ‘true’ Shadow to bring to screen. The Baldwin film tried to combine several versions and somehow turned two of the greatest of the pulp stories into something average…
But Al, I think you misunderstand the nature of the Shadow… he’s not a superhero, for one… Batman wouldn’t exist without him (the first Batman story is a straight rip-off of a Shadow story)…
The character could only be described as C level because it’s unknown in the 21st Century beyond existing fans. Nearly 400 books, 60+ years of comic book versions, all the radio plays (which were as popular in the 30s/40s as TV shows in the 50s/60s) and several movies… someone must have liked the character! Saying the Shadow is C level is like saying John Shaft is C level compared to James Bond. They’re different is all.
The Shadow was also part of the inspiration for Raimi’s Darkman (who needs a new DTV adventure, Universal!) but I find myself torn on this matter.
An unknown/C grade character is not a big matter. Presentation is. Even Blade was a supporting character from Marvel’s Tomb Of Dracula, and we got two out of three decent films and a short lived TV show. Let’s say someone finally got around to make a picture about the WWII comics adventures of Blackhawk. Not a big draw in awareness value, but not a lot of “baggage” either.
So I really don’t see the issue here.
In addition, due to Spider-Man and other films, (but mostly webhead) if Raimi does do this, that also helps awareness, regardless if he directs or produces.
“The Director of Spider-Man” and the producer of “The Dark Knight have combined forces…”
(Michael Uslan has been a co-exec producer on all the Batfilms,under Burton and Nolan)
There, you see? Not the biggest interest grabber in the universe as we know it, but you know and I know something like that will come to pass!
Now “kind of” the downside.
Unlike others here I was not a fan/liker of the Russell Mulcahy film from the mid-90′s In fact, I found the film rather hokey. Even for the mid-90′s, the FX was lame. The production design was more of a distraction than any character or action, and Tim Curry was over the top for no reason at all.
That, on the surface, would seem to be a reason for another version…but only if…well, it’s like The Phantom a few years after it; you see it once, it’s “alright” at best but nothing really great. It isn’t that enjoyable, the effort is appreciated, but when all is said and done, it’s just a novelty.
I thought that the last version was brilliant!!!
I have a soft spot for the Baldwin version but I don’t kid myself in to thinking that this new project will be successful if made. The vast majority of the movie going audience have no idea who this character is and don’t feel the need to know.
The orginial Shadow with Alec Baldwin was quite a guilty pleasure to me. A lot of reviews of it that I saw were bad but I enjoyed it. Now if Raimi’s gonna’ take over and do it, I’m more than there.
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the aspect of the shadow best suited for a motion picture is, of course, walter b. gibson’s own original creation introduced in 1931 prior to the radio version done by orson welles in 1936. movies are visual media and the very visible shadow of the pulp novels much more interesting. also, trying to mix the radio show with the novels has never worked, as the 1994 movie demonstrates. those who have not read the novels should. they are a very good read. you will see my point if you read them. THE SHADOW KNOWS.
Please oh please read Howard Chaykin’s excellent 1980s updating of The Shadow in graphic novel (comic book) form.
(And by the way, they were MAC-10s, not Uzis.)
http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Judgement-Howard-V-Chaykin/dp/0930289161
As a long-time Shadow fan, The only problem with the Baldwin movie was the preface — explaining how The Shadow came to be. IMO, that was a mistake. The Shadow needs to have a completely nebulous background, with only hints at best to any origin.
As for the new movie, this “force of nature” is also wrong. I am a big fan of the Pulps and Radio years. I personally feel the movie needs to pull from the pulps almost exclusively.
It’s more interesting to me when the character is not a mental giant that can “cloud men’s minds so they cannot see him.” That worked well on radio — because of the medium. But for the visual medium, I feel it’s much better to have his network of operatives that do most of the seen legwork with the Shadow pulling the strings, as the pulps described. He needs to be nebulous even in the movie, showing when needed, but never really a part of the story development.
The pulps followed his operatives. What we know of the Shadow is through them. The only time we got a glimpse into the man himself was when he was sorting out the facts in the dark office. It’s clear he’s directing the investigation, but he’s only seen when the action unfolds and the operatives themselves are in trouble or need his almost superhuman help, and when the climax is at hand.
My desire — scriptwriter should read at least 10 of the pulp novels and use them as a guide to design the movie. And the first novel, “The Living Shadow”, is a research must.
The best Shadow is the one from the pulp magazines, a movie on one of the 360ish stories would be terrific