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Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9786302888201 Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, HiFi Sound, NTSC ISBN: 6302888204 Label: Universal Studios Languages: Manufacturer: Universal Studios Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Universal Studios Release Date: January 01, 1998 Running Time: 80 minutes Studio: Universal Studios Theatrical Release Date: February 12, 1932 Editorial Review: Amazon.com essential video: Josef von Sternberg gets really exotic here with Marlene Dietrich and the story of her adventures on a train en route to Shanghai, where she is reunited with a lover who jilted her (Clive Brook). When the train is overtaken by Chinese rebels, Brook is held hostage and the rebel leader (Warner Oland of Charlie Chan fame) takes a liking to Dietrich. The notorious adventurer fiendishly strikes a bargain to save Brook, whom she's never stopped loving. This is one of the most intriguing von Sternberg-Dietrich films not only because of its exotic style and setting but because of its passionate love story. --Bill Desowitz Average Rating:
 Rating:  - "Grand Hotel" on wheels...Marlene Dietrich and her longtime director Josef von Sternberg really hit the jackpot with SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1932), arguably the best of their collaborations. Dietrich plays another woman with a shady past, but the all-star supporting cast and evocative photography combine in making it a must-see for Marlene admirers. The setting is a train en route from Peking to Shanghai; it's occupants include Chinese prostitute Hui Fei (Anna May Wong), American millionaire Sam Salt (Eugene Pallette), ... Read More Rating:  - FIne Sternberg fantasiaNOTE: VON STERNBERG WAS AMERICAN... Sternberg's films make no sense to most movie fans, who skim a film for its story or for its stars or its "realism". Sternberg's stories are usually slow, the stories trite or perverse, his inattention to casting and acting can be almost shocking, and realism is nowhere to be found. But his ultra-stylized mises en scene are unique, his feeling for exotic, poetic, and sensual visual effects is without equal. He is a visual stylist, more of a painter ... Read More Rating: - Love and Adventure on a Romantic Train RideParamount's SHANGHAI EXPRESS is an adventure story and above all a love story about Shanghai Lily (Marlene Dietrich) and Captain Harvey (Clive Brook) who used to be her lover. Most of the action takes place on a train which is held up by Chinese bandits. SHANGHAI EXPRESS stands as one of the best of Marlene Dietrich's performances with Josef von Sternberg as director. What I also find especially intriguing about this classic gem are the appearances of Warner Oland and Anna May Wong in important supporting ... Read More Rating: - Exotic Marlene in her most breathtaking role"Shanghai Express", is one of those films that very aptly fits into the category of "they sure dont make them like this anymore". Boasting hauntingly beautiful camera work and photography, the film being very much a product of the glamourous 1930's treats its leading ladies face as if it was a rare icon throughout the films running time. These haunting images are the work of Joseph Von Sternberg, the genius who was responsible for creating so much of the mystic around Marlene Dietrich in classic roles like "Morocco", ... Read More Rating: - A film lover's film, a visual masterpieceSHANGHAI EXPRESS is, like much of Josef von Sternberg's early Hollywood work, technically stunning, and this is definitely one of his very best films. This is not a film to watch so much as one to be savored, and the more effort you expend marveling over his care and mastery of his craft by studying what he does with each shot and scene, the more you will enjoy it. Perhaps because English was not his first language, or perhaps because he honed his cinemagraphic skills in the silent era, Sternberg's focus is primarily ... Read More |
