Michael O’Hara (Orson Welles) is walking though Central Park when he sees a beautiful young woman, Elsa Bannister (Rita Hayworth), being attacked, and steps in to save her. There’s an instant spark between the two, and so he’s disappointed to discover that she’s married—and to the world’s greatest criminal defense lawyer, Arthur Bannister (Everett Sloane). When Elsa learns that Michal is a seaman, she offers him a job working on her husband’s yacht, as they are just about to set off through the Panama Canal, up the Mexican coast, and into San Francisco. Michael doesn’t really want to pursue a married woman, but he can’t deny the attraction, and reluctantly agrees to take the job.
He soon meets an odd assortment of characters and associates of the Bannisters, including Arthur’s often-inebriated law partner, George Grisby (Glenn Anders), who makes Michael an unusual proposal. George offers him $5K to “murder” him and help fake his death. However, it seems that Grisby is not sharing his true plans with Michael, which may include taking out Arthur. Meanwhile, Elsa, who’s trapped in a forced, loveless marriage, also has a bit of a motive to get rid of her husband. Arthur has hired private investigator Sydney Broome (Ted de Corsia) to keep an eye on his wife, but the investigator may have figured out what Grisby is really up to. As bodies start to pile up, everyone seems to have a motive for murder, but Michael is the one set up to take the fall, nd he looks to Bannister to represent him in court, but due to his obvious love for Elsa, Bannister may not really have Michael’s best interests in mind. Who is really responsible for the deaths, and will Michael be able to clear his name before things get even more out of hand?! He’s beginning to wonder why he allowed himself to set sail on this bizarre cruise in the first place!
I am hardly a classic cinema expert or scholar, so I had never heard of this 1948 film, The Lady From Shanghai, before receiving this disc for review. I wasn’t really even aware of Orson Welles’ personal life or career outside of Citizen Kane. Some of the controversy surrounding Welles and the making of this film is discussed in the bonus material, but I will keep my comments focused on the movie itself.
The Lady From Shanghai is a pretty typical noir thriller, with some surprising twists and turns. Orson Welles serves both behind the camera as the film’s director, as well as in front of it as the film’s lead and narrator. However, Michael is a bit of a pushover, who is constantly being manipulated and taken advantage of by an array of more interesting and quirky side characters. Michael is a bit of a mysterious man, even admitting to Elsa early on that he murdered a man—though is it really murder if it occurred on the battlefield? He happens to meet this alluring and beautiful woman during some unusual circumstances, but was this really a chance meeting, or was it just the start of an elaborate set-up to frame him for murder? As the story plays out, we follow both this forbidden romance as well as this oddball group of possible victims and murderers as they set out on a cruise aboard a yacht.
Sony’s new 4K release of The Lady From Shanghai is restored from the original camera negative and presented in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision, and the results are quite stunning. The black and white picture features a stunning level of detail and clarity, with a pleasant and natural film grain. The film had previously been released on Blu-ray in 2014 by Sony as part of its TCM Vault Collection, and again in 2015 a barebones edition by Mill Creek Entertainment. Some of the complaints about these previous releases was that it got extremely dark at times, but I didn’t notice that here. The audio is presented in a Mono DTS-HD Master Audio, and while it doesn’t have that immersive feel of a more modern soundtrack, the film’s dialogue remains clear throughout, and the film’s more classic score sounds great.
While Sony’s previous TCM Vault Collection Blu-ray featured a lot of bonus material, the majority of that has not been carried over to this release. The only extras are a previously-recorded interview and commentary from filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich, who recounts stories from his interviews with Orson Welles about this film. These provide some interesting insight into the history of Welles and the making of The Lady From Shanghai.
The 4K release includes just a single 4K disc placed in a standard 4K keepcase and covered with a glossy cardboard slipcover. The release also includes an insert with redemption instructions for a 4K Movies Anywhere-compatible digital copy.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:27:29)
- 2160p / Full Frame 1.37:1
- Dolby Vision / HDR10
- Audio: English Mono DTS-HD Master Audio, French Mono DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish Mono DTS-HD Master Audio
- Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
- 4K Digital Copy, redeemable via Movies Anywhere or Vudu
- Commentary with Peter Bogdanovich (1:27:29)
Originally recorded for the 2014 Turner Classic Movies Blu-ray release, filmmaker/author Peter Bogdanovich provides an interesting and informative commentary over the film. He recounts how he first met Orson Welles, reads portions of his interviews with Welles about The Lady From Shanghai (which almost serve as a Welles commentary), and shares some of his own thoughts about the movie. - A Conversation with Peter Bogdanovich (20:51)
In this 2000 featurette, filmmaker/author Peter Bogdanovich discusses the career of Orson Welles’ following Citizen Kane, and how he ended up making The Lady From Shanghai. He also talks about Welles’ relationship with Rita Hayworth, how they ended up making this picture together. Bogdanovich shares some behind-the-scenes stories about the production, anecdotes from his interviews with Welles, and talks about how the movie changed after test audiences viewed the film. Presented in Full Frame format, and includes clips and behind-the-scenes stills. The stories are be a bit receptive to what is mentioned on the commentary track. - Theatrical Trailer (1:49)
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4K UHD:
Digital (Limited time offer):
Extras:
The majority of the extras from the previous 2014 TCM Blu-ray release (especially the promotional/publicity material) has not been carried over to this 4K release, just the commentary track.
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4K Disc:
Final Thoughts:
The Lady From Shanghai is an entertaining film noir, with lots of interesting twists and turns, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Sony’s new 4K release looks and sounds great, and will certainly please fans of the film. However, the disc is a bit light on bonus material, porting over the previous commentary track by filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich as well as a 2000 interview containing a lot of the same insights. That said, the commentary does provide some nice background information about the making of the film and some of the controversy surrounding it.
The Lady from Shanghai [4K UHD] [Blu-ray]
$33.42 $32.49 (as of November 1, 2024 07:17 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
The Lady From Shanghai
$14.99 (as of November 1, 2024 07:17 GMT -04:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
