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Shadow Magic

EMAILPRINTSony Pictures Classics

Shadow Magic reviews
66
6.5 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 22 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 4 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Ann Hu

Directed by: Ann Hu

Release Date:
Theatrical: April 6, 2001
DVD: September 11, 2001

Running Time: 112 minutes, Color

Origin:

Language(s): Chinese (with English subtitles) with some English

Summary

RATING: PG for brief mild language

Starring Jared Harris, Xia Yu, Lu Peiqi, Lu Liping, Xing Xufei, and Wang Jingming

Set in 1902, this comedy centers around the arrival of a Westerner who introduces silent films to Imperial Peking.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

Sumptuous, warm, continually amazing, it's a completely enjoyable couple of hours at the flickers.

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88

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

A movie-movie about the movies.

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88

Miami Herald Curtis Morgan

Rising above simple sentiment to explore class differences and the enduring clash between East and West with wit and wisdom.

83

Portland Oregonian Barry Johnson

The re-creation of early 20th-century Beijing is dense and loving, and Hu shows just as much affection for the people who start to trickle into the shabby little cinema.

80

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

It's a film about culture clash, the generation gap and the loss of tradition that inevitably accompanies the arrival of anything new.

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75

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Shadow Magic isn't interested in psychology or character study. It's a series of tableaux and on that level succeeds admirably.

75

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Never quite builds the compulsive emotional power it needs to be an unforgettable personal drama.

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75

Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan

Transports us to a world that still had a capacity for awe, and that's the core of its charm.

75

Chicago Tribune Loren King

Succeeds as a paean to movies and movie-watching.

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70

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Evokes the dawn of cinema in China with much charm, humor and subtlety.

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70

Film.com Robert Horton

Has a real sense of the wonder of the early years.

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70

The New York Times Dana Stevens

Gentle and easy to take.

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68

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

Plays like a Chinese "Cinema Paradiso," full of feeling without succumbing to sentimentality.

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67

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

The most delightful segments are those which observe new audiences experiencing the motion picture phenomenon.

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63

USA Today Mike Clark

The story doesn't exactly startle with surprises and has a tendency to hammer and rehammer its points.

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63

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

Often charming and sweet, and always prettily photographed.

60

LA Weekly Paul Malcolm

Shadow Magic is rich with detail.

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60

New Times (L.A.) Andy Klein

Hu has crafted a charming and modest movie.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

A pleasant but conventional film.

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50

TV Guide Ken Fox

Unfortunately, Hu and her army of co-writers saddle the story with a tired romantic subplot and fail to develop meaningful characters.

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50

Village Voice Amy Taubin

Properly picturesque but lacks subtlety and substance in blending Chinese and Western history, ideas, and cinematic conventions.

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50

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie is more concerned with the story line (premiere-fire-threat-rescue) than with painting the time and place.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 6.5 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Antal Z. gave it a9:
Simple story has drama and humor in equal doses. Beautifully photographed and well acted. All in all, it's a charming little movie that provides (almost) two hours of first class entertainment.

Chad S. gave it a 7:
"Shadow Magic" could've been overblown, a movie, in which the Beijing opera players and still photographers, set out to destroy the westerner's movie equipment as a way of preserving their respective livelihoods. Since Chinese film has such a rich history, the right choice is made to show the advent of film exhibitionism as a cause for celebration, but the acceptance of Shadow Magic should've been preceded by a little more resistance. In particular, Ling (Xing Yufei), the daughter of a great opera star, who sells out her father by romancing Liu (Xia Yu), a boy who loves new inventions more than old traditions. You have to accept the film's license to be nostalgic, as it wants us to believe that a foreigner like Raymond (Jared Harris) wouldn't be more aggressive about amassing a fortune. But "Shadow Magic" works if you like movie history, because the first-hand accounts of how patrons reacted to this new entertainment comes alive on the screen as it's described in books.

Victor Y. gave it a 10:
Accurate, believable, and interesting.

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