Shanghai Surprise (1986)

User Rating:

2.6/10   

Director:

Jim Goddard

Writers:

John Kohn (screenplay) &
Robert Bentley (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

29 August 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime | Romance

Tagline:

A romantic adventure for the dangerous at heart.

Plot:

Glendon Wasey (Sean Penn) is a fortune hunter looking for a fast track out of China. Gloria Tatlock...

Plot Keywords:

Opium | Critically Bashed | Adventurer | City Name In Title | Box Office Flop

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Sean Penn	...	Glendon Wasey
Madonna	...	Gloria Tatlock
Paul Freeman	...	Walter Faraday
Richard Griffiths	...	Willie Tuttle
Philip Sayer	...	Justin Kronk
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Joe Go
Kay Tong Lim	...	Mei Gan
Sonserai Lee	...	China Doll
Victor Wong	...	Ho Chong
Professor Toru Tanaka	...	Yamagani San
Michael Aldridge	...	Mr. Burns
Sarah Lam	...	China Doll's Maid
George She	...	Wu Ch'En She
Won Gam Bor	...	Rickshaw King
To Chee Kan	...	China Doll's Boatman

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:12 (DVD rating) | UK:15 (original rating) | Iceland:12 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

HandMade Films

Trivia:

Paul Freeman was an 11th hour casting decision replacing Bernard Hill who was fired early in production.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Wasey and Miss Tatlock catch up with Faraday in the ship's cabin, the amount of shaving-foam on Faraday's face varies between shots.

Quotes:

[first title card]
Title Card: Shanghai 1937
Title Card: The Year of the Japanese Occupation

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Christina Aguilera/Maroon 5 (#29.13)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Breath away from heaven

"Gigli" for the 1980's!

OK. So someone took an A-list actor and his famous singer/ part time kind of-sort of actress wife and decided that the movie would be carried on the weight of the names alone. Substitute "fiancee" for wife and one has Gigli.

But it is not- it is Shanghai Surprise, possibly the most ill-conceived movie of the 1980's (and yes, I have seen "Hobgoblins.")

This movie has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Ridiculous plot, painfully bad acting (Madonna as a missionary? She didn't buy it either, so she says her lines in a flat tone which just screams "get me out of this costume and get me my check"), cinematography worthy of an old episode of "Fantasy Island," lame ending.

If, by some chance, you stumble across a copy of this in an unused corner of your local video rental store, call your local hazardous waste disposal hotline- do not rent it.

But do not forget that this horror exists. Some people forgot- and thus "Gigli" was born.