The Shanghai Gesture

Thick clouds of opium waft over a tempestuous story of decadence, seduction and debauchery, camouflaged as a sexually charged, highly operatic melodrama. Based on a script that suffered countless rewrites in an attempt to tone down the explicit nature of the material, the film sees the mysterious female owner of a bustling Shanghai casino (the unforgettably vamp-like Ona Munson) hatch a devious revenge scheme, involving a British soldier, his drug-prone daughter and the Machavelian young doctor who’s trying to corrupt her.

Thick clouds of opium waft over a tempestuous story of decadence, seduction and debauchery, camouflaged as a sexually charged, highly operatic melodrama. Based on a script that suffered countless rewrites in an attempt to tone down the explicit nature of the material, the film sees the mysterious female owner of a bustling Shanghai casino (the unforgettably vamp-like Ona Munson) hatch a devious revenge scheme, involving a British soldier, his drug-prone daughter and the Machavelian young doctor who’s trying to corrupt her. What follows next can be summed up as a baroque meller full of delicious absurdity and unspeakable depravity, establishing "The Shanghai Gesture" as a timeless monument to bottomless eccentricity. What many consider a masterpiece, others would describe as a monstrosity but either way it’s hard to put into words and always best to see for yourselves! L.K.

Σκηνοθεσία / Director: Josef von Sternberg

Σενάριο / Screenwriters: John Colton, Josef von Sternberg

Φωτογραφία / DoP: Paul Ivano

Μουσική / Music: Richard Hageman

Μοντάζ / Editor: Sam Winston

Ηθοποιοί / Principal Cast: Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, Victor Mature, Ona Munson, Phyllis Brooks

ΗΠΑ / USA 1941

Ασπρόμαυρο / B&W

98'

Αγγλικά, Γαλλικά, Κινέζικα / English, French, Chinese

* Screened on September 22nd and September 27th

Publication date: 2012-09-10 12:36:25

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