Shanghai

Before I saw this film I had purchased a series of books on the history of Shanghai in the 1930s and 40s.. so I was very happy to find a film that helped me to understand what it must have been like to live there at the time.I felt that the cinematographer captured the sublime level of violence in Shanghai that existed....There life was cheap, betrayal rampant and the casinos were everywhere. I knew that many internationals were murdered in cold blood but what i didn't realize was how many locals were killed as well. How the Chinese were hunted down and how often they were violently murdered...How the boundaries between the concessions were frequently...ignored...That was where there needed to be more work...There were Germans, French and Russians there...not just the British and the Americans...there would have been Nazis there already and Russian nobles...other characters could have been added to the story very easily...this however was not done...The story was a bit light and maybe too tightly focused....but it moved well and was not boring to me...Also what happened in the film between the characters seemed truthful ...as if the spies or the families of the spies from that time period had contributed to the film... The level of intrigue conveyed seemed very realistic.All of the actors in the production were very good and It contained an international cast filled with stars from both China and Japan and Europe....I feel getting all of this talent together was a spectacular achievement in and of itself. It's worth the time to see it...There were some plot points that I found to be a bit jarring at times, a bit too implausible to believe...Those aspects of the story did need more work....But the action was fast paced and the twists and turns to the plot did keep me in suspense...The film was not perfect, but contained a well-balanced depiction of the players on both sides of the conflict with the intermediaries in between them...Very few Hollywood films get involved with this subject for a story and I don't feel that there were many people around to support the production at the time...The time and consideration the film truly needed was lacking... It is not a "great" film, but a "good" one.

"Shanghai" is set in the exotic background of China's great international city of Shanghai--the "Paris of the East"-- on the brink of Japanese takeover in the weeks leading up to Pearl Harbor. It seems to have been filmed mostly in Thailand, but with CGI and a great ensemble cast headed by John Cusack, Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li and Ken Watanabe, it convincingly recreates Shanghai in 1941. Viewers familiar with Shanghai's wonderful heritage-listed architecture in the Waitan-Bund area, and the former international concessions, will see much that they recognise.This may be the highest standard and most entertaining international movie production set in Shanghai in the inter-world war era since Spielberg's  Empire of the Sun [Blu-ray ]. It is a pity that the production could not resolve issues with the Chinese authorities, who at the last minute revoked permission to complete the production in China. It is unclear whether this was due to China's difficulties confronting historical and fictional depiction of its painful past, or some other causes. In any case, the film is listed for release in China.The success of the film in recreating an impression of old Shanghai seems to owe much to the vision of producer Mike Medavoy, who was born in Shanghai in 1941. It is a romantic spy story, based on a credible premise that people with their wits about them in Shanghai in 1941 might have picked up intelligence about Japanese intentions to attack Pearl Harbor. The premise of the plot is especially credible because, as other folk with an interest in Chinese history will know, the Imperial Japanese Navy used aircraft carriers in both the "January 28 Incident" (Shanghai War of 1932) and the "Battle of Shanghai" (Aug-Nov 1937). The city was a hotbed of international espionage through the 1930s. By odd and little-known coincidence (maybe - maybe not a coincidence), Nomura Kichisaburo - Japanese Ambassador to the US when Pearl Harbor was attacked - was an IJN admiral with a lot of Shanghai time. Nomura commanded the Japanese forces which attacked Shanghai on 28 January 1932, including the first major aircraft carrier action in the Far East.The main characters of the film, John Cusack's US Navy intelligence officer, Chow Yun-fat's Shanghai tycoon/crime boss, Gong Li as his wife and a secret Chinese resistance operative, and Ken Watanabe as an astute but conflicted Japanese counter-intelligence officer, are well cast and well played, and appear to be fictional characters drawn partly from composite historical figures. Among the strong supporting cast, Franka Potente has a cameo role as the bored and ignored wife of a German diplomat that is an interesting contrast with her well-known roles in "Run, Lola, Run" and two "Bourne" movies.The simple title, "Shanghai", for English-language release, relies on the mystique wrapped up in the location name for much of the international audience. The Chinese title is more complicated and colorful: Die Hai Fengyun 谍海风云. The characters literally mean "espionage sea wind cloud", with the second character meaning both "sea" with a hint of the naval intelligence plot, and the second character of the name of Shanghai in Chinese, and the final two characters, being a compound meaning storm, a synonym for "fast-moving situation". The Chinese movie title therefore may be freely translated, unfortunately without the layers of meaning in the Chinese, as "Shanghai Spy Thriller", "Spy Storm In Shanghai" or "Naval espionage in the city on the sea".The region A Blu-ray release by CN Entertainment is a high-quality video transfer. I found the English soundtrack level a bit low, but this was easily compensated for.

A sharp and entertaining historical thriller that concentrates on the Japanese invasion of China and the attack on the vital port of Shanghai. Cusack plays himself as usual, but when you're as effortlessly charismatic as he is then that's not in anyway detrimental. He is supported by a more than able cast and, with the exception of some dreadful CGI in the last few minutes, this is a beautiful atmospheric filmRecommended

Was ok ,about japans imminent invasion of shangai , john cusack plays an american naval officer in disguise as a journalist ,who tries to find out who killed his friend, gong li a chinese resistance,

GOOD FILM GREAT QUICK DELIVERY...

Good thriller with humour and tact.

ok