MovieChat Forums > The Lady from Shanghai (1948) Discussion > Scene in Chinese puppet theater

Scene in Chinese puppet theater

posted 19 years ago by svengali12
23 replies | jump to latest

I just saw this movie tonight and i'm haunted by one thing. The whole scene with Orson Welles in that theater with rita heyworth reminded me of something that was an exact replica of it. I am positive that there is a fairly modern movie possibly with tom cruise where they basically replicate the scene to the T with the exception that it is in color. I looked at the movie connections page and it isn't there. I know that i can't be making this up cause i knew what was going to happen in advance when i saw the beginning of the scene in terms of the end with the police and welles embracing heyworth to not be seen. WHAT MOVIE AM I THINKING OF???

[–] redkanary 19 years ago

Gangs of New York?

[–] sefskillz 19 years ago

the scene with the mirrors and everything? that's also in woody allen's manhatten murder mystery

[–] fondablaster 19 years ago

Perhaps it reminds you of the ending of "Twelve Monkeys" with Bruce Willis and Madeline Stow?

"Don't take any guff from these f *cking swine." Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

[–] WarpedRecord 15 years ago

Woody uses it to hilarious effect in "Manhattan Murder Mystery," where the characters in that film are caught in a mirror maze while "The Lady From Shanghai" plays on the big screen.

[–] AppleJax 19 years ago

I don't know what movie you're talking about, but that scene is bloody amazing!

So eerie, yet so thrilling.

"Keep Ted Turner and his goddamned Crayolas away from my movie."--Welles

[–] 19 years ago

[deleted]

[–] chrisengelking 17 years ago

Sergeo Leone's "Once Upon A Time In America" -- Chinese puppet theatre/opium den sequence in the openning of the film.

This outrage I have suffered today will not be soon forgotten.

[–] Jabbapop 16 years ago

In fight club, brad pitt and helena bonham carter embrace to avoid the police who are going to her apartment to investigate her suicide attempt.

i also remember a similar thing in another movie, where two characters are handcuffed together and they wear a coat over it to hide the fact, and at one point i think they embrace in a similar fashion as well.

[–] greenbanzanas 12 years ago

Hitchcock's Sabotage?

[–] jerrythephd 8 years ago

The Thirty-Nine Steps (1934)

[–] bertverwoerd 9 years ago

Interestingly, in that same Fight Club scene, Brad Pitt has to keep Helena awake "aaaall night" because she took too many sleeping pills and would die if she nodded off. I figured Fight Club therefore makes two very solid nods to this movie. :)

[–] Felonious-Punk 15 years ago

I thought of

John Curran's "Painted Veil" (2006) (with Naomi Watts, Ed Norton, Liev Schreiber)

when I saw that "Chinese play" scene.

[–] waltrips 14 years ago

So, is this movie the first use of the old "Hall of Mirrors" gimmick?

[–] Felonious-Punk 14 years ago

Cool question! even though "gimmick" sounds a little condescending. The way I think of the mirror scene is one in a long line of artists playing with the possibilities of mirrors, going back at least as far as Rennaissance painters like Velazquez, Veronese, and Titian.

But the earliest notable use of mirrors in movies that I can think of is in Chaplin's "The Circus" (1928). It's breathtaking!

[–] waltrips 14 years ago

Thanks for the answer. I'll be sure to look it up. I didn't mean to sound condescending. I was going to use "cliche" or "routine", perhaps "scenario" would've been better.

[–] Felonious-Punk 14 years ago

Nice! I like "scenario". I think I'll start using that myself.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Cali7 13 years ago

To the Original Poster: Ok, this is a little far-fetched, but you mentioned Tom Cruise and I immediately thought of a scene from "The Firm." It's similar to the scene between Welles and Hayworth in "The Lady from Shanghai" in that Cruise holds his female star (played by Jean Tripplehorn) close while revealing a secret that he doesn't want the (SPOILER ALERT) spying members of his law firm to hear. Not really an exact reproduction of the scene from "Shanghai," but definitely close to it.

[–] geoffrey-jackson 12 years ago

When I saw that scene I immediately thought of Once Upon a Time in America (1984) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087843/.