The Lady from Shanghai 4K Review: Orson Welles’ Film Noir Is Still Great

It’s always a delight when classic movies receive a 4K release. Sony’s The Lady from Shanghai 4K release brings Orson Welles‘ 1947 film noir to UHD for the first time. While it isn’t the director’s best work, it has an incredible ending, several stellar performances, and remains a fun watch (even if the plot gets a bit convoluted) nearly 80 years later.

“Murders, plot twists, and remarkable camerawork all contribute to this spellbinding, time-honored film noir written, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. Hired to work on a yacht owned by the husband of femme fatale Elsa Bannister (Rita Hayworth), Michael O’Hara (Welles) is an innocent man drawn into a dangerous web of intrigue. The Lady from Shanghai is now considered vintage Welles, with his famous hall-of-mirrors climax hailed as one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history,” says the description.

Welles stars in The Lady from Shanghai opposite Rita Hayworth, who was his wife at the time. While they were divorced by the time the film actually came out, their on-screen chemistry is strong, and Welles gives a great performance, even if his Irish accent can lead to a few unintended laughs. The film’s story takes plenty of twists as a fake murder gets planned, and it ends with an incredible courtroom sequence that leads into a hall of mirrors shootout that you’ve no doubt seen referenced in other media. It’s a movie that ends supremely strong and elevates it beyond most film noir of the time.

What’s most exciting about The Lady from Shanghai 4K release is seeing the film look this great. The camera loves Hayworth, who stuns with her short hair that was dyed blonde (which plays well in black-and-white). It looks considerably better than the prior Blu-ray release, with the black levels looking great and the film’s moody atmosphere really shining throughout.

As far as special features go, the big draw is a commentary track by filmmaker and critic Peter Bogdanovich. The Last Picture Show director knew Welles later in life and even wrote a book on him. Bogdanovich reads direct quotes from Welles on the film that came from his conversations, shares personal stories and does a wonderful job discussing what’s interesting about The Lady from Shanghai. It’s a great history lesson and one worth listening to.

The Lady from Shanghai 4K release (which comes with a digital copy via MoviesAnywhere) also has a 21-minute conversation with Bogdanovich about the film. This doesn’t have a ton of overlap with the commentary and is actually a good thing to watch first. The historian does a great job of putting this into context in Welles’ career and how an hour of the film was cut after poor test screenings. There’s also the original trailer, which is a nice touch.

The Lady from Shanghai 4K Review: Final Verdict

The Lady from Shanghai 4K release is a great pick-up for any fans of Orson Welles. Not only does the film noir look incredible in UHD, but it is still an incredibly fun watch. Some great special features cap off a really well-done release.

Disclosure: ComingSoon received product from the publisher for our The Lady from Shanghai 4K review.

Tyler Treese

Tyler Treese is ComingSoon and SuperHeroHype's Editor-in-Chief. An experienced entertainment journalist, his work can be seen at Sherdog, Fanbyte, Rock Paper Shotgun, and more. When not watching the latest movies, Treese enjoys mixed martial arts and playing with his Shiba Inu, Kota.