9 Movies Shot In Shanghai
The landmarks and historical sites of Shanghai have acted like a magnet for the world's filmmakers and screenwriters. From the atmospheric old lanes to the majestic towers of Lujiazui, this picturesque city is the backdrop for various Western and Asian films. Here’s a list of the most famous films fully or partially shot in Shanghai. How many have you seen?
EMPIRE OF THE SUN (1987)
Cast: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson
This is a historical movie about a young English boy living a pampered life in the Shanghai International Settlement with his family. But after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese occupy the settlement and he is imprisoned in an interment camp. Although the Shanghai in the movie is very different from the city today, there are still lots of places which can easily be recognized in the film.
Recognisable places include the Longhua Temple, St.Ignatius Cathedral near Xujiahui and the north part of Suzhou Creek, as well as the corner of Wusong and Huangpu Lu, with the Broadway Mansions billboard in the foreground and the Russian Consulate under renovation in the distance. This movie is an absolute must-see if you want to take in Spielberg’s vision of old Shanghai.
LOOPER (2012)
Cast: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan
Directed by Rian Johnson, this movie tells the story of hit man Joe, who assassinates targets sent from the future. The loop becomes complicated when it turns out that his new target is himself. This older Joe is settled in Shanghai and has a romance with beautiful woman, who has put his life back on track. A lot of scenes were set in Shanghai, and you will see the landmarks of Pudong, tumbledown old streets and fancy sky-high bars.
SUZHOU RIVER (2002)
Cast: Zhou Xun, Jia Hongsheng
This film was directed by Lou Ye, a scandalous Chinese director who was banned from filmmaking after screening this movie at the International Film Festival Rotterdam without permission from Chinese authorities. The film itself is a more gloomy depiction of the city; it is set against the abandoned warehouses and bleak factory buildings of Suzhou Creek, giving an entirely different impression of Shanghai.
SKYFALL (2012)
Cast: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris
In this the 23rd franchise of James Bond, the investigation into an attack on MI6 leads Bond to Shanghai. This is where he walks through the giant hall of Pudong airport, fights in one of the skyscrapers in Lujiazui, and survives a gripping car chase on one of the elevated highways of the city.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3 (2006)
Cast: Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan
In the third chapter of Mission Impossible, Tom Cruise’s new task is to recover an object called “The Rabbit’s Foot”, and this leads him to Shanghai. Most of the scenes were shot in Xitang water town, but a few Shanghai landmarks like Lujiazui and Yan’an Lu are also featured.
HER (2013)
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde, Scarlett Johansson
This science-fiction movie narrates a love story between lonely writer Theodore Twombly and an intelligent computer operating system personified through a female voice. The whole action takes place in futuristic Los Angeles, but the skyscrapers of Lujiazui lured the crew to Shanghai for an additional 2 weeks of filming.
SHANGHAI CALLING (2012)
Cast: Daniel Henney, Geng Le, Zhu Zhu, Alan Ruck, Bill Paxton
Shanghai Calling is a romantic comedy about American expats living in China. A New York attorney is sent to Shanghai on business, but soon stumbles into a legal mess that spells the end of his career. He enlists the help of his relocation specialist and a few other expats to try to save his job, and discovers all the wonders Shanghai has to offer in the process.
FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER (2007)
Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans
In this sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four, the team of heroes discovers that there are other superpower beings in the universe when they have to fight against the powerful Silver Surfer and a cosmic entity Galactus. The movie has 14 different filming locations around the world, and Shanghai with its futuristic Pearl Tower couldn’t be missed.
PHANTOM OF THE THEATRE (2016)
Cast: Ruby Lin, Tony Yang, Simon Yam, Huang Lei
Phantom of the Theatre is a new Chinese-Hong Kong thriller telling the story of a haunted theatre, which is filled with the vengeful spirits of a troupe murdered in a fire 13 years ago. They wait for the playhouse to be re-opened, when new victims will be brought onto the stage… Set in 1930s Shanghai, the film represents the bourgeois charm and prosperity of a city at its peak.