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Shadows

Shadows

Drama · 1960

The relationship between Lelia, a light-skinned black woman, and Tony, a white man is put in jeopardy when Tony meets Lelia’s darker-skinned jazz singer brother, Hugh, and discovers that her racial heritage is not what he thought it was.

Movie details

Shadows

“A film not to be missed.”

1960 Drama 1h 27m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

The relationship between Lelia, a light-skinned black woman, and Tony, a white man is put in jeopardy when Tony meets Lelia’s darker-skinned jazz singer brother, Hugh, and discovers that her racial heritage is not what he thought it was.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Shadows?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Cassavetes

Written by

John Cassavetes

B

Ben Carruthers

Ben

Lelia Goldoni

Lelia Goldoni

Lelia

Hugh Hurd

Hugh Hurd

Hugh

Anthony Ray

Anthony Ray

Tony

D

Dennis Sallas

Dennis

Tom Reese

Tom Reese

Tom

D

David Pokitillow

David

Court is in session

Put Shadows on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.