Where to watch in United States
Checked October 11, 2026
Only for rent or purchase in United States at the moment.
Available in 1 other country Rent or buy only
Links to services may earn us a commission. Prices and catalogs change often, so check the service before you pay. Data from JustWatch via TMDB.
Is this offer wrong?
Tell us what does not match and we will re-check this title first.
Availability history in United States
Last checked
On 4 services when we started tracking Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Fandango At Home
We re-check popular and new titles several times a day and log every change. See what is new in United States
Overview
Beijing, 1902: an enterprising young portrait photographer named Liu Jinglun, keen on new technology, befriends a newly-arrived Englishman who's brought projector, camera, and Lumière-brothers' shorts to open the Shadow Magic theater. Liu's work with Wallace brings him conflict with tradition and his father's authority, complicated by his falling in love with Ling, daughter of Lord Tan, star of Beijing's traditional opera. Liu sees movies as his chance to become wealthy and worthy of Ling. When the Shadow Magic pair are invited to show the films to the Empress Dowager, things look good. But, is disaster in the script? And, can movies preserve tradition even as they bring change?
Cast
Jared HarrisRaymond
Xia YuLiu Jing Lun
Liu PeiqiMaster Ren
Lü LipingMadame Ren
Yufei XingTan Xiaoling
Jingming WangLao Liu
Li YushengLord Tan
Yukui ZhangLao Chang
Chen ChuangMi Hu- Qi MuJewelry Tower
Fang QingzhuoWidow Jiang
Li BinEmpress Ci Xi- Zhang KangHai Kuan
- Song Wen-HuaSan Boro
- Chen XueyinChief Eunich
- Wang LidaHead Employee
- Zhang XunShowcase Lee
- Yang Fu SenString Master
If you like Shadow Magic
+7 
+6 
+1 
+6 
Ratings and comments
Log in to rate this title and join the conversation.
Log inNo comments yet. Share the first thought.
Report a problem
Tell us what is wrong and we'll check it. Thanks for helping keep Watchvoy accurate.