On March 4 1987, Shanghai Surprise was released on home video.
The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film a 1 star rating:
“Shanghai Surprise is so dismally scripted and directed that no one could redeem it… an atmospheric, handsomely shot and, sadly, utterly empty piece of work.”
The only good that came of that experience was giving birth to Madonna’s first reinvention-a ballad named Live to Tell.