 "Street Angel" is now considered a vivid portrait of Shanghai street life in the 1930s, "capturing the earthy energy and wild collective mood swings" that existed in Shanghai culture prior to the onset of the Second Sino-Japanese War.This landmark work that male lead Zhao Dan described as "'a film about the lowest strata of society in Shanghai” has now become one of the classics of the "leftist" filmmaking period in China, which reached its peak in the 1930s.In 2005, "Street Angel" was selected as one of the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures by the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards, ranked 11th.