The World of Wong Kar Wai

[Chedney Honks]

WKW is not just re-releasing his films in a big cardboard box.

Out end of May in the UK via Criterion.

[zomgmouse]

They're showing the restorations of his filmography here in Australia. I've seen two before and they blew me away so I'm keen to see more. Have tickets to 2046.

[Chedney Honks]

Enjoy! Very much looking forward to a cinema release here later this year, hopefully they bother. I've only seen 2046 once so that's one I'm really excited about.

There's also a 4K boxset coming from NovaMedia (Korean label) once the current theatrical run ends. No more news on that yet but I'll definitely be picking it up, as well.

[Chedney Honks]

My WOWKW set arrived the other day, it's amusingly impractical but a beautiful object. It feels like an event just opening the bugger up but the films that I've checked so far look and sound between very good and fantastic, and it's great to have them in one place.

I don't really want to go into the fuss about WKW's decisions to tinker with some of these because the subject been exhaustively covered by so many tiresome blowhards, but for the record, I would have preferred both original and restored versions for convenience.

In practice, given that I have all the previous BD releases, it makes literally no difference to me. I'm very happy with this set and I'm glad of the opportunity to watch some slightly different takes on a wonderful collection of films. I actually prefer this ITMFL and CE to the previous Criterion releases.

It's also been really interesting to watch some WKW as an older, happier man. So much of what impacted me when I first saw these in the 2000s was that I was living a pretty unstructured, ramshackle, unadulterated kind of life. I wasn't unhappy but my days and nights were full of uncertainty, stuttering romance, misguided projects, unexpected successes and failures, new places and faces and a sense of total freedom. They were some of the most formative and memorable times of my life, and WKW is indelibly entwined with that period.

Without wanting to sound like a prick, I'm now happily married and I have a stable life. 'My character' doesn't really feature in WKW movies and so I don't associate myself quite so strongly with the protagonists or scenarios. Maybe ITMFL is the only one that hits a little harder now because I understand married life better, so there's another layer that I couldn't have felt in quite the same way before. It's sadder but also more erotic.

I'll drop in some film-by-film thoughts once I've seen them all and had chance to process it a bit.

If you're interested, it's £150 for the seven film set so a fair old whack but if you have a region free player, you can import the US version for £99 off Amazon.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

Without wanting to sound like a wong kar, I'm now happily married and I have a stable life.

Sorry.

[notjosh]

They're showing the restorations of his filmography here in Australia. I've seen two before and they blew me away so I'm keen to see more. Have tickets to 2046.

They're showing a load at the BFI in London soon, and they may well end up in other independent/art houses places around the UK.

[Inspector Norse]

Noticed that the run from Chungking Express to 2046 have popped up on MUBI here too - not sure if they're on it worldwide? Also not sure if they're the originals or the restored versions but goes without saying that if you've not seen any of his films before then don't hesitate.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Despite loving the three films I've seen by Wong Kar Wai (Chungking Express, In The Mood For Love and 2046) I've not sought out the rest of his work and have no idea why, so decided to rectify this by watching Happy Together. With a very ironic/sardonic title this sees Yiu-Fai (Tony Chiu-Wai Leung) and Po-Wing (Leslie Cheung) visit Argentina

Spoiler alert

only to split up and then reunite and then split up again, but though it's a beautifully shot film watching this couple bicker and fight for at least half the running time is tiring and bleak, and there are only very occasional moments of tenderness in amongst the glaring. When they split up the second time the final half hour becomes much more intriguing as we see more of Yiu-Fai's life outside of work and the apartment, and the relationship he has with co-worker / friend Chang (Chen Chang) but it just made me wish the film concentrated on that aspect of the story as

[close]

disregarding some beautiful cinematography I struggled to find much to like in the first two thirds of the film.

[Chedney Honks]

I totally agree, it's my least favourite of his good films. I love Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung but I just found it quite emotionally draining. Cinematography and soundtrack are fantastic, though.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I totally agree, it's my least favourite of his good films. I love Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung but I just found it quite emotionally draining. Cinematography and soundtrack are fantastic, though.

That's pleasing to hear, I did wonder if I just wasn't in the right mood for it so I'm glad I'm not alone in struggling with it, it's frustrating as like you say the cinematography and soundtrack are superb, and they kept me watching when a lesser director would have lost me, but I just wish we hadn't been subjected to quite so much of the miserable central relationship.

[Chedney Honks]

For some reassurance that it's not downhill from here, Fallen Angels and Days of Being Wild are both crackers. Fallen Angels was originally intended to be the third section of Chungking Express but it got separated off into its own thing. Pacy, sexy, actiony. DoBW is possibly closer to Happy Together in that it's a slower relationship based thing but I prefer Maggie Cheung as a romantic interest for Leslie than Tony. There's a less tempestuous and more understated eroticism. The soundtrack and the jade hue have stayed with me for nearly twenty years.

[Small Man Big Horse]

For some reassurance that it's not downhill from here, Fallen Angels and Days of Being Wild are both crackers. Fallen Angels was originally intended to be the third section of Chungking Express but it got separated off into its own thing. Pacy, sexy, actiony. DoBW is possibly closer to Happy Together in that it's a slower relationship based thing but I prefer Maggie Cheung as a romantic interest for Leslie than Tony. There's a less tempestuous and more understated eroticism. The soundtrack and the jade hue have stayed with me for nearly twenty years.

That's good to hear, I've got Fallen Angels downloaded and so will definitely watch it at some point now. Out of interest have you see My Blueberry Nights or The Grandmaster, and are they worth checking out?

[Chedney Honks]

I watched My Blueberry Nights and it put me off watching The Grandmaster. It was really terrible. I think the handover and the CCP have probably fucked HK cinema irreversibly.

[Small Man Big Horse]

That's a real shame, and won't bother with either now, I'd heard very mixed things about Blueberry and nothing at all about The Grandmaster, but due to that wasn't optimistic they'd be worth watching.

[Kermit the Frog]

The Grandmaster is excellent, a real return to form. My Blueberry Nights is obviously dogshit, but WKW is no burnout

[Chedney Honks]

Well, that'll learn me.

I certainly respect what I've read from you elsewhere, Kermit, so I'll hold my hands up and put it back on the list.

[Herbert Ashe]

I hated the Grandmaster when i saw it on cinema release, but that was the miramax edit. Felt messy and confused. Since then I've watched it twice - both times the chinese/hk release and I think it's pretty vital. It's only 20 minutes or so longer but it's got much more time to breathe, especially as i think WKW's first cut was something like 3 hours.

IIRC Weinstein version also has some added english-only title screens for exposition (rarely a good sign when it comes to US studio edits of global cinema) or to play up the peripheral Bruce Lee link.

[shagatha crustie]

Yeah good films but must he insist on those musical themes repeating so often?

Just testing whether Chedney has me on ignore.

[Chedney Honks]

Certainly not, you're in what I like to call We Happy Few.

[steveh]

WKW also has a new TV series in China, Blossoms Shanghai. Trailer: https://twitter.com/WeTVOfficial/status/1401866333738835972.