WONG KAR-WAI

Started by Rudie Obias, March 01, 2003, 11:37:52 PM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

citizenaniki

WKW is one of the greatest director's of our time IMO.  I saw Fallen Angels a few years ago and absolutely loved it.  \
My favorites in order:

1.Fallen Angels
2.Chungking Express
3.ITMFL
4.Days of Being Wild
5.Happy Together
6.As Tears Go By
7.Ashes of Time

sadly Ashes of Time is at the bottom due to the fact that their are no decent releases of this film on dvd w/eng subs.  The Mei Ah version has the damn double subs (eng/chi) and the World Video version may be up their ranking as one of the worst discs of all-time.

I recently purchased a documentary on Happy Together which has some great stories and interviews with WKW, Chris Doyle and the cast.  Very informative and also helps show you how often WKW changes his mind during filming which is probably why all of his movies seem to take so long now-a-days.

grand theft sparrow

Can anyone tell me what format(s) Days of Being Wild and As Tears Go By are available in in the US?  Are they available in the US?  And are they worth looking for/spending lots of money to acquire?  

I've loved everything Wong has done from Chungking Express to present (that BMW film he did was my favorite of those) but I couldn't get into Ashes of Time (maybe it was my mood that day).  How do the other two compare to his later works?

LostEraser

Has anyone heard any advanced reviews of 2046. I'm really looking forward to this film but I'm a little worried now that it didn't win anything at Cannes. Especially since Tarantino was head of the Jury.
Capra tells us that, in effect, love's dreams are only dreams and that they will never quite bear translation into practical forms of relationship and expression. They will never be realized in the world but only in our consciousness and in our most daring and glorious works of art - but that, for Capra, is no reason to abandon love's dreams.
--Ray Carney, American Vision: The Films Of Frank Capra

Gold Trumpet

Quote from: LostEraserHas anyone heard any advanced reviews of 2046. I'm really looking forward to this film but I'm a little worried now that it didn't win anything at Cannes. Especially since Tarantino was head of the Jury.

Ebert said it was dissapointing, as did his IFC co host on the closing ceremonies, Annette Isdborff (sp?). I haven't heard any reviews, but yea, with Tarantino as President, first word isn't that good.

SoNowThen

I usually defend him, but Ebert's been on a real shitty downhill slide taste-wise the last two years.

Keep in mind this movie didn't have all its effects finished, probably wasn't fully color-timed, etc etc. Or maybe it sucked. Or maybe it wasn't political/leftist enough.
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

SHAFTR

I was actually looking for reviews today on the film.  Here is about the only thing I found (atleast from a respectable source)

http://film.guardian.co.uk/cannes2004/story/0,14498,1221756,00.html
"Talking shit about a pretty sunset
Blanketing opinions that i'll probably regret soon"

ono

Remember, though, he was rushing to finish the film to get it to even be screened at Cannes in the first place.  Maybe it was a rough cut, and that's what was so disappointing about it.  I hope so, as the premise sure sounded promising, and what I've seen of In the mood for love was great as well.


grand theft sparrow

Quote from: The Gold TrumpetEbert said it was dissapointing

But if you look up Ebert's Chicago Sun Times reviews of Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, and In the Mood For Love, he gives them all 3 stars but he doesn't appear to be particularly jazzed about Wong's work to begin with.

At least not as jazzed as he should be, considering that he gave "Back to the Beach" 3 1/2 stars (I guess it had enough political/leftist rhetoric to curry favor with Ebert, right, SNT?   :wink: )

LostEraser

Yea, but Tarantino loves Wong Kar Wai and he didn't give 2046 anything at cannes. that's what has me worried.
Capra tells us that, in effect, love's dreams are only dreams and that they will never quite bear translation into practical forms of relationship and expression. They will never be realized in the world but only in our consciousness and in our most daring and glorious works of art - but that, for Capra, is no reason to abandon love's dreams.
--Ray Carney, American Vision: The Films Of Frank Capra

grand theft sparrow

Quote from: LostEraserYea, but Tarantino loves Wong Kar Wai and he didn't give 2046 anything at cannes. that's what has me worried.

Very true and I'm concerned as well because of that.  But I can't fathom a "bad" Wong Kar Wai film.  He seems to know what he wants so well that if it's disappointing, even to his fans, (to paraphrase Soderbergh in Schizopolis) it's probably our fault, not his.  

I'm sure that the Cannes cut will be retooled until about 5 minutes before it is distributed, not because of the lukewarm reception but because Wong was going to recut it anyway.  It sounds like he rushed this print out just to get people to shut up about him taking until 2046 to finish it.  According to imdb, it's coming out in Finland in August, the UK in October and Germany in January.  I don't know how much time is mandatory between locking the print and its release anywhere but, assuming he intends to make that August release date, he has some time to tweak it more, if that's his intent.

This post is brought to you by my denial that Wong Kar Wai might actually have made a bad flick.

Also, I don't know what I was thinking the day that I posted that the BMW film he did was my favorite of his work.  That's just not true.  Fallen Angels is, hands down.

LostEraser

My friend was telling me that Wong Kar Wai kept re editing his film during the actual festival and had to re schedule his showing twice during it which, of course, is unheard of at cannes. It eventually ended up being one of the last films played. Does anyone know if this is true? He says he thinks this is maybe why it didn't win anything. Maybe some members of the jury felt bitter about all that. Also, I guess even if Tarantino loved the film all the memebers of the Jury have to agree, right? So I guess if he couldn't convince them it was a good film then that's that. I'd be curious what he thought of it though since he's always been such a great Kar Wai supporter. I can't wait to see the final cut.
Capra tells us that, in effect, love's dreams are only dreams and that they will never quite bear translation into practical forms of relationship and expression. They will never be realized in the world but only in our consciousness and in our most daring and glorious works of art - but that, for Capra, is no reason to abandon love's dreams.
--Ray Carney, American Vision: The Films Of Frank Capra

rustinglass

I think I heard Tarantino say that if there was a prize for cinematography, that maybe 2046 would get it, maybe not.
I am however excited about Old boy, I saw some clips and it looks bloody sweet.
"In Serbia a lot of people hate me because they want to westernise, not understanding that the western world is bipolar, with very good things and very bad things. Since they don't have experience of the west, they even believe that western shit is pie."
-Emir Kusturica

foray

If you like In The Mood For Love, you *may* like Springtime In A Small Town. Admittedly, it's a notch below the Wong Kar Wai movie but it shares the same cinematographer and the story's similar. It's one of those films where the cinematography informs us of the psychological state of the characters. Some may find this one moves too slowly though but there are some bits in it that's good.

foray
touch me i'm sick

MacGuffin

Kino International Picks up Four for Fall/Winter Release
Source: indieWIRE

Kino International padded its theatrical line-up for this coming autumn and winter with the announcement of four acquisitions Friday. New York-based Kino will release Korean director E J-Yong's "Untold Story," Wong Kar-wai's "Days of Being Wild," Manoel de Oliveira's "A Talking Picture," and Israeli doc "Watermarks" by Yaron Zilberman. "Watermarks" is slated for a February, 2005 release, while the others will open in New York throughout the fall. Kino has all rights to the films, except cable rights for "A Talking Picture" (Sundance Channel), and "Watermarks" (HBO/Cinemax).

Wong Kar-wai's 1991 film, "Days of Being Wild," which premiered in the U.S. at New Directors/New Films in 1991, has been rarely seen in the states. The film is set in 1960s Hong Kong, and shot by Christopher Doyle ("Hero," "In the Mood for Love"), the first of several collaborations between Doyle and Wong. "Wild" also introduced actress Maggie Cheung ("In the Mood for Love," "2046") to many audiences, and also features the late Leslie Cheung ("Happy Together," "Farewell My Concubine"). Kino describes the feature as "the first of several masterpieces of unattainable love." The film will open New York's Film Forum November 19th.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks