In the Mood for Love (2000 Film) [SOUNDTRACK]

Various Artists - Soundtracks (Artist), Umebayshi Shigeru (Performer), Michael Galasso (Performer), Nat King Cole (Performer), Deng Bai Ying (Performer), Zhou Xuan (Performer), Rebecca Pan (Performer), Tan Xin Pei (Performer), Zhang Yun Xian & Hou Li Jun (Performer), Zheng Jun Mian & Li Hang (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Umebayshi Shigeru, Michael Galasso, Nat King Cole, Deng Bai Ying, Zhou Xuan, et al.
• Audio CD (November 6, 2000)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Higher Octave OmTown
• ASIN: B000050G51
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #46,707 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Soundtracks are a mixed bag at best. Some are little more than an assortment of pieces, but others hang together effectively on their own, like this one. The idea of Chinese music--both popular and operatic--juxtaposed with the sounds of Nat King Cole performing Latin music might seem bizarre, but it works beautifully, sustaining a lush, romantic mood created both by the strings and the '40s Chinese music, itself a tinkling Hollywood pastiche. But as atmospheric as all this is, one track stands out above the others: "Blue," actually a version of the classic "St. James' Infirmary," takes on another dimension in Chinese hands. While familiar but completely alien at the same time, the slithering Asian sonorities mesh perfectly with the African-American form to create something evocative but with a sadness that goes beyond blues. The movie is of a time and place; the soundtrack is of a mood and yearning. Listen at night, with someone you love close by. --Chris Nickson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique East-meet-West scores, beautiful in a despairing way, March 23, 2003

By	Matthew M. Yau "Voracious reader" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The soundtrack is not only magnificient but significant, in the way it suggests the mood and aides in the story-telling. The film itself de-emphasizes almost all externalities including any supporting actors and actresses. Instead the music scores and the lush palette of colors take the important role of telling the stroy, suggesting the possible coming. Not too lengthy for a soundtrack, but the 40 minutes of music fill with a sense of blues, despair, nostalgia, and exoticism. The soundtrack begins with Yumeji's Theme, as a reviewer has previously noted, this piece written by Umebayashi Shigeru was originally used in a Seijun Suzuki film called "Yumeji" barely seen outside of Asia. What makes this soundtrack unique is the audacious juxtaposition of '40s Chinese music with Nat King Cole's portugaese legendaries. Zhou Xuan's "Ha yang de nien hua" brings back memories of the legendary diva who dominated the Shanghai music scenes more than 80 years ago. The piece tags perfectly into the mixed feelings of the characters: fidelity and decency will not allow them to have an affai no matter how intimate their bond has been. Nat King Cole's Quizás, Quizás, Quizás [Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps] is my favorite and it fits perfectly into the yearning mood of the film. "Perhaps he works late just like he tells me." "Perhaps she forgets to call me." "Perhaps we can have an affair" "Perhaps..." The soundtrack closes out with yet another beautifully done piece--Angkor Wat Theme Finale. At first I thought the movie DVD will be sufficient to capture all the scores and music pieces and yet I was mistaken. Only "Quizás, Quizás, Quizás" could be heard in full length in movie while almost all the other pieces were cut short and faded out. The tiptoeing movie theme "In the Mood for Love" is available in three cuts. If you like the music from the movie, you have to get this soundtrack. The movie experience will never be complete without the soundtrack. 4.3 stars.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Super-Romantic Film; Even Better Soundtrack, November 11, 2001

By	TUCO H. "H. TUCO" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This is the first truly great Wong Kar-Wai film, in that he doesn't need a gun or martial arts or even sex to express himself magnificently. This is his stab into Antonioni territory by way of Scorsese-Taxi-Driver era slow-mo editing. The Romanticism isn't some bizarre subjective comic-book romanticism like in Chung-King Express or Fallen Angels, but something deeply painful and alienated and constratined by tradition, directly from the real world, again harking back to classic Antonioni films like "Red Desert." Wong doesn't really take us into the individuation of his characters too much, but then Wong has some way to go before he can say as much with his 'restraint' as Antonioni did with his.

The Soundtrack is 40 minutes of the most incredibly varied, sublimely beautiful music, MOST OF WHICH IS BARELY HEARD IN THE FILM. That's why If you think that by buying the DVD you'll get the soundtrack too, you're wrong. There's plenty more here. The 3 legendary Nat King Cole (in Spanish) tracks (many more unbelievable tracks are available on the original 16 Exitos on Capitol), the beautiful East-meets-West classical "Yumeji's Theme" by Umebayashi Shigeru (originally used in a Seijun Suzuki film called "Yumeji" barely see in the West), and the other magnificent east-meets-west classical pieces by Micheal Galasso are just the beginning; in between are sandwiced sublimely bizarre and beautiful rare Chinese pop & ethnic tracks that no one in the west has ever heard! This is the best soundtrack I've heard since "Apocalypse Now," and "Rumble Fish." Get it today!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sensual pleasure, October 8, 2001

By	G.S. "Catwoman" (Israel) - See all my reviews

Ever felt alone in the night, blue and gray weather outside, smoking, slowly sipping your coffee, staring at the window? Just wishing to have the right music to listen to? This is the soundtrack for your feelings. Sultry, Warm, passionate and so elegant. A real winter music.
The most elegant of all Kar-wai Wong films soundtracks.
A cool atmosphere CD with brilliant mixing between western music (Nat King Cole) and modern east sounds.
Won't let you down.