Chungking Express

This is not a review of the movie itself - this is easily one of my top films of all time - but rather a review of this particular version. There are just no English subtitles, only Japanese. I knew going forward with this purchase would be a risk as the cover art used for this print was a known Japanese exclusive, but I was more than willing to take the risk and buy it seeing that this film goes for $150+ used! Also, I had noticed that many other American distributors (Target, B&N, Best Buy, etc) had listed this film around the same time.
I consider this movie a "must see", but unless you can read Japanese or understand Chinese, this is not the way to do it. I shall sit here patiently waiting for another Criterion Collection print I suppose...

I received this Bluray dvd with great anticipation but the disc is useless for me since the captioning is Formatted/ Zoned for a different country than the USA where I live. Captioning is critical for viewing film's that are not native to a person's locale, obviously. No mention of what languages where available in captioning for this Bluray dvd.

No English subtitles. Cover art on the Bluray sent to me differs from what the Amazon website shows.

I really love this film. "CHUNGKING EXPRESS" is the ultimate pop art film that won a lot hearts when it was first released and continues to this day. And not only has the film jumpstarted the film careers of Wong Kar-wai, Christopher Doyle, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Faye Wong (despite having an awesome music career), "CHUNGKING EXPRESS" is one of those non-action Asian films that has continued to become a fan favorite for fans all over the world.

This film is now part of the Criterion Collection and when Criterion's name is on a film release, you know that you're going to get a quality release.
So, what did Criterion do for this release?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

Criterion is known to making their final masters to what the director's had in mind. In this case, presenting the director's requested aspect ratio of 1:66:1.

The new high definition transfer according to Criterion was created on a Spirit 2K Datacine from a 35 mm internegative and a 35 mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris and scratches were removed using the MTI Digital Restoration System and Pixel Farm's PF Clean. For a film that is nearly 15 years old, the goal for Criterion was not to give a crisp and clear picture but to make sure that the requested aspect ratio was successful and removing all the dirt and scratches that have plagued previous releases of the film.

Oh, and I just have to say that things that were cut out of the US VHS/DVD release are intact in this Blu-ray version. But as far as video quality goes, you will find the colors noticeable especially at the bar when you see the CD's in the jukebox spin and see the vibrant colors.

I have caught a few instances of color pulsing (due to the older print) and there were no artifacting. As for the audio, the original soundtrack was remastered by Tuu Duu-chih at 3H Sound Studios in Taipei under the supervision of Wong Kar-wai. According to Criterion, the audio restoration tools have been used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss and crackle.

The audio is what I loved about this release. While watching the film and knowing that the majority of the film is dialogue-driven and as expected during the music scenes, to hear the music really become prominent but what I didn't expect to hear, which put a smile to my face is the rear surround and hearing the people talking, the cars beeping and while the front speakers were busy with scenes such as the lady in the blonde wig with the Indian smugglers, you hear the whole life of the city come alive through the rear surround.

Suffice to say, I was quite happy to hear the audio channels used effectively in this dialogue-driven film by taking the city's ambiance and having it come alive. Well done! And for those passionate about the film, hearing the tunes of "Baroque", "California Dreamin'" and Faye Wong's cover of the popular Cranberries song ala "Dreams" is just so fun and how music, even a few songs really made this pop art film truly shine.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

In the past release, we had Quentin Tarentino's introduction to CHUNGKING EXPRESS", this time around with the Criterion release, we have the following:

* An audio commentary featuring Asian cinema critic Tony Rayns who has talked to Wong Kar-wai in regards to certain scenes and also, we learn about how Chinese culture influenced certain situations such as the use of dates and certain phrases in the film. Also, the reason why certain music was used and pretty much how commercials really influenced Wong Kar-wai for this film. A very informative commentary.
* A 1996 episode of the British television series Moving Pictures featuring interview swith Wong and cinematographer Christopher Doyle - This segment was made in 1996 thus the quality despite being in HD, is not too great. But nevertheless, it was very fun to watch this 15-minute segment and watching these interviews with Wong and Christopher. Really awesome details as the two walk into the places where the Midnight Express was shot and also the apartment actually was Doyle's apartment. Very informative.
* Then the US Theatrical trailer which was loved by American critics but unfortunately the film company didn't know how to market the film, thus it didn't do to well in America.
* A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Amy Taubin - For those familiar with Amy Taubin's work on "Sight & Sound", Taubin really gets into the film and definitely writes about the film and its characters in a unique way. Definitely an entertaing read for those who watched the movie. Do not read this booklet first if you haven't seen the film.

The Blu-ray is presented in a digibook type of case with a slip cover.

I've owned so many variations of this film already that I can't help but smile throughout the film and just seeing how beautiful it looks on Blu-ray and how good the sound quality was and hearing so many things all around me.

For those who were expecting a digital remastered version that will have a pristine, crisp and vibrant look as some older Blu-rays have managed to have, the Criterion Edition is beautiful but not spectacularly gorgeous but for those watching a Criterion release, the goal is not to change the film and change the colors.

Their goal was to present the film with the supervision of Wong Kar-wai and Christopher Doyle and how they wanted the film to be. If you watched the original DVD version or previous versions, this film has aged but with the Criterion edition, the video looks beautiful without the scratches and all the dust and looks cleaned up. Personally, I don't know if we'll see the film any better than this presentation. It's truly an awesome release on Blu-ray and absolutely love it!

I really hope that Criterion possibly considers releasing the third story via the film "Fallen Angels"on Blu-ray. Wong kar-wai created the third story for CHUNGKING EXPRESS" but because it would make the film to lengthy, he cut it out and carried it over to his next film, "Fallen Angels". So, knock on wood, I hope that Criterion considers it because the treatment they gave for "CHUNGKING EXPRESS" was well done and definitely enhanced the whole experience for me, I found it quite beautiful.

Perhaps I'm a bit biased because I enjoyed this film so much but overall, this release is solid and definitely recommended!

The Japanese import version does not have English subtitles. Be careful which version you buy.

Chungking Express is definitely one of my top five favorite movies. The insouciance and whimsy in the storytelling by Wong Kar Wai simply takes the audience to another carefree world where the only thing that really matters are friends and people. People you meet in the street, people you meet in bars, and people who give chances at becoming friends. Because at the end of the day, a good friend can take you to the end of the world and back with love.

Thanks.

I may be the only one who know this, since most people only watch their own copy of the film.

On some DVD disks, at the part where Faye tries to give Cop 663 the break-up letter from his ex-girlfriend, but he refuses because he wants to finish his coffee first, there was a shot where Cop 663 drinks the coffee in front of the counter while pedestrians walk by, and the soundtrack plays the Chinese cover of "Dreams" for the first time. However, on some disks, this shot is completely silent.

I like the version with the music in the background, but the copy I bought turns out to be a version that's silent.

I don't know if this is a glitch in production of the DVD or a variant. Maybe someone would comment on this?

Set in post-breakup No Man's Land , where everything and nothing proceeds in a half-awake haze, Movie No. 4 by the unstoppably cool Wong Kar Wai ,traps the kinetic bustle of its polyglot milieu ( i.e. Hong Kong, premillenial and agit ) on-cam , making this engaging diptych about two bachelor cops on the tailend of a jilt (Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung) and their elusive and spanking-new objects of affection (Brigitte Lin and Faye Wong), the most hyperactive movie about stasis. Part Godard, part guerilla , Wong Kar Wai is an iconoclast infatuated with the pursuit of happiness in a crumbling lifescape and "Chungking" is his most spellbindingly romantic. Despite its kinetic bustle, its traffic-blur action and its throbbing pop mantras , all HK movie standbys, "Chungking" has ,at its core, an intimate calm and wistful melancholy closer to Jim Jarmusch ("Stranger Than Paradise") than Ringo Lam. Champion date movie of any year, "Chungking Express" is a shout of psychedelic neon with the hush of a sweet nothing.