Wong Kar Wai - Feature Films, 1988-2007

Film at Lincoln Center and Janus Films present World of Wong Kar Wai, a retrospective of the Hong Kong master, rescheduled from its original dates in June and opening November 25 as this year’s FLC holiday series.

Contemporary cinema’s supreme rhapsodist of romantic longing, Wong Kar Wai makes mesmerizing mood pieces that swirl around themes of time, dislocation, and the yearning for human connection. Ever since exploding onto the international scene in 1994 with his third feature, Chungking Express—an art-house sensation that would become one of the defining works of the Hong Kong New Wave—Wong has been refining his signature style, marked by woozy, hallucinatory visuals (often shot in sumptuous color by frequent cinematographer Christopher Doyle); the indelible use of pop music; and elliptical editing that evokes the impressionistic haze of memory. Though he’s renowned for his sublime studies of love and its absence, Wong’s small but exquisite filmography encompasses idiosyncratic forays into science fiction, crime thrillers, and the martial arts epic, all infused with his trademark motifs and swooning style.

FLC is honored to present this career-spanning retrospective of one of the greatest auteurs working in world cinema today, with brand new restorations of some of Wong’s most dazzling films including Chungking Express, Happy Together, Fallen Angels, Ashes of Time Redux, Days of Being Wild, 2046, As Tears Go By, and a never-before-seen extended cut of The Hand, plus an expanded run of In the Mood for Love commemorating its 20th anniversary. The films open in the FLC Virtual Cinema, accessible to audiences nationwide. Visit https://virtual.filmlinc.org/ in the upcoming weeks for specific dates.

ugh, I have spent a lot of time over the last week or so thinking abt film screenings and how much I miss them and all the specific things that I love about them that home viewing lacks. I heard about this retrospective about a year ago from some film-world friends and have been VERY eagerly anticipating it and it fuckin blows this is just gonna be some VOD thing and I’m not gonna get to experience the magic of seeing these on a huge screen in a room full of ppl

like I know this is #firstworldproblems as fuck but it’s one of those little things that inexplicably hits harder than it ought to, I really miss life

on the bright side these restorations were all done by Criterion which means there is likely a Blu ray box in the works!!

Excited by Wong's missive: "I invite the audience to join me in starting afresh, as these are not the same films, and we are no longer the same audience." pic.twitter.com/6YqdSJhlrA

— Nick Newman (@Nick_Newman) December 1, 2020

most of these available tomorrow — can’t wait!

Where will they be available?

https://virtual.filmlinc.org/page/world-of-wong-kar-wai/

I hope Fallen Angels will still be available somewhere in 1:85

Hoping the bfi pick up this retrospective for London.

Really disappointed with the new Wong Kar Wai restorations @janusfilms @Criterion pic.twitter.com/hJBSVXbJHH

— jaiden (@steph_turkey) December 1, 2020

Lol

xxp I think Criterion Channel and Netflix dvd both have Fallen Angels in 1.85:1

I really liked the scene in Fallen Angels toward the end that is an appealing close-up of the killer’s agent casually eating noodles in a restaurant while ignoring (but apparently taking delight in) the violence unfurling around her

I rewatched Fallen Angels earlier this year, I think it's his coolest movie if not his best. Cool in the Godard sense, even more than Chungking Express I think it embodies that side of Wong's influences and inclinations. The other side of him is the romantic longing side, which is In the Mood for Love and Happy Together and 2046. (What both tendencies share, obviously, is noir — his real home territory.)

FALLEN ANGELS is prob my #2 fav after Chungking and also his most underrated and slept-on

It's pretty/artistic but the story is among his weakest of his acclaimed-tier films.

lmao I am completely not paying $12 each to stream these (or an incomplete $70 7-film bundle) when I could just watch these on Criterion Channel or buy the inevitable Blu-ray box 6 months from now.

also re: the damaged HAPPY TOGETHER footage, why excise it entirely instead of just subbing footage from an existing print? or is that much easier said than done?

These are great films but I agree re: price

I got nothing to do tonight so I’ll probably stream one of them but otherwise yeah, will probably wait for other venues

xxp I see subbed-in footage in restorations all the time. I haven't seen Happy Together, so maybe the footage is integral enough to make a noticeably lower quality substitution not worth it. Idk. You see it pretty frequently though, particularly with 2K and 4K restorations, and not just optical shots. Off the top of my head, there are a few long shots in Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant that are clearly from a poorer-quality print.

I think Fallen Angels has that romantic longing, the killer’s agent is completely alone throughout the movie but then suddenly meets He, a victim of the restaurant violence and the main character from the other half of the story

the idea that making a real lasting connection with another person is hard and that it would be extremely fortuitous for it to happen to anyone seems like the main theme of Wong’s movies

“I ask him to take me home. I haven't ridden pillion for a long time nor have I been this close to a man in ages. The road home isn't very long, and I know I'll be getting off soon. But at this moment, I'm feeling such lovely warmth.”

https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/4117-world-of-wong-kar-wai

lmao that sure was fast

do they not own blueberry nights

or Ashes of Time I guess

That's ok, I didn't want to own My Blueberry Nights either.

oh god blueberry nights is so terrible. i feel bad about wkw. the first film i saw by him was 2046 which i loved so much and i feel weirdly implicated in his subsequent decline/stalling

tbh i think only in the mood for love and happy together are very good but they're both so wonderful it feels like a miracle

happy together i saw at a p formative moment in my life and the cruising scenes, the romance of the flea-eaten flat with the mean ruined boyfriend. they left a mark.

in the mood for love feels subtle, rich and condensed but many of his other films feel haphazard. maybe i've just never understood his version of nouvelle vague im willing to concede that.

it does feel very condensed

You guys should I get a Blu-ray player (for this but also in general)?

I feel I may have missed the window on BR and physical media is obv on the way out and feel I should just skip it and embrace streaming and uhhh non-streaming digital formats wink wink but I also love physical media and WKW

Oh man that is super tempting
Not sure how many more times I need to watch these though

Hell of a bookshelf ornament though

You should absolutely get a blu-ray player. They are relatively affordable, I see a bunch on Amazon for $75 or less. Backwards compatible so you can save your DVDs. Physical media will never die, there will always be expensive curios like this, but the resignation with which people accept an all-streaming future seems insane to me. DVDs still look very good or great for the most part, and blu rays are cheaper than ever. These streaming platforms are not reliable. It's worth hanging onto every disc you can.

I use my Xbox as a blu ray player about half of the time

Yeah, they're all over the place. You could probably get one at Target or Best Buy or whatever for under $50. Obviously physical media has been headed for a niche since Napster, but its death is premature and exaggerated, and the only people that want it eliminated completely work for Disney and Apple and Amazon and Netflix. Fuck them!!!! Options!!!!! Also it's a film preservation issue, the myth that you can find "anything online" is going to bring about a world where you can't find anything.

im not sure how well his films have aged, though maybe now i can watch them comfortably without thinking they are all a bit too 90s. hes def overrated, or maybe he just does what he does, which is what makes him so good. always thought hed be a great music video director. did he do any? his little tic/trick of using one piece of music or one song over and over also got irritating.

"too 90s?"

He directed DJ Shadow's Six Days video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY-eyZuW_Uk

Christopher Doyle was DP of Justin's "SexyBack" video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gOHvDP_vCs

(cue arguments about how much Doyle was responsible for the textures/feel of Wong's peak filmography)

WKW went out of his way to trash Doyle when I saw him speak way back when.

(Doyle shot the "6 Days" video as well, a song/video I'd never heard of until today)

Yeah I read somewhere they had a major falling out, will need to google for more...

something I saw said they were recently working together on restorations though

I had never seen one of his movies and finally saw In the Mood for Love. I loved it. So lush, gauzy, beautiful, and sad. The way the main characters "roleplay" their spouses' affair was so subtle and conveyed their damaged feelings so well.

Maggie Cheung's dresses were incredible (especially the lime green plaid). I will now probably be unsuccessful for the rest of my life in getting my wife to buy one.

Are there any reviews of the new edits/versions anywhere?