think I prefer the older version for almost all of those shots

I'm still getting into WKW's filmography, but I watched an original version of Chungking Express and loved it, then watched the new restored version with some friends and thought it looked so much worse. they even made comments about the tinting and colors

now I gotta choose if I should find the older versions for all his films or use my MUBI subscription to watch all the restored versions

I'd watch the "OG's" (they're not really) for Fallen Angels and In The Mood first. The others it didn't matter much imo. There's tint changes here with others but i can't really blame them cus Doyle said that's how they were meant to look on release before DVD companies they didn't oversee added their own edits. He's for years hated the popular copy of Days of Being Wild because of this for example. In The Mood had green in theaters as well before it was taken out in the copies we began to fall in love with

The restorations are interesting and i get a lot of the hesitation but it felt more like 2020's takes on the films rather than an "update" that needs to be compared to the prior which is why I don't think the side by sides do much justice.

Fallen Angel's had the most controversial change but after seeing it i fell in love all over again. It really stands on its own and i fully understand why he tampered with the aspect ratio especially. Criterion Channel has the old ones alongside the new as well i think.

Had a professor a couple years back who always warned us that a WKW film is never finished and there's no definitive version. Not even the old blu ray versions are really the "originals" because they changed things from theatrical for a lot

Bump because i'm reading the WKW book rn and recently rewatched all of his essential work

all of his essential work? that's all his movies then right? im still yet to see the hand (i know)...i literally have it on blu ray too LOL

Don't put too much weight on ''essential'' lmao i just mean when he was on that legendary run from Chungking to Mood For Love

That's the run i think about when i think of WKW, not to discredit any of his other work because he's made some other damn fine films

I just picked this book up a couple weeks ago!

It's a dope book, have you read it already? Sorta half artbook half interviews

I’ve been travelling so haven’t had the chance to read properly, did a quick skim and it was gorgeous, was surprised by the weight & size of it.

Can someone explain this sho film thing to me? First time im hearing about Wong Kar Wai.

looks amazing

WKW will remain as one of my favs but i lost all hope of him returning to his peak that was the 90s until early 00s

I don’t think it has one bit to do with WKW himself. It has to do with the film industry. The Hong Kong film industry was more creative enabling and after the mid 2000s, it died due to Chinas authoritarianism. So him working for creative bankrupt enterprises like Hollywood and the CCP is going to have a gigantic effect on what he can even make. He’s literally had one hand behind his back creatively for the last 20 years and it’s why he barely makes anything anymore.

Post like this makes me think you’re the real Marty

I mean you partly right, but if Lynch can get funding for Twin Peaks The Return, if NWR can get funding multiple times over for a full blown miniseries etc etc it has to be possible one way or the other to get a project funded while still maintaining creative control especially if youre a certified legend with multiple classics like WKW

Even heard one time Terrence Malick has this rich guy who's his private investor but no clue if that is credible since i don't have a source on that rn and no time to look for it either

But bottom line is, it is possible, just hard. Even Jodorowsky got funding for 2 autobiographical films in the 10s and he's way more obscure and anti-industry than WKW

You gotta look at the reality though. Lynch is a legend in Hollywood. Refn may not be but he has a proven hit in Hollywood with Drive and even OGF was profitable. You’re comparing guys with massive pull in the industry (Malick knows like every A lister in the town) to a guy who’s only been able to make classics in a now dead film industry. His one film with Hollywood should tell you all about what his name means to them (absolutely nothing).

It’s certainly possible for WKW to get work and he has, but Jodorowsky, Malick, Refn, Lynch have all made classics and/or profitable films in film industries that are still well and alive. They will always have more pull than WKW for that reason.

Ehhhhh i don't know if i agree with that. NWR is basically a one hit wonder in Hollywood and that's been more than over a decade ago. His Amazon miniseries TOTDY i consider to be his best work, but it flopped SO HARD that Amazon burried the series on their own streaming service after the first week it aired WKW is an iconic name and brand in the film community, and although i agree where you're coming from he SHOULD be able to get funding. He may not be on the level of Lynch & Malick for Western audiences... but his films damn sure are a lot more accessible than the average project by said directors

I'm def not tryna make it seem like shooting a film doesn't require a whole lot of luck though, but if they can manage to get enough people behind it i don't see how WKW won't be able to if he plays his cards right

Maybe this commercial looking series will actually be a stepping stone towards him getting to a point where he's gonna be able to make something that shakes up cinema again! Let's hope

goat