Chungking Express Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Chungking Express Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 18, 2021

Wong Kar Wai's "Chungking Express" (1994) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include new trailer for the recent restoration of the film; an episode of the British television series Moving Pictures; deleted scenes; and archival program with cinemtographer Christopher Doyle. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

A lonely cop (Takeshi Kaneshiro, Perhaps Love, House of Flying Daggers) is wandering the neon-lit streets of Hong Kong. He is heartbroken, sad, and unable to connect with the people around him. His loved one (Valerie Chow, Red Zone) has left him and life has suddenly become pointless. So, to numb the pain, the cop decides to fall in love again as quickly as possible.

A blond woman (Brigitte Lin, Warriors from the Magic Mountain, Ashes of Time) with thick dark glasses hires a group of Indians to transport a large amount of drugs for her. After she pays each of the Indians a hefty chunk of money, the woman takes them to a local tailor. There they are given new clothes, while the drugs are hidden in their personal belongings. When the time comes for the Indians to serve their part of the deal, they disappear. Devastated and jaded, the woman heads to a local bar where she encounters a funny-talking cop.

A second cop (Tony Leung, In the Mood for Love, Lust, Caution) is also struggling to overcome the loss of a loved one. He often dines at a fast-food restaurant where one of the workers, a beautiful girl (Faye Wang, Okinawa Rendez-vous, 2046) addicted to music, falls for him. The cop, however, is unaware. Eventually, the girl manages to get a key for his apartment and starts visiting it while the cop is at work. Slowly but surely, the apartment begins to look cleaner, better organized, and friendlier, while the cop begins to question his sanity.

Mixing humor, drama and romance to perfection, Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express could be a difficult film to like if one isn’t particularly impressed by the stylistic preferences of its director. It is a moody, episodic, and focused on detail film whose narrative is practically unimportant. In other words, this is a film that focuses heavily on moods and feelings. Unsurprisingly, its two stories come to an end without providing a conclusive resolution.

Christopher Doyle (Fallen Angels, Happy Together) and Lau Wai-Keung's (Infernal Affairs) lensing provides the film with a very unique look. In the beginning of each story the camera follows the main protagonists from afar, then gradually comes closer, and finally befriends them. The camera moves are also tied to the manner in which color is utilized throughout the entire film. Naturally, even many seemingly casual sequences can look quite extraordinary.

The flm also boasts a very unusual soundtrack -- a wonderful mix of traditional Asian and lush ambient tracks (the sax-theme is truly one of the most beautiful pieces I have ever heard) -- courtesy of Frankie Chan, Michael Galasso, and Roel A. García. The Mamas and the Papas' classic hit "California Dreaming" is used as the film's leitmotif as well.

*In 1995, Chungking Express won four Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Director (Wong Kar Wai) and Best Actor (Tony Leung), as well as the Film of Merit award granted by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.

Chungking Express Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Chungking Express arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

If you follow Criterion's output closely, you know that the label entered the high-definition market with this Blu-ray release in 2008. It was thirteen years ago. So, this release is sourced from a new 4K restoration of the film that was supervised and approved by Wong Kar Wai. The presentation does not disappoint, but it is not the convincing makeover that the film deserves. So, below I am going to list the good and bad so that it is perfectly clear where the new release excels and where it does not.

The Good -- I still have the first release in my library and was able to perform plenty of direct comparisons. As I expected, the 4K restoration produces superior density levels and the upgrade is easily noticeable everywhere. This means indoor footage, outdoor footage, nighttime and daylight footage. If you have a big screen or project, you will immediately appreciate the difference. Delineation is improved as well, but there are some fluctuations. A few are introduced by the original cinematography, but there are some that are not. Clarity looks very, very good, but it could have been better as well. (I will address both below). Image stability is superior. The entire film looks much tighter and healthier. So, most of the basic characteristics that we address in our reviews are solid.

The Bad -- There are different but very familiar anomalies that were introduced when the 4K restoration was color-graded. For example, the majority of the primaries look quite similar to the ones from the previous release, but in different places whites, reds, and greens are compromised with that typical prominent yellow(ish) hue that usually changes the native identity of projects that are finalized at L'Immagine Ritrovata. There are a couple of areas where the color shift is very obvious and, more importantly, very unnatural. Why? Because it destabilizes the native dynamic range of the film (see screencapture #19). So, instead of looking better detailed and balanced these areas look flatter. Because of the color adjustments and shifts in the dynamic range, the entire film tends to look darker as well, revealing entire ranges of crushed nuances. So, as odd as it may sound, in different areas the older release reveals better nuances.

As you can tell, there is an unfortunate trade-off. You will see some very meaningful improvements because of the superior density levels and overall healthier visuals. However, yet again a problematic color-grading job has destabilized the native dynamic range of the film. This is still one of the better looking restorations in the World of Wong Kar Wai box set, but I found it rather underwhelming. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

* I have included a few screencaptures from the old release of Chungking Express. They can be seen after the menu shots.

Chungking Express Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio sounds very, very healthy. I had the volume turned up quite a lot because I think that the soundtrack is a minor masterpiece and was quite impressed with the quality of the audio. If you listen to -- and test -- the sax solos during the hotel footage, for instance, it becomes quite clear that the audio was redone. (The sequence is around the 00.34.49 mark). The dialog is very clear, clean, stable, and easy to follow. The English subtitles are different in size as well.

Chungking Express Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - new trailer for the recent 4K restoration of Chungking Express. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Moving Pictures - presented here is an archival episode of the British television series Moving Pictures in which Wong Kar Wai and cinematographer Christopher Doyle discuss their professional relationship and work. The episode was broadcast in 1996. In English, not subtitled. (13 min, 1080i).

• Deleted Scenes - three deleted scenes with comments by Wong Kar Wai. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles.
  
  1. The Star (7 min, 1080p).
  2. California Dreaming (6 min, 1080p).
  3. Baroque (4 min, 1080p).

• Christopher Doyle - in this archival interview, Christopher Doyle discusses his involvement with Chungking Express, some of the locations where the film was shot, and Wong Kai Wai's cinematic style. The interview was filmed in 2002. In Cantonese and English, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (11 min, 1080p).

• Book - a perfect-bound, French-fold book featuring lavish photography, an essay by critic John Powers, a director's note, and six collectible art prints, as well as technical credits.

Chungking Express Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I recently received the upcoming World of Wong Kar Wai box set and I think that it is a thing of beauty. It is very nicely designed, very stylish, and really quite original. You can immediately tell that the folks at Criterion put a lot of hard work in it to make sure that it looks right. I wish they were also in charge with the restorations of the films in the box set because they would have done them right. I know that the changes that were made on them were endorsed by Wong Kar Wai, but deep inside I believe that at some point he was misled to believe that they were fine. Anyhow, the restoration that was prepared for Chungking Express looks mostly good, but it is not the definitive makeover that it should have been. If you have Criterion's first release of the film from 2008, keep it because the audio commentary with Tony Rayns that is on it isn't included on this release. RECOMMENDED.