Fallen Angels Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Fallen Angels Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 5, 2021

Wong Kar Wai's "Fallen Angels" (1995) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include new Q&A session with the director; archival interview with cinematographer Christopher Doyle; deleted scenes; and new trailer. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Fallen Angels was initially released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber in 2010. For an in-depth analysis of the film, please see Casey Broadwater's review of the first release here.

Fallen Angels Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Fallen Angels arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

This film was previously released by Kino Lorber in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. (You can see our review of the first release here). I quite like it and have the first release in my library, so I was able to do plenty of comparisons.

As you can tell from the screencaptures that are provided with our review, the film has been substantially reframed while it was redone in 4K. The entire makeover was completed under the supervision of director Wong Kar Wai, but I think that the end result is seriously underwhelming because the composition of many shots and in some cases even entire sequences simply does not look right. Are the discrepancies between the 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 visuals that obvious? Yes. You don't even have to have a previous experience with the film to be able to tell that often times the visuals do not look convincing -- sometimes there is information in the peripherals that looks incomplete, and sometimes close-ups simply appear cropped. (You can see very obvious examples of problematic composition in screencaptures #1, 5, and 9). This being said, the film is heavily stylized and select sequences can create the impression that the awkward visual balance is intended, but elsewhere there are still plenty of undeniable signs pointing to missing visual information.

The color scheme is very nice and there are quite a few sequences where the lushness and overall balance of the primary colors is superior now. The most notable improvements are in areas where brightness levels are adjusted. Darker areas with plenty of shadow nuances reveal superior balance as well. There are no traces of problematic digital work. However, similar to the other releases in the World of Wong Kar Wai box set, there are compression anomalies that could have been avoided. The stylization hides them very well -- often as successfully as it did on the As Tears Go By release -- but on a larger screen select static close-ups begin to look problematic. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, I did not see any age-related imperfections to report in our review. (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).

Fallen Angels 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. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The audio is clear, sharp, and free of balance issues. I did a few quick comparisons with the lossless track from the first release of the film from Kino Lorber, but I could not hear a significant difference. Perhaps the shootout sequences a slightly more aggressive, but I am unsure if there is a meaningful difference there. The English translation is very good and different as well.

Fallen Angels Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - new trailer promoting the new aspect ratio of Fallen Angels. With optional English subtitles. (3 min, 1080p).

• Wong Kar Wai - in this new program, Wong Kar Wai answers ten questions that were submitted by fellow artists Sofia Coppola, Lisa Joy, Andre Aciman, and Laura Mulleavy, amongst others. The answers were filmed in Shanghai where the director was working on his latest project. The program was produced in 2020. In English, not subtitled. (15 min, 1080p).

• Christopher Doyle - in this archival interview, cinematographer Christopher Doyle discusses the visual style and composition of Fallen Angels. The interview was conducted in 2002. In English, not subtitled. (8 min, 1080p).

• Deleted Scenes - three deleted scenes presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, with comments from Wong Kar Wai. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles.
  
  1. Only You (9 min, 1080p).
  2. Whom You Miss (5 min, 1080p).
  3. A Beautiful Evening (4 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.

Fallen Angels Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I don't know why Wong Kar Wai felt that Fallen Angels had to be reframed. The change is substantial and, most unfortunately, unconvincing. This film has a lot of unique stylization and it is very easy to tell that Christopher Doyle was doing some very particular things that were meant for the 1.85:1 ratio, so the forced move to 2.35:1 actually alters the composition of the visuals in many unnatural ways. Needless to say, if you like the film you should try to figure out how to get a copy of the first release from Kino Lorber, which presented it in the original 1.85:1 ratio but is now out of print.