Happy Together Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Happy Together Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 27, 2021

Won Kar Wai's "Happy Together" (1997) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailer for the film and the documentary film "Buenos Aires Zero Degree". In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

In the United States, Happy Together was previously released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. For an in-depth analysis of the film, please see Casey Broadwater's review of the first release here.

Happy Together Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Happy Together arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

After the new makeover this film looks different as well. The strong yellows and to a lesser extent the different ranges of blues that are present on the previous release from Kino Lorber are either slightly adjusted or significantly toned down. Also, in select areas the reds look different. So, the entire film has a much more neutral, often but not always leaning towards cold, appearance now which is defined mostly by greenish and gray/cyan hues. If you have seen enough restoration projects that were finalized at L'Immagine Ritrovata, you will not be surprised by the change. I don't think that the end result is convincing. For example, in many darker areas the new grading choices have produced the very familiar digital flattening that affects negatively the native dynamic range of the visuals (see screencapture #16). The stylization that is part of the original cinematography certainly contributes to the notable fluctuations in clarity and density, but the new grading choices introduce other anomalies. Furthermore, like the rest of the releases in the World of Wong Kar Wai box set that I have seen to date, this release exhibits plenty of encoding anomalies that affect delineation and depth. I thought that some of them were very obvious in the areas where the flattening that is mentioned above is easy to recognize. I also think that there are different anomalies on the actual master that contribute as well, because in select sequences when the camera zooms the grain actually begins to collapse on its own but in some very unusual ways (see screencapture #10). Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks very healthy. My score is 3.25/5.00. (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).

Happy Together 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 lossless track is outstanding. I viewed the entire film with the volume on my system turned up quite a bit and thought that clarity, sharpness, depth, and balance were outstanding. On other hand, I wish to mention that I also really like the lossless track from the previous release of the film, and if I had to compare the two I most likely would not be able to separate them. The English translation is excellent.

Happy Together Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - new trailer for Happy Together. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

• Buenos Aires Zero Degree - this archival documentary previously appeared on Kino Lorber's release of Happy Together. produced by Kwan Pun-leung and Amos Lee in 1999, it chronicles the making of the film and features clips from interviews with Wong Kar Wai, Tony Leung Chui Wai, and production secretary Leticia Yeh, amongst others, as well as various deleted scenes. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles. (62 min, 1080p).
  
  1. First version
  2. Starting over
  3. Another story
  4. Going home
  5. Full stop

• 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.

Happy Together Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you still have the previous release of Happy Together that Kino Lorber produced in 2010, I would suggest that you keep it in your library because the film looks a bit more convincing on it. Some of the adjustments that were made on it for this release are good, but some are not and I think that the technical presentation should have been more convincing. This release is included in Criterion's World of Wong Kar Wai box set, which will be out next month.