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| Chungking Express - Criterion Collection | 
 enlarge | Director: Wong Kar-wai
Actors: Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Faye Wong
Studio: Criterion Collection
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $28.35
You Save: $11.60 (29%)
New (38) Used (6) from $28.30
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 11774
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: Cantonese (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 102
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: IMEDCC1774D
UPC: 715515033220
EAN: 0715515033220
ASIN: B001EOQCK8
Theatrical Release Date: 1994
Release Date: November 25, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Two heartsick hong kong cops both jilted by ex-lovers cross paths at the midnight express takeout restaurant stand where the ethereal pixie waitress faye works. Studio: Image Entertainment Release Date: 11/25/2008 Starring: Tony Leung Takeshi Kaneshiro Run time: 102 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Wong Kar-wai
Amazon.com
Chungking Express tells two stories loosely connected by a Hong Kong snack bar. In one story, a cop who's been recently dumped by his girlfriend becomes obsessed with the expiration dates on cans of pineapple; he's constantly distracted as he tries to track down a drug dealer in a blond wig (played by Brigitte Lin, best known from Swordsman II and The Bride with White Hair). Meanwhile, another cop who's recently been dumped by his girlfriend (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, from John Woo's Hard-Boiled and A Bullet in the Head) mopes around his apartment, talking to his sponge and other domestic objects. He catches the eye of a shop girl (Hong Kong pop star Faye Wang) who secretly breaks in and cleans his apartment. If you're beginning to suspect that neither of these stories has a conventional plot, you're correct. What Chungking Express does have is loads of energy and a gorgeous visual style that never gets in the way of engaging with the charming characters. The movie was shot on the fly by hip director Wong Kar-Wai (Happy Together, Ashes of Time), using only available lighting and found locations. The movie's loose, improvisational feel is closer to Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless than any recent film--and that's high praise. Quirky, funny, and extremely engaging, Chungking Express manages to be experimental and completely accessible at the same time. --Bret Fetzer
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| Customer Reviews:
 A beautiful film with two stories. December 6, 2008
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.
Chunking Express, known in Cantonese as Chung Hing sam lam, or "Chunking Jungle" contains two stories about Hong Kong police officers. In the first story, a cop meets a woman who is heroin smuggler and in the second film a cop meets and socializes with a female clerk and an open all night sandwich shop.
The film is directed by Wong Kar Wai and was originally released by Criterion on laserdisc back in the mid 1990's. The film also has some great music including the Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreamin'" and a Cantonese language cover of the Cranberries' song, "Dreams" by Faye Wong who also acted in the film.
The DVD also includes scenes from an episode of the BBC series "Moving Pictures" with interviews of Wong Kar Wai and Christopher Doyle. There is also the US theatrical trailer and feature length audion commentary by Tony Rayns.
This is a great film which I highly recommend.
 things like this make me mad December 1, 2008
1 out of 13 found this review helpful
Criterion has all these great films sitting around begging for a release... why are they wasting time on films like this and Bottle Rocket, which have already been released on other labels for cheaper? Okay okay, they can add documentaries, director-approved transfers, better color, etc., but god damn it, why not release Pressburger & Powell's A Matter of Life and Death, or Godard's My Life to Live instead? It's not just Criterion, everyone prefers to rerelease stuff already out in "better" versions rather than give us the stuff that's just sitting on the shelf for ten years that no one has seen. Urgh! Anyway, I don't like Wong Kar Wai, I think he's overrated and between the grinding repetition of the Mamas and Papas song, the cheap flash of the "action" color blurred still montages, and the binge eating (don't tell me you ate four caeser's salads in a row from room service, that's expensive AND disgusting) I can't even think of this movie without getting nauseous. Still, some people like Wong Kar-Wai and that's fine.
Overpriced... but mindblowing transfer November 27, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Like Days of Heaven and Rushmore before it, the single-disc Chungking Express is questionably priced at $39.99 MSRP. However, I'd say the transfer alone warrants shelling out the extra bucks. Wong Kar Wai and Christopher Doyle were two artists WAY ahead of their time in 1994, and this is evidenced by the gloriously futuristic look of these images. Greens, blues, reds, whites... they all melt by in a dizzying, kaleidoscopic rush. Fourteen years later, I still have not seen anything that comes close to this pair's work in the mid-90s. I should also mention that the 5.1 soundtrack is tops, and hearing the scratchy opening notes of "California Dreamin" becomes somewhat of a transcendent moment here.
The "Moving Pictures" extra is amusing mostly because it features a seemingly inebriated Doyle prancing about while WKW looks serious.
Criterion is the best DVD company in the world because they *understand* the films they release. Buy this edition if you're a fan of the movie... you will fall in love with it all over again.
Great movie, sadly lacking in the extras department. November 24, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
For such a popular and highly regarded film, it is sadly lacking in the extras department. There is an audio commentary by Asian cinema critic Tony Rayns. He starts things off by talking about the origins of the film's title. He points out that both stories pair a veteran Chinese actor with a relative newcomer. Rayns touches upon Wong's multicultural background and how it informed the film. The critic also provides a brief biographical sketch of the filmmaker and how he to the point in his career where he made Chungking Express. Rayns also defends the film against the criticism that it is all style, like some sort of MTV music video. This is a very informative track with loads of production details that fans of the film should enjoy.
"Moving Pictures" features an excerpt from this British television series which takes a look at the films of Wong Kar-Wai. He and cinematographer Christopher Doyle take us on a guided tour of the Chungking Express' key locations with Doyle cheekily re-enacting a couple of memorable moments from the film. This is a brief yet fascinating look at his films and filmmaking philosophy as well as a nice snapshot of where he and Doyle were at back in 1996.
Finally, there is a theatrical trailer.
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