4 posts tagged “wong kar wai”
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You probably know that I'm a huge movie collector and generally love what Criterion is doing (see some of my Criterion DVDs). I was thrilled to see that Criterion finally decided to release their movies on bluray that I picked up one of my favorite movies, Chungking Express (1994) (重慶森林), without reading any reviews on it.
Sad to say, I'm fairly disappointed in this release. There's practically no special features, unlike the packed features of Wong Kar-Wai's other Criterion release, In the Mood for Love (2000).
I was also disappointed in the transfer, although a vast improvement over the Rolling Thunders DVD (which I also own), it doesn't look quite as sharp and clear like other blurays I own (particularly compared to the 1962 How the West Was Won). I suspect it has to do with the source material... still the colors are very vibrant in the Chungking Express bluray.
Other extra is a little booklet/pamphlet and the case is in digipak - which is rare with blurays. I was hoping they'd go with the book-format that you see with Warner Brothers (Dirty Harry, Natural Born Killers), but still better than the standard plastic case.
I can't recommend the bluray to you, unless you find it at a decent price. Criterion's prices are normally $30+ per DVD, and in this weak economy, you may want to pick it up used or not at all. Hey, there's always Netflix.
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I love the soundtrack on this movie. If you've seen the film, you won't be able to get The Mamas and the Pappas' "California Dreamin'" out of your head. The song is repeatedly played as Faye Wong's character's theme song.
Other songs in the movie you might be able to pick out is Faye Wong's very faithful Chinese version of the Cranberries' song "Dreams". Fay Wong (王菲) recorded two version of the "Dreams" song in both Cantonese and Mandarin (the Mandarin version would later appear on another film called Somebody in My Dream).
Oh, if you haven't figured it out, the beautiful Wong is better known for being a pop singer out of Hong Kong. I believe Chungking Express might have been her first film. She would later go on to other film works, including reuniting with Kar-Wai for 2046 (a film that I bought as a special 3-disc set, but wasn't in love with it as Kar-Wai's other films).
W♥M UPDATE
Also, there's a lot of background stuff that I've been doing lately. With google being evil, the new search is courtesy of Atomz. Since it's a free account, the service is limited to 500 pages and there are advertisements in the search results (they aren't that intrusive).
So give the search a try and let me know what you think. If you don't have access to email, you can now fill out a simple form (note: you can also use this to suggest bands or complaints).
01/15/2009 21:01:14 ♥ vu (
)
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www.weheartmusic.com
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I originally was going to compile my favorite seven posts I've made (out of 380+ posts) and it proved too, too much! Anyway, since I previously compiled something similar to this (see W♥M Award Nomination), this post will be an easy breeze.
I present to you: the Top 7: Favorites! Yes, these were voted by you guys. If you don't like any of these songs, it's all your fault.
Coming in at 16 Favorites is Stars. Stars, Stars, Stars! It's always about Stars.
France Gall's "Laisse Tomber Les Filles" song got 13 Favorites. If you don't understand French, check out April March's "Chick Magnet".
Dolly Parton's "Jolene", the one, and only, original classic song is marked with 12 Favorites. To hear eight "Jolene" cover songs, head over to my abandoned Cover Lover.
"Sway" by Dean Martin got 10 Favorites. It's such a great song, I'm sad to see it so low if you ask me.
And seriously, Stars once against shows up unexpected with "Heart" with 10 Favorites. I suspect the reason why this song got marked up recently is because it was mentioned in the Top 7: Concerts.
Jonathan Coulton probably would charted higher if we'd use his "Code Monkey" song (which is a favorite among nerds), but instead "Baby Got Back" is just as awesome with 9 Favorites. You can download "Baby Got Back" from jonathancoulton.com.
Incidentally, since Alanis Morissette did a similar cover of My Humps, Coulton loves it and covered Morissette's You Oughta Know.
Speaking of similar, OrangeAppled said that The Parcels's "Jessica Pancakes" is "to the tune of the Associations' "Windy"...." I've since checked out the said-song and you know what? Wow it's practically stolen! Still 8 Favorites from you guys managed to keep it on the top 7.
After researching Sunshine Pop, I might check out more stuff in this genre because I've already am a big fan of The Beach Boys and The Mammas and the Pappas... so look for this article next year.
So what's up and coming? These are hot: Kerry Politzer's Always with (5), This Morning Call's Clockworks (5), The Chemical Brothers's The Salmon Dance (5) Colin Meloy's Jack the Ripper (5), The Legendary K.O.'s George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People (5), Hans Zimmer's Spider Pig (5), and Asha Bhosle's Mohabbat Hoon Haqiqat Hoon (5).
So this is the 7th and final installment of the Top 7. I have to say that it was really fun to look back at 2007! I'm so excited for Top 8, aren't you?
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12/31/2007 21:07:25
vu
my♥posts
www.weheartmusic.com
Celebrating our 500th post!!
I actually planned on doing a bunch of "500" songs, but I didn't think that would really represent W♥M. So I thought back and remembered that we sort of had a contest about which songs were your favorite.
As it turns out, the clear winner is Stars' "This Charming Man", a favorite here since we've mentioned them several times now.
So let's take a look at why this song is good? First of all it's a Smiths cover song, so instantly there's something to be liked. Then there is Stars' unique take on the song, mixing melody with a dance beat.
When you add it up, it's a very excellent song!
September 18, 2007 12:05 AM
vu
my♥posts
vu@weheartmusic.com
www.weheartmusic.com
I bought Kar Wai Wong's 2046 and it came with a CD soundtrack. Among the Asian artists on there, Dean Martin's "Sway", really stood out. I thought it was a cover song (which it technically is) because I know that Jennifer Connelly lipsynced to this song in Dark City.
As turns out, it was originally a mambo instrumental called "Quien Sera", written by Pablo Beltrán Ruiz in 1953. Norman Gimbel wrote the English lyrics and Dean Martin recorded this in 1954.
Bonus: Can't get enough of "Sway"? Check out this awful remix Shaft - Sway (Mucho Mambo), a standard/faithful cover Michael Buble - Sway, another awful/dancy Pussycat Dolls - Sway. I read that there is a version by Jennifer Lopez, but I'm avoiding that one at all cost.
vu
Postscript
Thank you to whoever is tagging the writers (what happens if I cover the Velvet Underground?). I also wanted to say hi to
Vickie, who I haven't seen in over six years but I must've left a bad
impression on her to look me up recently. Hopefully, I can peer
pressure her to join us.
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