Chungking Express

Writing in VL-1/97, Lea Russo said: "A charming and thoughtful view on modern romance, Chungking Express follows the love lives of two different cops in Hong Kong. The first story finds cop #223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) bemoaning the loss of his girlfriend. Desperate, he goes to a bar and ends up spending the night with a mysterious murderess (Brigitte Lin). In the second half, cop #663 (Tony Leung) receives a "Dear John" letter from his lover. Brokenhearted, he chats daily with a girl (Faye Wang) who works in a fast-food restaurant. But he doesn't know she's been sneaking into his apartment every day and redecorating. Ultimately, the plot has little to do with the success of writer/director Wong Kar-Wai's film; his characters are chockfull of endearing quirks. Both sweet and intelligent--a rare combination in romantic comedies." Sporting a slightly grainy but otherwise serviceable transfer with nicely saturated color, the DVD's only real extras are the introductory and closing commentaries (roughly 12 minutes total) from Quentin Tarantino, whose Rolling Thunder Pictures brought the film to Miramax for distribution. Recommended. (R. Pitman)[DVD/Blu-ray Review—Nov. 25, 2008—Criterion, 102 min., in Cantonese & Mandarin w/English subtitles, PG-13, DVD or Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its second appearance on DVD, and first on Blu-ray, 1994's Chungking Express features a great transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound on the standard DVD and a gorgeous transfer and a DTS-Master Audio 5.1 audio on Blu-ray. Extras on both releases include audio commentary by Asian cinema critic Tony Rayns, a 1996 episode of the British series Moving Pictures (featuring interviews with director Wong Kar-wai and cinematographer Christopher Doyle), a booklet featuring an essay by critic Amy Taubin, and a theatrical trailer. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a contemporary cult classic that looks wonderful on DVD and even better in Blu.]