The Wong Kar-Wai Collection

Five of Hong Kong wunderkind Wong Kar-wai's (whom Time's Richard Corliss called "the most romantic filmmaker in the world") films are collected in this handsome boxed set that includes two new-to-DVD titles (his directorial debut, 1988's As Tears Go By and 1991's Days of Being Wild). Chungking Express (1994 [ VL-1/97]) follows the love lives of two different Hong Kong cops: #223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro), who--bemoaning the loss of his girlfriend--goes to a bar and ends up spending the night with a mysterious murderess (Brigitte Lin); and cop #663 (Tony Leung), who receives a "Dear John" letter from his lover and--brokenhearted--chats daily with a girl (Faye Wang) who works in a fast-food restaurant. Fallen Angels (1995 [VL-9/98]), which was originally meant to be the third part of a triptych for inclusion in Chungking Express also combines two love stories--one between a contract killer (Leon Lai Ming) and a female agent (Michele Reis); the other between an ex-convict (Kaneshiro) and a girl named Cherry (Charlie Yeung)--about lovelorn urban misfits engaged in obstinately stoic yearning. Happy Together (1997 [VL-9/98]) features scene after scene of its two gay lovers, Lai Yiu-fai (Tony Leung) and Ho Po-wing (Leslie Cheung), bickering as Hong Kong natives living as expatriates in Argentina. The pair quarrel, argue, accuse, deny, briefly reconcile, and play torturous mind games with one another in a completely believable portrait of the final weeks of a love affair. What's missing, unfortunately, is the director's trademark romantic yearning, which suffuses Chungking Express and Fallen Angels. Boasting solid transfers on all five films, but limited extras beyond trailers and filmographies (Chungking Express includes an interview with Quentin Tarantino; Fallen Angels features an hour-long profile/making-of), this set--along with the Criterion release of the director's In the Mood for Love (VL-5/02)--makes for a good introduction to one of cinema's most stylistically interesting filmmakers. Recommended. (R. Pitman)