I received my copy of Criterion’s splendid The World Of Wong Kar Wai blu-ray boxset 2 weeks back and have been re-watching all the films and exploring the supplementary/making of material.

The set features 7 of Wong’s films – As Tears Go By / Days of Being Wild / Chungking Express / Fallen Angels / Happy Together / In the Mood for Love and lastly 2046, which has never been released on blu-ray hitherto.

Here are some pictures of the box set and its contents –

The 2 main items of the box-set are the foldout cardboard case that houses the 7 discs for the films (below left), as well as the French-fold booklet with 6 collectible art prints (below right), both of which are housed in a thin cardboard foldout case that opens up with 4 flaps. The whole package is all made of cardboard/paper and contains no plastic at all ( except for the sleeves in the booklet that holds the art prints ).

(above) Pictures of the foldout cardboard case with the 7 discs for the respective films in their sleeves. (below) The vista view of the designs on the foldout case when fully spread out.

The booklet that comes with the set includes beautiful stills from the 7 films, accompanied by an essay by critic John Powers, and a director’s note plus blu-ray production credits and some information on the re-mastering/restoration of the films. Spread between the pages are thin plastic sleeves that house the 6 collectible art prints ( see image further below ).

(below) The 6 collectible art prints.

Observations on the video quality of the film – At the time of writing I’ve re-watched all the films except for Happy Together and In The Mood For Love. The 4K transfers are very impressive for all the films especially for Wong’s earlier works like As Tears Go By and Days Of Being Wild, with no noticeable dust specs and film scratches. The fidelity of the video is very good with considerable sharpness, color saturation and deep darks all competently restored and printed. All in all, excellent 4k transfers.

Now the supplementary materials are kind of a mixed bag. There’s very little or no extras for the earlier films As Tears Go By and Days Of Being Wild, and those included with Chungking Express are very short, fluff pieces that offer very little useful insight into the actual film-making process of Wong. One of the videos featuring DP Christopher Doyle is hilarious because he was obviously super high when the documentary was shot and was largely incoherent.

On the Fallen Angels disc there is a new (2020) video where Wong answers questions from other filmmakers like Sofia Coppola, Rian Johnson and more which could have been interesting, but Wong gives mere soundbite answers that again, offer limited insight into his creative process.

The extras on the 2046 disc is much better, and the inclusion of the extended version of the short film The Hand is fantastic.

The extras for In The Mood For Love seem mostly to be a direct port of what was made available on Criterion’s 2012 release of the film.

Here’s the full rundown of the list of extras and tech info on the 4K remasters –

– New 4K digital restorations of Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love and 2046, approved by director Wong Kar Wai, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
– New 4K digital restorations of As Tears Go By and Days of Being Wild, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks
– New program in which Wong answers questions submitted, at the invitation of the director, by authors André Aciman and Jonathan Lethem; filmmakers Sofia Coppola, Rian Johnson, Lisa Joy, and Chloé Zhao; cinematographers Philippe Le Sourd and Bradford Young; and filmmakers and founders/creative directors of Rodarte Kate and Laura Mulleavy
– Alternate version of Days of Being Wild featuring different edits of the film’s prologue and final scenes, on home video for the first time
– Hua yang de nian hua, a 2000 short film by Wong
– Extended version of The Hand, a 2004 short film by Wong, available in the U.S. for the first time
– Interview and “cinema lesson” with Wong from the 2001 Cannes Film Festival
– Three making-of documentaries, featuring interviews with Wong; actors Maggie Cheung Man Yuk, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Chang Chen, Faye Wong, and Ziyi Zhang; and others
– Episode of the television series Moving Pictures from 1996 featuring Wong and cinematographer Christopher Doyle
– Interviews from 2002 and 2005 with Doyle
– Excerpts from a 1994 British Film Institute audio interview with Cheung on her work in Days of Being Wild
– Program from 2012 on In the Mood for Love’s soundtrack
– Press conference for In the Mood for Love from the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival
– Deleted scenes, alternate endings, behind-the-scenes footage, a promo reel, music videos, and trailers
– PLUS: Deluxe packaging, including a perfect-bound, French-fold book featuring lavish photography, an essay by critic John Powers, a director’s note, and six collectible art prints

Ending thoughts – The absence of Wong’s three other films Ashes Of Time, My Blueberry Nights and The Grandmaster is a missed opportunity for Criterion to really curate a comprehensive oeuvre of the director’s works, but surely difficulty in securing publishing/release rights is way more complicated than I can understand. I can only hope that in the near future Criterion can pick up these three films as separate releases.

The lack of extras for Wong’s earlier films are also a disappointment, but all in all, this is still a heck of a set by Criterion, with top marks for the 4K restorations, and hands down the best way to enjoy the cinematic world of Wong Kar Wai by far. Very highly recommended.

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