Days of Being Wild

Starring:Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Andy Lau, Carina Lau, Rebecca Pan, Jacky Cheung, Danilo Antunes, Hung Mei-Mei, Ling-Hung Ling, Tita MuÃ±oz, Alicia Alonzo, Elena Lim So, Maritoni Fernandez, Angela Ponos, Nonong Talbo, Tony Leung Chiu Wai
Director: Kar Wai Wong
Studio: Kino Video
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Two words: Get it
A magnificent set of magnificent movies

Wong Kar Wai Collection (As Tears Go By / Days of Being Wild / Fallen Angels / Chungking Express / Happy Together)
Starring: Christine Ng , Linda Wong (III) , Siu Chung Mok , Lydia Sum , and Man Tat Ng
Director: Kar Wai Wong
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

In the Mood for Love - Criterion Collection
2046
Ashes of Time
Wong Kar-wai: Auteur of Time (Bfi World Directors)
Oldboy

ASIN: B0002X7GV6
Release Date: 2004-10-19

Customer Reviews:

Two words: Get it .......2004-12-14

I don't have a lot to add to "Randroid"'s review. Wong Kar-Wai is one of the world's premier directors, making audacious, complex films that grab one's heart. Influenced by the French New Wave, bent through the prism of Hong Kong cinema, his is a stylish and unique vision. This box set contains five of his seven films that have been released to DVD:

-- As Tears Go By
-- Days of Being Wild
-- Chungking Express
-- Fallen Angels
-- Happy Together.

Fans of Happy Together will be particularly pleased by the newly remastered Kino version -- I had only viewed a VHS copy before, which was atrocious. There are also a bunch of new extras on this DVD, including an hour long 'making of' feature. The other DVDs all seem to be clear and crisp, though without significant extras beyond the usual trailers (there are still galleries and filmographies, and some brief comments by Quentin Tarantino on Chungking Express).

With the exception of Chungking Express, these have not been readily available in stores, and this box set is a cost effective presentation showing the development of a major directorial talent. We also get to see some wonderful stars of Hong Kong cinema such as Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung, Andy Lau, Brigitte Lin and Faye Wong, often in roles different from their usual or at crucial points in their careers.

Of his other two films, In The Mood For Love is available in a sumptuous Criterion release. Unfortunately, Ashes of Time seems to be caught in some kind of 'intellectual property' hell, and the DVD is supposed to be even worse than the VHS, which is barely viewable. Maybe Kino can somehow gain the rights to Ashes as well and do a decent ramastering. (Hint to Kino: It would be nice to have a feature explaining some of the historical/literary background that is unfamiliar to western viewers)

A magnificent set of magnificent movies.......2004-10-23

Wong Kar-wai is simply one of the best directors working in Hong Kong today, and in all the world, for that matter. His characters are brilliantly realized, his style is stunningly kenetic, and cinematography (mostly by Christopher Doyle of "Hero" fame) is gorgeous. All in all a good set. Thus far, I would rank these films as follows, from best to . . . well, least best:

1. Chungking Express
2. Happy Together
3. Days of Being Wild
4. Fallen Angels
5. As Tears Go By

Be sure to pick up Wong's other film "In The Mood For Love", and you'll be sure to be awaiting the American release of his new film, "2046". "Ashes of Time", sadly, is a terrible DVD, so perhaps a Criterion release is in order?

Average customer rating:

Days of being languorous, you mean
Loving someone that likes to tell the story of "a kind of bird without legs that can only fly and fly..."
yes, we have a review here, we have a review today!
Hot
lush cinematography, but many slow spots...

Days of Being Wild
Starring: Leslie Cheung , Maggie Cheung , Andy Lau , Carina Lau , and Rebecca Pan
Director: Kar Wai Wong
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

As Tears Go By
In the Mood for Love - Criterion Collection
2046
Chungking Express
Fallen Angels

ASIN: B0002X7GWU
Release Date: 2004-10-19

Customer Reviews:

Days of being languorous, you mean.......2007-07-05

There's only one wild scene in this film. Most of the time, Leslie Cheung slouches in a chair, his expression distant. That pretty well sums up the tone of the movie.

Wong Kar Wai's films are not inspiring. They are generally glimpses into sad or pathetic lives without hope. Yet, I have generally found them fascinating. There's something about the in-depth characterizations that grips me. And I like the continual sense of "what's going on here"? His stories never go where I expect them to go. At least, this storyline, unlike the scrambled one of 2046, is strongly linear.

I also enjoy Wong Kar Wai's direction and, from this film on, the rich cinematography provided by frequent cinematographer, Aussi-born Christopher Doyle. This one is too shadowy, but they fixed that in later films.

As I watched it, I kept recognizing people and scenes and themes. That's because, even more than IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, this film provided material retreaded a dozen years later into Wong Kar Wai's film 2046. Leslie Cheung's role as the unrepentent ladies man has to be the model for Tony Leung's role in 2046. Of course, Carina Lau's role is taken directly into 2046. Even the music (including my favorite: Xavier Cugat's violin-spiced "Perfida") reappears.

On it's own, this is worth at least one viewing for the visual style, the characterizations and the unexpected twists and turns. It's also interesting for the respite given actors often found in chop-socky Hong Kong films, giving them a chance to really act. And, of course, there is that other layer of interest for a viewer familiar with 2046.

Loving someone that likes to tell the story of "a kind of bird without legs that can only fly and fly...".......2006-10-18

"Days of Being Wild", directed by Wong Kar Wai, is a well-made film about failed relationships, and the man that causes them to fail. It is a film about love, and about wanting what we cannot have. It is full of angst, but also of some very poetic moments, that make you realize the reason why you must pay attention whenever Wong Kar Wai's name is mentioned.

Yuddy (Leslie Cheung) is the "Don Juan" that makes women fall in love with him, and then forgets them. First he meets Su Lizhen (Maggie Cheung), a shy woman that looks at him in a different way when he shows his charming side, telling her "At one minute before 3pm on April the 16th, 1960, you're together with me. Because of you, I'll remember that one minute. From now on, we're friends for one minute. This is a fact, you can't deny. It's done". The second woman he plays with is a showgirl named Mimi (Carina Lau), someone who knows the rules of the game but that is also likely to be hurt by Yuddy. But then, that is nothing less that the direct consequence of loving someone that likes to tell the story of "a kind of bird without legs that can only fly and fly, and sleep in the wind when it is tired. The bird only lands once in its life... that's when it dies"...

Of course, there is more to "Days of being wild" than the tale of Yuddy and the two women that love him. This film is also the story of Yuddy's search for his real mother, and of the love of two men for Su Lizhen and Mimi. Why do we want the things and people that we cannot have? This movie doesn't give an answer, but shows us how that can happen. It is not nice, but it is real, and somehow heartbreaking.

All in all, I can say that I recommend "Days of being wild". It is not my favorite Wong Kar Wai film, but it is worthwhile seeing, and that is the reason why I give it 3.5 stars.

Belen Alcat

yes, we have a review here, we have a review today!.......2006-08-31

the movie is superb.
my best friend really loves it.
it is her favourite movie.

Hot.......2005-11-01

Contrary to other reviewer's notions of the film, "Days of Being Wild" does have a plot. The movie is a tale of existential angst. Stephen Teo places the movie in the area of quasi gangster cum romance. In short "Days of Being Wild" is, in the tradition of "Rebel without a Cause" an `ah fei' movie - a story of lost youth. A large portion of the movie centers on dysfunctional relationships and each and every character's existentialist angst. A really short synopsis follows. The movie is set in 1960s. Leslie Cheung plays the lead character of Yuddy - a self destructive narcissist who constantly hurts women.

In this movie, much like "Ashes in Time" the target of his self destruction is Su Lizhen (Maggie Cheung). As previously stated, the film centers on the youthful, Yuddy, who learns from the drunken ex-consort who raised him that she not his real mother. Yuddy's real mother has left him in her care and moved to the Philippines. Much of the story is situated around Yuddy's need to go to the Philippines to see his mother. I would assume that the lack of connection to the mother is part of the motivation for Yuddy's `early object loss' and hence his inability to connect with either Su Lizhen or Lulu (a character who will show up again in 2046). Yuddy's "auntie," hoping to hold onto him, steadfastly refuses to reveal the name of his real mother. The revelation, predictably, unsettles Yuddy to his very center, unleashing a cavalcade of irreconcilable emotions.

Two women form the two pillars of Yuddy's existential angst and not surprisingly have the bad luck of falling in love with Yuddy. Similar to Tomas - the main character of Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" Yuddy cannot settle down and is stuck (at least in his head) in the liminal space of both/and. Yet, the reality is that he is trapped in the world of either/or and not both/end. Just as Tomas cannot have Sabina AND Teresa, Yuddy cannot have both Su Lizhen AND Mimi. Both are beset with choices.

On the one hand, we have Su Lizhen (Maggie Cheung) who works at a sports arena selling refreshments at a kiosk. On the other hand, juxtaposed against Su Lizhen's `plainness' (if we can ever call Maggie Cheung `plain') is the persona of the glitzy showgirl Lulu or Mimi. It is clearly `early object loss' that leaves Yuddy cold. As Lizhen slowly intimates her deep hurt over what is happening to her and Yuddy to Tide (Andy Lau), Tide begins to fall for her. The same, it is argued, might be said for Yuddy's Sancho Panza - Zeb (Jacky Cheung). Zeb find himself falling in love with Lulu. Yuddy learns of his birth mother's whereabouts and heads out to the Philippines. In the Philippines, he meets up with Tide and they encounter thugs who - not impressed with the `ah fei' Yuddy, well, do him in. The last minute appearance of Tony Leung seems like a setup for the next movie... too bad we have not had the pleasure... yet?

The movie may be all about Leslie Cheung but we should not forget the performances of Maggie Cheung, Carina Lau, Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, and Rebecca Pan. Despite the characters circling around the Yuddy character - each brings a dimension of their own into the movie. The strength, it is often argued, of Wong Kar Wai's movies is his highly developed (or undeveloped, yet very deep) characters.

Par for the course, just like all his other movies, "Days of Being Wild" is visually stunning. Working with Christopher Doyle, 1961 Hong Kong comes to life. As a Filipino abroad, I could not help but feel nostalgic when the movie shifted to the Philippines. I know that 1960s in the Philippines was one filled with cars and urban centers and not only the lush jungle scenes that fill the mise-en-scene. Who cares... it is only a movie and a good one at that. The movie draws from all angles for its greatness - the characters, the acting, the mise-en-scene, the cinematography, the whole ball of wax. The movie can be analyzed on many levels and I fail to do that here. However, on one level, like voyeurs we watch Yuddy's self destruction and enjoy the cathartic element of the `ah fei.' Bravo Wong Kar Wai! One more movie please!

Miguel Llora

lush cinematography, but many slow spots..........2005-10-04

I definitely preferred KWW's "In The Mood For Love," though this film shows a lot of promise: gorgeous cinematography, gorgeous cast, very lively camera movement, beautiful and affecting soundtrack, offbeat stories and characters.

The central character is basically the opposite of every dickless, stereotypical Asian computer nerd you've ever seen in the usual Hollywood trash movies, even flirts a little with the Byronic hero model. There's a clumsy attempt at lyrical existentialist philosophizing here and there but nothing too heavy handed a la Spielbergian.

It would've been much, much better with a competent film editor who could cut out about 25% of the film to make it flow more smoothly and briskly, though.

Days of Being Wild (Remastered Golden Collection) DVD

Average customer rating:

Terribly inferior subtitling on this release!

Days of Being Wild (Remastered Golden Collection) DVD

Manufacturer: Mega Star (HK)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

DTS | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

As Tears Go By (Golden Collection Edition/remastered) DVD
2046
In the Mood for Love - Criterion Collection

Product Features:

1 disc package (region 1 NTSC)
Remastered Golden Collection
Behind footages
Bios

ASIN: B000HC85HG

Product Description

Set in 1960, the film centres on the young, boyishly handsome Yuddy, who learns from the drunken ex-prostitute who raised him that she is not his real mother. Hoping to hold onto him, she refuses to divulge the name of his real birth mother. The revelation shakes Yuddy to his very core, unleashing a cascade of conflicting emotions. Two women have the bad luck to fall for Yuddy. One is a quiet lass named Su Lizhen who works at a sports arena, while the other is a glitzy showgirl named Mimi. Perhaps due to his unresolved Oedipal issues, he passively lets the two compete for him, unable or unwilling to make a choice. As Lizhen slowly confides her frustration to a cop named Tide, he falls for her. The same is true for Yuddy's friend Zeb, who falls for Mimi. Later, Yuddy learns of his birth mother's whereabouts and heads out to the Philippines.

Customer Reviews:

Terribly inferior subtitling on this release!.......2006-10-21

I acquired the MegaStar/Golden Collection release of Days of Being Wild at a relatively low price. While the video transfer is quite good, the English subtitles are so much of a mess that I had to stop and review several scenes before I could get a sense of the dialog. I've got a high tolerance for the occasional errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation found in subtitles on many otherwise excellent Asian releases of Asian films;
but the subtitles here are so difficult to slog through that the viewer really comes away with a diminished sense of what the film is about.

After watching this version, I rented the Kino release. The subtitles are excellent -- as is the film, of course -- so my advice would be to avoid this one and get the Kino. Also, if ordering used, be sure that the seller is in fact offering the Kino version -- I've seen this one for sale on the Kino page as well, so look closely.

Days of Being Wild / A Fei jing juen / Ah Fei's Story / Dikie Dni by Kar-wai Wong

Average customer rating:

Days of Being Wild / A Fei jing juen / Ah Fei's Story / Dikie Dni by Kar-wai Wong
Director: Kar-wai Wong
Manufacturer: Karmen Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Toni Ljun ("Ljubovnoe nastroenie", "2046") i Mjeggi CHun ("Ljubovnoe nastroenie", "2046") v drame Vonga Kar-vaja ("CHungkingskij jekspress") - "Dikie dni". Firmennye znaki Kar-Vaja: ciferblaty na stenah, sigaretnyj dym, polifonija zakadrovyh monologov, dolgoe bluzhdanie par pod nochnym dozhdem, vezdesuwij neon vmesto zhestkogo sveta i "vol'naja" kamera Kristofera Dojla. Nuzhnyj pas'jans, izvestnyj kinomanam po "Ljubovnomu nastroeniju", slozhilsja ewe v nachale 90-h, na s#emkah vtoroj po schetu kartiny Kar-Vaja - luchshej i samoj "klassichnoj" iz ego rannih let.

As Tears Go By (Golden Collection Edition/remastered) DVD

Average customer rating:

As Tears Go By (Golden Collection Edition/remastered) DVD

Manufacturer: Mega Star (HK)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Days of Being Wild (Remastered Golden Collection) DVD

ASIN: B000HC96BA

Product Description

Remastered Golden Collection.

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