World of Wong Kar Wai

[senseabove]

Apparently they did film outs of the new "restorations."

[Matt]

35mm film is still the best overall preservation medium for moving images, but the idea of thinking that a projected print of a fully digital restoration is somehow superior is truly ridiculous. Like copying a CD to studio-quality analog tape and saying, “Doesn’t it sound so much warmer?”

I suppose it would still be an “improvement” on a vintage release print, but I’d rather see that with all its flaws than this weird simulacrum. Whatever gets asses in the seats, I guess.

[beamish14]

Apparently they did film outs of the new "restorations."

Yes, this print of the revisionist version played in L.A. earlier this year

Interesting to note that well-used and worn original North American release prints of Happy Together and Days of Being Wild also screened in L.A. this past summer. I don’t know how they got permission from Janus to do that. I’m curious to know whether other former Kino titles like Come & See and The Tin Drum could also screen from archival prints

[dwk]

As long as you get permission from Janus, I don't think it is an issue. On the latest New Beaverly Calendar episode of the Pure Cinema Podcast, they talked about how Janus doesn't have a print of Man Bites Dog, so they had to find one from someone else.

[beamish14]

As long as you get permission from Janus, I don't think it is an issue. On the latest New Beaverly Calendar episode of the Pure Cinema Podcast, they talked about how Janus doesn't have a print of Man Bites Dog, so they had to find one from someone else.

That’s good to know. Some studios are very permissive, while others are incredibly rigid regarding collector prints. Universal, for instance, doesn’t care as long as the exhibitor pays them, as they even let cinematheques show 70mm prints that hail from private collections. WB, conversely, is supposedly far less lax

[tenia]

35mm film is still the best overall preservation medium for moving images, but the idea of thinking that a projected print of a fully digital restoration is somehow superior is truly ridiculous. Like copying a CD to studio-quality analog tape and saying, “Doesn’t it sound so much warmer?”

That's not the main objective.
In the case of Ritrovata, there is the suggestion a film-out would actually compensate for their usual signature, but more generally speaking, doing a film out still currently is thought to be the best way to store a movie over time. Unlike digital storage, we do know that film stock can be stored for decades (50+ years).

[feihong]

Koch Media in Germany has a set called The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai set to come out in November. Amazon.de lists English subtitles, the main picture on the set is from Ashes of Time, and the descriptive text says the set will include everything from As Tears Go By to The Grandmaster.

Koch has been releasing blu ray/4k discs of In the Mood for Love, Happy Together, Days of Being Wild, and the others are all forthcoming, with no English subtitles. I haven't been able to tell from the reviews I see whether these discs are the WKW remasters from the Criterion box––presumably they are. But I wonder what they'll do when they get to Ashes of Time? I was under the impression the restoration of that movie was done in 720p back in the day.

[Calvin]

Koch has been releasing blu ray/4k discs of In the Mood for Love, Happy Together, Days of Being Wild, and the others are all forthcoming, with no English subtitles. I haven't been able to tell from the reviews I see whether these discs are the WKW remasters from the Criterion box––presumably they are. But I wonder what they'll do when they get to Ashes of Time? I was under the impression the restoration of that movie was done in 720p back in the day.

Presumably they just won't release it in 4K. Any attempt at upscaling it would look horrible.

[yoloswegmaster]

I guess they just updated their listing since it says there will only be German subtitles. The 4K releases are using the same masters that are on the Criterion set.

[Rupert Pupkin]

I guess they just updated their listing since it says there will only be German subtitles. The 4K releases are using the same masters that are on the Criterion set.

are the German subtitles ingrained (burnt-in) or optional ? (thus removable ?) - I would be highly interested in 2046 UHD+Blu-Ray because of the UHD disk and the blu-ray. Too bad Criterion release the WKW box set too soon (after the documentary for the intriguing scene of In The Mood For Love day 1) and the UHD.
I know the movie by heart so I can leave without subtitles, but I don't want to see burnt-in German subtitles.

That could help me to wait for a single release of 2046 UHD+Blu-Ray by Criterion which could take years; or perhaps they could re-release the whole box set in UHD (combo with blu-ray like they did for Kieslowski) and 2046 would not be available individually.

For 30 euros that's fair.

I already have Chungking Express, In The Mood For Love (first blu-ray release - I bought the new restoration UHD+Blu-Ray but I'm not fond of the color grading at all and some changes here and there (for instance the musical overture); that's why I watch the "first" blu-ray); from Kino since day 1 : Fallen Angels (one of my favorite WKW). And I have the Artificial Eye blu-ray of "Ashes Of Times redux".

on https://caps-a-holic.com I did not find screenshots from Koch and their 4K UHD transfer of 2046.
Is there some vidcaps available somewhere ?

I could also be interesting in the scope version of Fallen Angels.

[shiftyeyes]

I guess they just updated their listing since it says there will only be German subtitles. The 4K releases are using the same masters that are on the Criterion set.

are the German subtitles ingrained (burnt-in) or optional ? (thus removable ?) - I would be highly interested in 2046 UHD+Blu-Ray because of the UHD disk and the blu-ray. Too bad Criterion release the WKW box set too soon (after the documentary for the intriguing scene of In The Mood For Love day 1) and the UHD.
I know the movie by heart so I can leave without subtitles, but I don't want to see burnt-in German subtitles.

That could help me to wait for a single release of 2046 UHD+Blu-Ray by Criterion which could take years; or perhaps they could re-release the whole box set in UHD (combo with blu-ray like they did for Kieslowski) and 2046 would not be available individually.

For 30 euros that's fair.

I already have Chungking Express, In The Mood For Love (first blu-ray release - I bought the new restoration UHD+Blu-Ray but I'm not fond of the color grading at all and some changes here and there (for instance the musical overture); that's why I watch the "first" blu-ray); from Kino since day 1 : Fallen Angels (one of my favorite WKW). And I have the Artificial Eye blu-ray of "Ashes Of Times redux".

on https://caps-a-holic.com I did not find screenshots from Koch and their 4K UHD transfer of 2046.
Is there some vidcaps available somewhere ?

I could also be interesting in the scope version of Fallen Angels.

I own the German 4K releases. You can view the film with or without the German subs. The transfers are from the same restorations that are on the Criterion set and they generally look similar. The only one Koch bungled is Happy Together which has even more DNR. Otherwise, they look good and there's a decent uptick in detail over the Criterion set for most of the titles. Notably, Wong's new color scheme for In the Mood for Love is a bit subtler on the Koch disc and I think the HDR is a nice touch.

I think the new restoration of 2046 is kinda bad to be honest. The movie looks very soft and undetailed on both the Criterion and Koch 4K discs.

[pzadvance]

just finished watching my copy of Happy Together and noticed this strange straight line down the middle of the screen-- mostly visible only during dark scenes.

At first I was worried it was an issue with my monitor or my player, but I tried out a few different discs with dark scenes (including the Criterion Lost Highway) and there was no evidence of a line. Even stranger, I then tested out the Criterion disc of Fallen Angels and lo and behold, the line returned:


Anybody else's set have this issue? Could it be a manufacturing problem? I've seen other people cite freezing on these discs, but hadn't noticed any mention of this weird dividing line.

[therewillbeblus]

This is "currently unavailable" on Criterion's site - could WKW be stepping in rivers for an upgrade?

[Matt]

Probably just out of stock due to the flash sale. Maybe they’re revising the packaging.

[AxeYou]

Days of Being Wild: The Megastar BD is quite good looking in true HD. Downsides are the poorly translated subtitles and the audio tracks are 5.1 and 7.1 remixes. The new restoration is good since it has the original mono track. But the color grading looks way too green and digitally filtered.

Thanks for this great summary of more "OG" releases! For Days of Being Wild, I've synced the Criterion mono to the Megastar Blu-ray. If anyone's interested, just PM me.