Wong Kar-wai
Encyclopedia
Wong Kar-wai BBS
is a Hong Kong Second Wave
filmmaker, internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylized, emotionally resonant work, including Days of Being Wild
(1990), Ashes of Time
(1994), Chungking Express
(1994), Fallen Angels
(1995), Happy Together
(1997) and 2046
(2004). His film In the Mood for Love
(2000), starring Maggie Cheung
and Tony Leung
, is among the most acclaimed films of the 21st century.
Wong was listed at number three on the respected Sight & Sound
Top Ten Directors list of modern times.
, he moved to Hong Kong
with his parents at the age of five. Coming from the Mainland
and speaking only Mandarin and Shanghainese
, he spent hours in movie theatres with his mother. After graduating from Hong Kong Polytechnic College in graphic design
in 1980, he enrolled in the Production Training Course organized by Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited
(TVB) and became a full-time television screenwriter
. In the mid-1980s, he became a screenwriter/director at The Wing Scope Co. and In-gear Film Production Company, the production houses owned by renowned Hong Kong actor /movie producer Alan Tang
. Wong's current nostalgic artsy style took shape during his apprenticeship with Alan Tang Kwong-Wing, who invested in the first movie Wong directed, As Tears Go By (1988). Wong's career took off when he directed the film Days of Being Wild
(1990), despite losing Alan Tang millions of invested dollars. Wong subsequently graduated to feature film work. He is credited with about ten scripts between 1982 and 1987, covering an array of genres from romantic comedy to action drama, but claims to have worked to some extent or another on about fifty more without official credit. He considers Final Victory (最後勝利, 1986), a dark comedy/crime story for director Patrick Tam Kar Ming, his best script.
. A crime melodrama
of the kind then hugely popular, it heavily borrowed from Martin Scorsese
's Mean Streets
(1974), but already displayed one of Wong's principal trademarks in its atmospheric and sometimes expressionistic
color palette
. It is his only box office
hit to date.
His next film, Days of Being Wild
(1990), produced by Alan Tang
, a drama about aimless youth set in the early 1960s, established his trademark form: elliptically plotted mood pieces, with lush visuals and music, about the burden of memory on melancholic, misfit characters. Days was a box office failure but now regularly tops Hong Kong critics' polls of the best local films ever made. It has been described as a sort of Cantonese Rebel Without a Cause
.
He also established his own independent production company, called Jet Tone Films Ltd. in English. His partner in the company is Jeffrey Lau
, a director and producer who tends to work closer to the populist vein of mainstream Hong Kong film.
Wong went on to direct several more feature films in the 1990s produced by Jet Tone, which allowed him to work at his own pace. Among these were Chungking Express
(1994), which follows the lives of two love-struck cops in Hong Kong and the mysterious women they meet and fall in love with. Originally intended to be a distraction piece for him to get his mind off of the heavily delayed Ashes of Time
, it ended up being one of his most popular films. Fallen Angels
(1995), was originally intended to be the third act of Chungking Express, but when the tone didn't fit with the other two parts, he cut it out and made it a standalone movie instead; it is seen as a semi-sequel to Chungking Express as is a neo-noir film about on a disillusioned killer trying to overcome the affections of his partner, a strange drifter looking for her ex-boyfriend, and a mute trying to get the world's attention in his own ways, all set against a sordid and surreal urban nightscape.
Wong's fourth movie, Ashes of Time
(1994), released between Chungking Express and Fallen Angels, applied his approach to a star-studded wuxia
(martial arts swordplay) story; the desert shoot in Mainland China dragged on for over a year and resulted in one of contemporary Hong Kong cinema's most notorious commercial disasters.
His first major international recognition was at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival
where he won the Best Director
prize for Happy Together (1997). A film that "uses gorgeous, saturated images set to an eclectic soundtrack of tango by Argentinian maestro Astor Piazolla, Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso
and Frank Zappa
instrumentals to chronicle the stormy affair of a gay couple living as expatriates in Buenos Aires
."
Despite his background as a screenwriter, one of Wong's trademarks as a director is that he works largely through improvisation and experimentation involving the actors and crew rather than adhering to a fixed screenplay. This has been a frequent source of trouble for his actors, his financial backers and many other people connected with his films, including sometimes himself.
The filming of In the Mood for Love
(2000) had to be shifted from Beijing
to Macau
after the Chinese Film Bureau demanded to see the completed script. This was all in all a minor setback in the "very complicated evolution" of the project which goes as far back as 1997. It was Wong's intention to make two films, one of which would be titled Beijing Summer, the plot unclear at the time, but eventually taking form in Macau. Here Wong planned to call it Three Stories About Food, but saw it better to settle for only one story, A Story About Food, that centers on a writer. Together with scenes shot in Bangkok
and Angkor Wat
, the filming took as long as 15 months. This was an especially arduous time for lead actress Maggie Cheung
whose hair and makeup reportedly took a daily five hours, and who appeared in many different cheongsams. She famously compared the lengthy shoot to a cold she couldn't get rid of. Working without deadlines, the film's upcoming premier at Cannes
nonetheless put some pressure on Wong to finish editing. Intending to name the film Secrets he was dissuaded by Cannes, and finally named it In the Mood for Love after listening to Bryan Ferry
's cover of the song "I'm in the Mood for Love."
Wong's 2046
(2004), a film about capturing lost memories, was the third chapter of a shared story that began with Days of Being Wild and continued with In the Mood for Love. Infamous for long drawn out shoots without any real regards to deadlines, a running joke amongst the crew was that he would finish in the year 2046.
In 2006, he became the first Chinese director to preside the jury at the Cannes Film Festival
.
Wong Kar-wai's first full English-language film, My Blueberry Nights
, opened the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
as one of 22 films in competition. The lead, American singer-songwriter Norah Jones
, made her acting debut in the film.
Wong Kar-wai was the jury president of the 2008 Shanghai International Film Festival
which was held from June 14–22, 2008.
Wong Kar-wai's "The Grandmasters" will release in North America through Annapurna Productions.
s, or combinations thereof, all faithful to his style.
, starring Tadanobu Asano
and Karen Mok
; in 1998 he did a commercial for Motorola
starring Tadanobu and Faye Wong
; in 2000 he produced a commercial for Suntime Wine with Tony Leung Chiu Wai
and Maggie Cheung
, and directed another one for JCDecaux
, Un matin partout dans le monde, featuring different kinds of dawn
s in cities around the world shot by famous movie directors; in 2001 he shot the TV spot Dans la ville for the French mobile network company Orange France
and the short film The Hire: The Follow
as part of the BMW films
initiative; in 2002 he directed La Rencontre, a commercial for Lacoste starring Chang Chen
and Diane MacMahon; in 2005 he filmed an ad for Dior
's Capture Totale perfume starring Sharon Stone
. Around 21 September 2006, in Prague
, he directed a commercial (released in early 2007) for Lancôme Paris's Hypnôse Homme perfume starring Clive Owen
and Daria Werbowy
. Around 25 June 2007, again in Prague
, he directed a set of commercials for SoftBank
, starring Brad Pitt
. Also in 2007 he directed an ad for Dior
's Midnight Poison perfume starring Eva Green
and featuring Muse
's song "Space Dementia". On 30 August 2007, "There's Only One Sun", a short film he scripted and directed for Philips
' Aurea HD Flat TV
, starring Amélie Daure, premiered at the IFA
in Berlin
.
for DJ Shadow
featuring Chen Chang and Danielle Graham.
is a montage of scenes from vintage Chinese films, most of which were considered lost until some nitrate prints were discovered in a California
warehouse during the 1990s, set to a song from the soundtrack of In the Mood for Love, it was shown at the 2001 Berlin International Film Festival
.
was rather loosely adapted from a Louis Cha novel), which would be highly unlikely considering his method of improvisation. Wong, through Jet Tone, is also the producer of all of his own films since 1993 with the exception of Ashes of Time, a project that began much earlier. Through Jet Tone or otherwise, Wong has also produced various films, some directed by his partner in the company, Jeffrey Lau. Here are lists of films other than his own that Wong wrote screenplays for or produced:
Writing credits:
Once Upon a Rainbow (1982), Just for Fun (1983), Silent Romance (1984), Chase a Fortune (1985), Intellectual Trio (1985), Unforgettable Fantasy (1985), Sweet Surrender (1986), Rosa (1986), Goodbye My Hero (1986), The Final Test (1987), Final Victory (1987), Flaming Brothers aka Dragon and Tiger Fight (1987), The Haunted Cop Shop of Horrors (1987), The Haunted Cop Shop of Horrors 2 (1988), Walk On Fire (1988), Return Engagement (1990), Saviour of the Soul (1992).
Producer:
Flaming Brothers aka Dragon and Tiger Fight (1987), The Eagle Shooting Heroes (1993), First Love: the Litter on the Breeze (1997), Chinese Odyssey 2002
(2002), Sound of Colors (2003).
Interviews
Other
Bronze Bauhinia Star
The Bronze Bauhinia Star is the lowest rank in Order of the Bauhinia Star in Hong Kong, created in 1997 to replace the British honours system of the Order of the British Empire after the transfer of sovereignty to People's Republic of China and the establishment of the Hong Kong Special...
is a Hong Kong Second Wave
Hong Kong Second Wave
Hong Kong Second Wave is a term used by film critics to describe a group of Hong Kong film directors in late 1980s to 1990s. The most notable directors belong to Hong Kong Second Wave includes Wong Kar-wai, Fruit Chan, Stanley Kwan, Clara Law, Peter Chan and Evans Chan....
filmmaker, internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylized, emotionally resonant work, including Days of Being Wild
Days of Being Wild
Days of Being Wild is a 1990 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film stars some of the best-known actors and actresses in Hong Kong, including Leslie Cheung, Carina Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau. Tony Leung Chiu Wai also appears in a silent cameo role lasting several...
(1990), Ashes of Time
Ashes of Time
-Critical:When the film opened in Hong Kong it received mixed reviews. Critics found it so elliptical that it was almost impossible to make out any semblance of a plot, something very rare in a wuxia film....
(1994), Chungking Express
Chungking Express
Chungking Express is a 1994 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film consists of two stories told in sequence, each about a lovesick Hong Kong policeman mulling over his relationship with a woman...
(1994), Fallen Angels
Fallen Angels (1995 film)
Fallen Angels is a 1995 Hong Kong movie written and directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Leon Lai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Michelle Reis, Charlie Yeung and Karen Mok.Fallen Angels can be seen as a companion piece to Chungking Express...
(1995), Happy Together
Happy Together
Happy Together may refer to:In music:* "Happy Together" , a 1967 song by The Turtles that has been covered several times* Happy Together * Happy Together * Happy Together...
(1997) and 2046
2046 (film)
2046 is a 2004 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. It is a loose sequel to the 1991 Hong Kong film Days of Being Wild and the 2000 Hong Kong film In the Mood for Love...
(2004). His film In the Mood for Love
In the Mood for Love
In the Mood for Love is a 2000 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung...
(2000), starring Maggie Cheung
Maggie Cheung
Maggie Cheung Man yuk is a Chinese actress from Hong Kong. Raised in England and Hong Kong, she has over 70 films to her credit since starting her career in 1983...
and Tony Leung
Tony Leung
Tony Leung may refer to:* Tony Leung Chiu-Wai , Hong Kong actor known as "Little Tony"* Tony Leung Ka-fai , Hong Kong actor known as "Big Tony"* Tony Leung Siu-Hung, Hong Kong movie action choreographer, stuntman, actor and director...
, is among the most acclaimed films of the 21st century.
Wong was listed at number three on the respected Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute .Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today...
Top Ten Directors list of modern times.
Early career
Born in ShanghaiShanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, he moved to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
with his parents at the age of five. Coming from the Mainland
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
and speaking only Mandarin and Shanghainese
Shanghainese
Shanghainese , or the Shanghai language , is a dialect of Wu Chinese spoken in the city of Shanghai and the surrounding region. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. Shanghainese, like other Wu dialects, is largely not mutually intelligible with other Chinese varieties...
, he spent hours in movie theatres with his mother. After graduating from Hong Kong Polytechnic College in graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
in 1980, he enrolled in the Production Training Course organized by Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited
Television Broadcasts Limited
Television Broadcasts Limited, commonly known as TVB, is the second over-the-air commercial television station in Hong Kong. It commenced broadcasting on 19 November 1967...
(TVB) and became a full-time television screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. In the mid-1980s, he became a screenwriter/director at The Wing Scope Co. and In-gear Film Production Company, the production houses owned by renowned Hong Kong actor /movie producer Alan Tang
Alan Tang
Alan Tang Kwong-Wing was a Hong Kong film actor, producer and director.-Biography:Tang was born in Shunde, Guangdong, China, He is the youngest of four children, having two older brothers and one older sister...
. Wong's current nostalgic artsy style took shape during his apprenticeship with Alan Tang Kwong-Wing, who invested in the first movie Wong directed, As Tears Go By (1988). Wong's career took off when he directed the film Days of Being Wild
Days of Being Wild
Days of Being Wild is a 1990 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film stars some of the best-known actors and actresses in Hong Kong, including Leslie Cheung, Carina Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau. Tony Leung Chiu Wai also appears in a silent cameo role lasting several...
(1990), despite losing Alan Tang millions of invested dollars. Wong subsequently graduated to feature film work. He is credited with about ten scripts between 1982 and 1987, covering an array of genres from romantic comedy to action drama, but claims to have worked to some extent or another on about fifty more without official credit. He considers Final Victory (最後勝利, 1986), a dark comedy/crime story for director Patrick Tam Kar Ming, his best script.
Feature films
He made his directing debut in 1988 with As Tears Go By, also produced by Alan TangAlan Tang
Alan Tang Kwong-Wing was a Hong Kong film actor, producer and director.-Biography:Tang was born in Shunde, Guangdong, China, He is the youngest of four children, having two older brothers and one older sister...
. A crime melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
of the kind then hugely popular, it heavily borrowed from Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
's Mean Streets
Mean Streets
Mean Streets is a 1973 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin. The film stars Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro. It was released by Warner Bros. on October 2, 1973...
(1974), but already displayed one of Wong's principal trademarks in its atmospheric and sometimes expressionistic
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
color palette
Palette (painting)
A palette , in the original sense of the word, is a rigid, flat surface on which a painter arranges and mixes paints. A palette is usually made of wood, plastic, ceramic, or other hard, inert, nonporous material, and can vary greatly in size and shape...
. It is his only box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
hit to date.
His next film, Days of Being Wild
Days of Being Wild
Days of Being Wild is a 1990 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film stars some of the best-known actors and actresses in Hong Kong, including Leslie Cheung, Carina Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau. Tony Leung Chiu Wai also appears in a silent cameo role lasting several...
(1990), produced by Alan Tang
Alan Tang
Alan Tang Kwong-Wing was a Hong Kong film actor, producer and director.-Biography:Tang was born in Shunde, Guangdong, China, He is the youngest of four children, having two older brothers and one older sister...
, a drama about aimless youth set in the early 1960s, established his trademark form: elliptically plotted mood pieces, with lush visuals and music, about the burden of memory on melancholic, misfit characters. Days was a box office failure but now regularly tops Hong Kong critics' polls of the best local films ever made. It has been described as a sort of Cantonese Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments...
.
He also established his own independent production company, called Jet Tone Films Ltd. in English. His partner in the company is Jeffrey Lau
Jeffrey Lau
Jeffrey Lau Chun-Wai is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, actor and producer. He was born on August 2, 1952. Liu Zhenwei is famous for writing and directing "mo lei tau" comedies...
, a director and producer who tends to work closer to the populist vein of mainstream Hong Kong film.
Wong went on to direct several more feature films in the 1990s produced by Jet Tone, which allowed him to work at his own pace. Among these were Chungking Express
Chungking Express
Chungking Express is a 1994 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film consists of two stories told in sequence, each about a lovesick Hong Kong policeman mulling over his relationship with a woman...
(1994), which follows the lives of two love-struck cops in Hong Kong and the mysterious women they meet and fall in love with. Originally intended to be a distraction piece for him to get his mind off of the heavily delayed Ashes of Time
Ashes of Time
-Critical:When the film opened in Hong Kong it received mixed reviews. Critics found it so elliptical that it was almost impossible to make out any semblance of a plot, something very rare in a wuxia film....
, it ended up being one of his most popular films. Fallen Angels
Fallen Angels (1995 film)
Fallen Angels is a 1995 Hong Kong movie written and directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Leon Lai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Michelle Reis, Charlie Yeung and Karen Mok.Fallen Angels can be seen as a companion piece to Chungking Express...
(1995), was originally intended to be the third act of Chungking Express, but when the tone didn't fit with the other two parts, he cut it out and made it a standalone movie instead; it is seen as a semi-sequel to Chungking Express as is a neo-noir film about on a disillusioned killer trying to overcome the affections of his partner, a strange drifter looking for her ex-boyfriend, and a mute trying to get the world's attention in his own ways, all set against a sordid and surreal urban nightscape.
Wong's fourth movie, Ashes of Time
Ashes of Time
-Critical:When the film opened in Hong Kong it received mixed reviews. Critics found it so elliptical that it was almost impossible to make out any semblance of a plot, something very rare in a wuxia film....
(1994), released between Chungking Express and Fallen Angels, applied his approach to a star-studded wuxia
Wuxia
Wuxia is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms like Chinese opera, manhua , films, television series, and video games...
(martial arts swordplay) story; the desert shoot in Mainland China dragged on for over a year and resulted in one of contemporary Hong Kong cinema's most notorious commercial disasters.
His first major international recognition was at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival
1997 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Isabelle Adjani *Gong Li *Mira Sorvino *Paul Auster *Tim Burton *Luc Bondy *Patrick Dupond *Mike Leigh *Nanni Moretti *Michael Ondaatje -Feature film competition:...
where he won the Best Director
Best Director Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Director Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946....
prize for Happy Together (1997). A film that "uses gorgeous, saturated images set to an eclectic soundtrack of tango by Argentinian maestro Astor Piazolla, Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
and Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
instrumentals to chronicle the stormy affair of a gay couple living as expatriates in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
."
Despite his background as a screenwriter, one of Wong's trademarks as a director is that he works largely through improvisation and experimentation involving the actors and crew rather than adhering to a fixed screenplay. This has been a frequent source of trouble for his actors, his financial backers and many other people connected with his films, including sometimes himself.
The filming of In the Mood for Love
In the Mood for Love
In the Mood for Love is a 2000 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung...
(2000) had to be shifted from Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
to Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
after the Chinese Film Bureau demanded to see the completed script. This was all in all a minor setback in the "very complicated evolution" of the project which goes as far back as 1997. It was Wong's intention to make two films, one of which would be titled Beijing Summer, the plot unclear at the time, but eventually taking form in Macau. Here Wong planned to call it Three Stories About Food, but saw it better to settle for only one story, A Story About Food, that centers on a writer. Together with scenes shot in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
and Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu,...
, the filming took as long as 15 months. This was an especially arduous time for lead actress Maggie Cheung
Maggie Cheung
Maggie Cheung Man yuk is a Chinese actress from Hong Kong. Raised in England and Hong Kong, she has over 70 films to her credit since starting her career in 1983...
whose hair and makeup reportedly took a daily five hours, and who appeared in many different cheongsams. She famously compared the lengthy shoot to a cold she couldn't get rid of. Working without deadlines, the film's upcoming premier at Cannes
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
nonetheless put some pressure on Wong to finish editing. Intending to name the film Secrets he was dissuaded by Cannes, and finally named it In the Mood for Love after listening to Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
's cover of the song "I'm in the Mood for Love."
Wong's 2046
2046 (film)
2046 is a 2004 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. It is a loose sequel to the 1991 Hong Kong film Days of Being Wild and the 2000 Hong Kong film In the Mood for Love...
(2004), a film about capturing lost memories, was the third chapter of a shared story that began with Days of Being Wild and continued with In the Mood for Love. Infamous for long drawn out shoots without any real regards to deadlines, a running joke amongst the crew was that he would finish in the year 2046.
In 2006, he became the first Chinese director to preside the jury at the Cannes Film Festival
2006 Cannes Film Festival
The 2006 Cannes Film Festival ran from May 17, 2006 to May 28, 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the jury....
.
Wong Kar-wai's first full English-language film, My Blueberry Nights
My Blueberry Nights
My Blueberry Nights is a 2007 romance/drama/road film directed by Wong Kar Wai, his first feature in English. The screenplay by Wong and Lawrence Block is based on a short Chinese-language film written and directed by Wong...
, opened the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
2007 Cannes Film Festival
The 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the sixtieth, ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights opened the festival, and Denys Arcand's The Age of Ignorance closed...
as one of 22 films in competition. The lead, American singer-songwriter Norah Jones
Norah Jones
Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...
, made her acting debut in the film.
Wong Kar-wai was the jury president of the 2008 Shanghai International Film Festival
2008 Shanghai International Film Festival
The 2008 Shanghai International Film Festival is the 11th such festival devoted to international cinema to be held in Shanghai, China. It was held from June 14–22 , 2008...
which was held from June 14–22, 2008.
Wong Kar-wai's "The Grandmasters" will release in North America through Annapurna Productions.
Casting
Wong frequently re-casts actors who he has worked with on previous movies:| Actor | As Tears Go By (1989) | Days of Being Wild Days of Being Wild Days of Being Wild is a 1990 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film stars some of the best-known actors and actresses in Hong Kong, including Leslie Cheung, Carina Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau. Tony Leung Chiu Wai also appears in a silent cameo role lasting several... (1990) | Ashes of Time Ashes of Time -Critical:When the film opened in Hong Kong it received mixed reviews. Critics found it so elliptical that it was almost impossible to make out any semblance of a plot, something very rare in a wuxia film.... (1994) | Chungking Express Chungking Express Chungking Express is a 1994 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film consists of two stories told in sequence, each about a lovesick Hong Kong policeman mulling over his relationship with a woman... (1994) | Fallen Angels Fallen Angels (1995 film) Fallen Angels is a 1995 Hong Kong movie written and directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Leon Lai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Michelle Reis, Charlie Yeung and Karen Mok.Fallen Angels can be seen as a companion piece to Chungking Express... (1995) | Happy Together (1997) | In the Mood for Love In the Mood for Love In the Mood for Love is a 2000 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung... (2000) | 2046 2046 (film) 2046 is a 2004 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. It is a loose sequel to the 1991 Hong Kong film Days of Being Wild and the 2000 Hong Kong film In the Mood for Love... (2004) | Eros Eros (film) Eros is a 2004 portmanteau film consisting of three short films: Wong Kar-wai's The Hand, Steven Soderbergh's Equilibrium and Michelangelo Antonioni's The Dangerous Thread of Things.-Releases:... (2004) | My Blueberry Nights My Blueberry Nights My Blueberry Nights is a 2007 romance/drama/road film directed by Wong Kar Wai, his first feature in English. The screenplay by Wong and Lawrence Block is based on a short Chinese-language film written and directed by Wong... (2007) | The Grandmasters The Grandmasters The Grandmasters is an upcoming Hong Kong action drama film based on the life story of Wing Chun grandmaster Yip Man. The film is directed and written by Wong Kar-wai and stars Tony Leung as Yip Man.-Cast:* Tony Leung as Yip Man* Zhang Ziyi... (2011) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chang Chen Chang Chen Chang Chen is a Taiwanese actor, born in Taipei, Taiwan. His name is sometimes seen in the Western order . He is the son of a Taiwanese actor Chang Kuo Chu and brother of a Taiwanese actor, Chang Han .-Career:... |
|||||||||||
| Jacky Cheung Jacky Cheung Jacky Cheung is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. The Chinese language media refers to him, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings , with more than 60 million records sold as of 2000.... |
|||||||||||
| Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing , nicknamed elder brother , was a film actor and musician from Hong Kong. Cheung was considered as "one of the founding fathers of Cantopop", and "combining a hugely successful film and music career".In 2000, Cheung was named Asian Biggest Superstar by China Central... |
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| Maggie Cheung Maggie Cheung Maggie Cheung Man yuk is a Chinese actress from Hong Kong. Raised in England and Hong Kong, she has over 70 films to her credit since starting her career in 1983... |
|||||||||||
| Takeshi Kaneshiro Takeshi Kaneshiro Takeshi Kaneshiro , born October 11, 1973, is a Taiwan-born Japanese actor and singer.-Name:... |
|||||||||||
| Andy Lau Andy Lau Andy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time... |
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| Carina Lau Carina Lau Carina Lau Kar-ling is a Hong Kong actress. She was especially notable in the 1980s for her girl-next-door type roles in films.... |
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| Tony Leung Chiu-Wai | |||||||||||
| Gong Li Gong Li Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States.... |
|||||||||||
| Brigitte Lin Brigitte Lin Brigitte Lin or Brigitte Lin Ching Hsia is a Taiwanese actress. She was a popular actress, regarded as an icon of Chinese cinema, who acted in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong movies... |
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| Rebecca Pan Rebecca Pan Rebecca Pan Di-hua is a Chinese actress and singer.She was born in Shanghai on 29 December 1931. She moved to Hong Kong in 1949. Her singing career began in 1957... |
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| Faye Wong Faye Wong Faye Wong is a highly successful and influential Chinese singer-songwriter and actress who is usually referred to as a diva . Early in her career she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong . Born in Beijing, she moved to Hong Kong in 1987 and rose to stardom in the early 1990s by singing... |
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| Charlie Yeung Charlie Yeung Charlie Yeung Choi-Nei, sometimes spelled Charlie Young, is a Chinese film actress and singer. She was first noticed after appearing in a jewellery commercial with Aaron Kwok... |
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| Zhang Ziyi Zhang Ziyi Zhang Ziyi is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun... |
Short films
Wong Kar-wai has directed various short films, television commercials, music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s, or combinations thereof, all faithful to his style.
Commercials
In 1996 he shot wkw/tk/1996@7′55″hk.net for Japanese designer Takeo KikuchiTakeo Kikuchi
is a famous Japanese industrial and fashion designer. He designs such things as spectacle frames and chronographs in addition to clothing.In 2004 he bowed out from designing his own self-named brand, entrusting creative direction to Taishi Nobukuni, a graduate of London's St. Martin's College...
, starring Tadanobu Asano
Tadanobu Asano
, born is a Japanese actor. He is known for his roles as Dragon Eye Morrison in Electric Dragon 80.000 V, Kakihara in Ichi the Killer, Mamoru Arita in Bright Future, Hattori Genosuke in Zatoichi, Kenji in Last Life in the Universe, Aman in Survive Style 5+, Ayano in The Taste of Tea, and Temudjin...
and Karen Mok
Karen Mok
Karen Joy Morris, known more commonly in the Sinosphere as Karen Mok or Mok Man-Wai, is a three-time Golden Melody Award-winning Hong Kong-based actress and singer-songwriter.- Biography :...
; in 1998 he did a commercial for Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
starring Tadanobu and Faye Wong
Faye Wong
Faye Wong is a highly successful and influential Chinese singer-songwriter and actress who is usually referred to as a diva . Early in her career she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong . Born in Beijing, she moved to Hong Kong in 1987 and rose to stardom in the early 1990s by singing...
; in 2000 he produced a commercial for Suntime Wine with Tony Leung Chiu Wai
Tony Leung Chiu Wai
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is a Hong Kong film actor and former TVB actor. A major film star since the 1990s, Leung has won nine Hong Kong Film Awards and three Golden Horse Best Actor awards...
and Maggie Cheung
Maggie Cheung
Maggie Cheung Man yuk is a Chinese actress from Hong Kong. Raised in England and Hong Kong, she has over 70 films to her credit since starting her career in 1983...
, and directed another one for JCDecaux
JCDecaux
JCDecaux Group is a multinational corporation based in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, that is active primarily in advertising....
, Un matin partout dans le monde, featuring different kinds of dawn
Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of the twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the presence of weak sunlight, while the sun itself is still below the horizon...
s in cities around the world shot by famous movie directors; in 2001 he shot the TV spot Dans la ville for the French mobile network company Orange France
Orange SA
Orange is the brand used by France Télécom for its mobile network operator and Internet service provider subsidiaries. It is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world, with 210 million customers . The brand was created in 1994 for Hutchison Telecom's UK mobile phone network, which was...
and the short film The Hire: The Follow
The Hire: The Follow
The Hire: The Follow is the fourth installment in the The Hire series by BMW films, written by Andrew Kevin Walker and directed by Wong Kar-wai. It stars Clive Owen, Forest Whitaker, Adriana Lima and Mickey Rourke...
as part of the BMW films
BMW films
The BMW film series, The Hire was a series of eight short films produced for the Internet in 2001 and 2002...
initiative; in 2002 he directed La Rencontre, a commercial for Lacoste starring Chang Chen
Chang Chen
Chang Chen is a Taiwanese actor, born in Taipei, Taiwan. His name is sometimes seen in the Western order . He is the son of a Taiwanese actor Chang Kuo Chu and brother of a Taiwanese actor, Chang Han .-Career:...
and Diane MacMahon; in 2005 he filmed an ad for Dior
Christian Dior SA
Christian Dior S.A. is a French company which owns the high-fashion clothing producer and retailer Christian Dior Couture, as well as holding 42% of LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton, the world's largest luxury goods firm. Both Dior and LVMH are controlled and chaired by businessman Bernard...
's Capture Totale perfume starring Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
. Around 21 September 2006, in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, he directed a commercial (released in early 2007) for Lancôme Paris's Hypnôse Homme perfume starring Clive Owen
Clive Owen
Clive Owen is an English actor, who has worked on television, stage and film. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for portraying the lead in the ITV series Chancer from 1990 to 1991...
and Daria Werbowy
Daria Werbowy
Daria Werbowy is a Ukrainian Canadian model. She is perhaps best known as a spokesperson for the French beauty brand Lancôme.-Personal life:...
. Around 25 June 2007, again in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, he directed a set of commercials for SoftBank
SoftBank
is a Japanese telecommunications and internet corporation, with operations in broadband, fixed-line telecommunications, e-Commerce, Internet, broadmedia, technology services, finance, media and marketing, and other businesses....
, starring Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
. Also in 2007 he directed an ad for Dior
Christian Dior SA
Christian Dior S.A. is a French company which owns the high-fashion clothing producer and retailer Christian Dior Couture, as well as holding 42% of LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton, the world's largest luxury goods firm. Both Dior and LVMH are controlled and chaired by businessman Bernard...
's Midnight Poison perfume starring Eva Green
Eva Green
Eva Gaëlle Green is a French actress and model.Green performed in theatre before making her film debut in The Dreamers , which generated controversy over her numerous nude scenes. She achieved greater fame for her parts in Kingdom of Heaven , and in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, for...
and featuring Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
's song "Space Dementia". On 30 August 2007, "There's Only One Sun", a short film he scripted and directed for Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
' Aurea HD Flat TV
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
, starring Amélie Daure, premiered at the IFA
Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin
The IFA or Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin is one of the oldest industrial exhibitions in Germany. Between 1924 and 1939 it was an annual event, but as from 1950 it was organized on a two yearly basis until 2005. Since then it has become an annual event again, held in September...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Music videos
In 2000 Wong directed a music video of Tony Leung's duet with Niki of a song from the In the Mood for Love soundtrack to be included in Tony Leung's CD by the same name and on the French DVD release of In the Mood for Love. In 2002 Wong made the music video Six DaysSix Days
"Six Days" is a song by American hip-hop artist DJ Shadow, from his second album, The Private Press. The song was written by Brian Farrell and Dennis Olivieri, and was produced by DJ Shadow...
for DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis better known as DJ Shadow is an American music producer, DJ and songwriter. He is considered a prominent figure in the development of instrumental hip hop and first gained notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album Endtroducing....., which was constructed...
featuring Chen Chang and Danielle Graham.
Short film
His short film Hua Yang De Nian HuaHua Yang De Nian Hua
Hua Yang De Nian Hua is a 2000 short film by Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai that was shown at the 2001 Berlin International Film Festival....
is a montage of scenes from vintage Chinese films, most of which were considered lost until some nitrate prints were discovered in a California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
warehouse during the 1990s, set to a song from the soundtrack of In the Mood for Love, it was shown at the 2001 Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
.
Feature films
| Year | Title | Chinese Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 Hong Kong films of 1988 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 1988:.-1988:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 1988 at... |
As Tears Go By | 《旺角卡門》 |
| 1990 Hong Kong films of 1990 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 1990:.-1990:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 1990 at... |
Days of Being Wild Days of Being Wild Days of Being Wild is a 1990 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film stars some of the best-known actors and actresses in Hong Kong, including Leslie Cheung, Carina Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau. Tony Leung Chiu Wai also appears in a silent cameo role lasting several... |
《阿飛正傳》 |
| 1994 Hong Kong films of 1994 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 1994:.-1994 :-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 1994 at... |
Chungking Express Chungking Express Chungking Express is a 1994 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film consists of two stories told in sequence, each about a lovesick Hong Kong policeman mulling over his relationship with a woman... |
《重慶森林》 |
| Ashes of Time Ashes of Time -Critical:When the film opened in Hong Kong it received mixed reviews. Critics found it so elliptical that it was almost impossible to make out any semblance of a plot, something very rare in a wuxia film.... |
《東邪西毒》 | |
| 1995 Hong Kong films of 1995 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 1995:.-1995:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 1995 at... |
Fallen Angels Fallen Angels (1995 film) Fallen Angels is a 1995 Hong Kong movie written and directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Leon Lai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Michelle Reis, Charlie Yeung and Karen Mok.Fallen Angels can be seen as a companion piece to Chungking Express... |
《墮落天使》 |
| 1997 Hong Kong films of 1997 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 1997:.-1997:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 1997 at... |
Happy Together | 《春光乍洩》 |
| 2000 Hong Kong films of 2000 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 2000:.-2000:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2000 at... |
In the Mood for Love In the Mood for Love In the Mood for Love is a 2000 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung... |
《花樣年華》 |
| 2004 Hong Kong films of 2004 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 2004:.-2004:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2004 at... |
2046 2046 (film) 2046 is a 2004 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. It is a loose sequel to the 1991 Hong Kong film Days of Being Wild and the 2000 Hong Kong film In the Mood for Love... |
《2046》 |
| 2007 Hong Kong films of 2007 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 2007:.-2007:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2007 at... |
My Blueberry Nights My Blueberry Nights My Blueberry Nights is a 2007 romance/drama/road film directed by Wong Kar Wai, his first feature in English. The screenplay by Wong and Lawrence Block is based on a short Chinese-language film written and directed by Wong... |
《藍莓之夜》 |
| 2011 Hong Kong films of 2011 -2011:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2011 at... |
The Grandmasters The Grandmasters The Grandmasters is an upcoming Hong Kong action drama film based on the life story of Wing Chun grandmaster Yip Man. The film is directed and written by Wong Kar-wai and stars Tony Leung as Yip Man.-Cast:* Tony Leung as Yip Man* Zhang Ziyi... (post-production) |
《一代宗師》 |
Short films
| Year | Title | Chinese Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 Hong Kong films of 1996 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 1996:.-1996:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 1996 at... |
wkw/tk/1996@7'55"hk.net | |
| 2000 Hong Kong films of 2000 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 2000:.-2000:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2000 at... |
Hua Yang De Nian Hua Hua Yang De Nian Hua Hua Yang De Nian Hua is a 2000 short film by Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai that was shown at the 2001 Berlin International Film Festival.... |
《花樣的年華》 |
| 2001 Hong Kong films of 2001 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 2001:.-2001:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2001 at... |
The Hire: The Follow The Hire: The Follow The Hire: The Follow is the fourth installment in the The Hire series by BMW films, written by Andrew Kevin Walker and directed by Wong Kar-wai. It stars Clive Owen, Forest Whitaker, Adriana Lima and Mickey Rourke... |
|
| 2002 Hong Kong films of 2002 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 2002:.-2002:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2002 at... |
Six Days Six Days "Six Days" is a song by American hip-hop artist DJ Shadow, from his second album, The Private Press. The song was written by Brian Farrell and Dennis Olivieri, and was produced by DJ Shadow... |
|
| 2004 Hong Kong films of 2004 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 2004:.-2004:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2004 at... |
Eros Eros (film) Eros is a 2004 portmanteau film consisting of three short films: Wong Kar-wai's The Hand, Steven Soderbergh's Equilibrium and Michelangelo Antonioni's The Dangerous Thread of Things.-Releases:... |
|
| 2007 Hong Kong films of 2007 A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 2007:.-2007:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2007 at... |
To Each His Own Cinema To Each His Own Cinema To Each His Own Cinema is a 2007 French anthology film commissioned for the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival. The film is a collection of 34 short films, each 3 minutes in length, by 36 acclaimed directors... |
|
| There’s Only One Sun There’s Only One Sun There's Only One Sun is a 2007 short film/long form advertisement for Philips Aurea a new LCD technology for their televishon it was written and directed by Wong Kar-Wai.-Plot:... |
||
Screenwriter and producer
Wong is officially credited with about ten screenplays while having worked on another fifty in one way or another before his directorial debut. He has yet to direct a feature based on a script other than his own (though Ashes of TimeAshes of Time
-Critical:When the film opened in Hong Kong it received mixed reviews. Critics found it so elliptical that it was almost impossible to make out any semblance of a plot, something very rare in a wuxia film....
was rather loosely adapted from a Louis Cha novel), which would be highly unlikely considering his method of improvisation. Wong, through Jet Tone, is also the producer of all of his own films since 1993 with the exception of Ashes of Time, a project that began much earlier. Through Jet Tone or otherwise, Wong has also produced various films, some directed by his partner in the company, Jeffrey Lau. Here are lists of films other than his own that Wong wrote screenplays for or produced:
Writing credits:
Once Upon a Rainbow (1982), Just for Fun (1983), Silent Romance (1984), Chase a Fortune (1985), Intellectual Trio (1985), Unforgettable Fantasy (1985), Sweet Surrender (1986), Rosa (1986), Goodbye My Hero (1986), The Final Test (1987), Final Victory (1987), Flaming Brothers aka Dragon and Tiger Fight (1987), The Haunted Cop Shop of Horrors (1987), The Haunted Cop Shop of Horrors 2 (1988), Walk On Fire (1988), Return Engagement (1990), Saviour of the Soul (1992).
Producer:
Flaming Brothers aka Dragon and Tiger Fight (1987), The Eagle Shooting Heroes (1993), First Love: the Litter on the Breeze (1997), Chinese Odyssey 2002
Chinese Odyssey 2002
Chinese Odyssey 2002 is a 2002 Hong Kong film written and directed by Jeffrey Lau and produced by Wong Kar-wai. It stars Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Faye Wong, Zhao Wei and Chang Chen....
(2002), Sound of Colors (2003).
Awards
- 1991 Hong Kong Film AwardsHong Kong Film AwardsThe Hong Kong Film Awards , founded in 1982, are the most prestigious film awards in Hong Kong and among the most respected in mainland China and Taiwan. Award ceremonies are held annually, typically in April. The Awards recognize achievement in all aspects of filmmaking, such as directing,...
, Best Director (Days of Being WildDays of Being WildDays of Being Wild is a 1990 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film stars some of the best-known actors and actresses in Hong Kong, including Leslie Cheung, Carina Lau, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau. Tony Leung Chiu Wai also appears in a silent cameo role lasting several...
) - 1995 Hong Kong Film AwardsHong Kong Film AwardsThe Hong Kong Film Awards , founded in 1982, are the most prestigious film awards in Hong Kong and among the most respected in mainland China and Taiwan. Award ceremonies are held annually, typically in April. The Awards recognize achievement in all aspects of filmmaking, such as directing,...
, Best Director (Chungking ExpressChungking ExpressChungking Express is a 1994 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. The film consists of two stories told in sequence, each about a lovesick Hong Kong policeman mulling over his relationship with a woman...
) - 1997 Cannes Film Festival1997 Cannes Film Festival-Jury:*Isabelle Adjani *Gong Li *Mira Sorvino *Paul Auster *Tim Burton *Luc Bondy *Patrick Dupond *Mike Leigh *Nanni Moretti *Michael Ondaatje -Feature film competition:...
, Best DirectorBest Director Award (Cannes Film Festival)The Best Director Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946....
(Happy TogetherHappy Together (film)Happy Together is a 1997 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, that depicts a turbulent romance between two men...
) - 2000 European Film Awards, Screen International Award (In the Mood for LoveIn the Mood for LoveIn the Mood for Love is a 2000 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung...
) - 2001 César AwardCésar AwardThe César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....
, Best Foreign FilmCésar Award for Best Foreign FilmThis is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Foreign Film .-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
(In the Mood for LoveIn the Mood for LoveIn the Mood for Love is a 2000 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung...
) - 2004 European Film Awards, Screen International Award (20462046 (film)2046 is a 2004 Hong Kong film written and directed by Wong Kar-wai. It is a loose sequel to the 1991 Hong Kong film Days of Being Wild and the 2000 Hong Kong film In the Mood for Love...
)
In English
- Botz-Bornstein, Thorsten. Films and Dreams: Tarkovsky, Bergman, Sokurov, Kubrick, and Wong Kar-Wai. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, Rowman & Littlefield, 2008. ISBN 0739121871.
- Brown, Andrew M. J. Directing Hong Kong: The Political Cinema of John Woo and Wong Kar-Wai. Political Communications in Greater China: the Construction and Reflection of Identity. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2001. ISBN 070071734X.
- Brunette, Peter, and Kar-wai Wong. Wong Kar-Wai. Contemporary Film Directors. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 2005. ISBN 0252029925, ISBN 0252072375.
- Redmond, Sean. Studying Chungking Express. Leighton Buzzard: Auteur, 2004. ISBN 190366330X.
- Teo, Stephen. Wong Kar-Wai: Auteur of Time. World Directors. London: BFI, 2004. ISBN 1844570282, ISBN 1844570290.
- Wong, Kar-wai, Yichang Liu, and Kar-wai Wong. Tête-bêche: A Wong Kar Wai Project. Hong Kong: Block 2 Pictures, 2000. ISBN 9628605119.
- Wong, Kar-wai, and Tony Rayns. Wong Kar-Wai on Wong Kar-Wai. London: Faber, 2002. ISBN 0571193978.
In other languages
- Aleksandrowicz, Joanna. Pomiędzy obrazem a wskazówkami zegarów: o estetyce nietrwałości w filmach Wong Kar-waia. Kraków: Rabid, 2008. ISBN 8360236305.
- Alovisio, Silvio, Vanessa Durando, and Micaela Veronesi. Le ceneri del tempo: il cinema di Wong Kar Wai. Piombino (LI): Traccedizioni, 1997. ISBN 8872050960.
- Gliatta, Leonardo. Wong Kar-Wai: [saggio critico, foto, filmografia, dichiarazioni del regista, antologia della critica]. Roma: D. Audino, 2004. ISBN 8886350775.
- Jousse, Thierry. Wong Kar-Wai. Les petits cahiers. Paris: Cahiers du cinéma, 2006. ISBN 2866424573, ISBN 2240025190.
- Schnelle, Josef, and Rüdiger Suchsland. Zeichen und Wunder das Kino von Zhang Yimou und Wong Kar-Wai. Marburg: Schüren, 2008. ISBN 3894724382.
External links
Articles- Robert M. Payne – Ways of seeing wild: the cinema of Wong Kar-wai
- Allan Cameron – Trajectories of identification: travel and global culture in the films of Wong Kar-wai
- Anthony Leong – Meditations on Loss: A Framework for the Films of Wong Kar-wai
- LA Weekly – Film Feature: Unforgettable
- Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database – Wong Kar-wai
- KINEMA – In the Mood for Love: Urban Alienation in Wong Kar Wai's Films
- Six "Hong Kongs" in search of a Negative Director: Wong Kar-Wai’s alter-Native cinema
Interviews
- Guardian Unlimited Mood Music, by Jonathan Romney
- Onion AV Club Interview by Scott Tobias
- TIMEasia And The Winner Is..., by Stephen Short
- TIMEasia "We love what we can't have, and we can't have what we love", by Bryan Walsh
- Urban Cinefile Audio Interview with Richard Kupier (RealMediaRealMediaRealMedia is a proprietary multimedia container format created by RealNetworks. Its extension is ".rm". It is typically used in conjunction with RealVideo and RealAudio and is used for streaming content over the Internet....
)
Other