World Of Wong Kar Wai By Wong Kar Wai

「欲望の翼」の台湾上映のときに流れたトニーレオンが居るオープニング映像が入っているらしいと聞いて購入しました。
オープニングだけでなくディレクターズカット版として編集バージョン違いの本編が全部入っていて驚きました。
その他の作品も特典映像がかなり充実しています。
今のところ欲望の翼と花様年華とブエノスアイレスしかまだ内容をチェックしていませんが、ブエノスアイレスの特典映像にはドキュメンタリー映画「ブエノスアイレス 摂氏零度」が全部入っていました。
花様年華にはこの映画に合わせて撮られたショートムービー、ミュージックビデオ、カットシーン全般、バージョン違いエンディング、トニーレオンとマギーチャンのインタビュー形式で振り返るカットされた2人のシーン(ホテルでダンスしてたりしててとてもかわいい)他にもインタビューがとにかくたくさん入っていてまだ全部見れていません。
他の映画もかなり特典が充実していそうな上にコレクションとして嬉しいお洒落な装丁とブックレット(ミニポスター付き)でこの値段は安いくらいだなと感じました。
ただディスクは紙に挟まっている形式なので出し入れしすぎると傷がつきそうでちょい不安です。
Blu-rayなので日本の機械でも問題無く再生出来ます。広東語には英語字幕がありますが英語には字幕が無いです。もちろん日本語字幕は無いです。
思い切って買って良かった商品でした。

This is a great set & I personally love the packaging. It depends on your preference. If you’re unsure, watch an unboxing video before you buy it. Some reviews mentioned “issues” with the discs, Criterion has addressed this and it’s an issue with Xbox One mainly and some old Blu-ray players that need an update. You need to clear your cache on your Xbox to fix the problem. No issues with the discs themselves. Regarding the new transfers, I watch on a calibrated projector and compared my old criterion copy of In The Mood For Love & the new disc.. the new look definitely adds to the character of the film, but I understand the distaste for anyone used to the original look of the film. I also wouldn’t call it a “green tint” as it’s just different color grading/timing and not just a filter. A lot of the other films in this set look better than the previous releases and not every single movies has “greenish” color grading. Chunking Express, in my opinion is a superior transfer to the previous release. Some films included in this set are also not available as individual releases from Criterion. Especially when this set is on sale, it’s worth the price tag. It’s almost the same price as buying the old version of Chunking Express!

I won’t go too much into the films. It’s Wong Kar Wai. You’re getting great value in this boxset. He’s such a master of style and form. All these films are incredible (well, maybe not “As Tears Go By” but it’s his first movie. He was still working out the kinks). This is pretty much the only way to get such films as “Chungking Express,” “Fallen Angels,” and “Happy Together,” on Region A bluray at the moment. It’s a good deal to get this director’s entire oeuvre (minus “Ashes of Time” and “The Grandmaster”).

But what I really want to go over is the packaging. It’s such an aesthetic and I’m here for it! My first thought when opening it was, is this a bluray boxset or a Kpop album? Definitely looks more like the intricate packaging that the Korean boy and girl groups love to release their cds in than anything movie studios typically do with their special bluray editions. First off, there’s no plastic. Nice, we love an eco-friendly packaging. What you get is an origami design where the book and disc holder is encased in an outer envelope shell. Same way a sticky rice cake would be wrapped in a banana leaf. Very minimalist and chic, if you vibe with that. It’s sturdy cardboard with a nice matte texture. I don’t think it will rip easily, but it definitely will be an undertaking to preserve this thing pristinely from dents and creases every time you handle it. Challenge accepted! So there’s that. Secondly, the discs are each kept in its own individual pocket that you have to slide out of the folding cardboard case. The first time I took the discs out, I noticed a few of the discs had a tiny amount of sticky glue residue on the very edge of the disc from the cardboard panel of the case. It wasn’t that hard to remove with some rubbing with a cloth. I also noticed one of my discs had some light scratches, however it didn’t affect the playback any. Perhaps it would be wise if you bought an empty bluray case and just stored all the discs in that.

Which brings me to my next point. This thing is bigger than a standard bluray, or even a dvd boxset. It’s literally book size. It might be an issue looking out of place if kept with your other blurays, sticking out like a sore thumb. I haven’t decided what to do yet about that. I might just keep the box itself with my other books on the shelf and transfer all the discs to an empty bluray case for ease of use and keep that along with the rest of my Blu-ray collection.

Now, about the book. It’s a French-fold book, which essentially looks like a long piece of paper folded outwardly widthwise and that uncut edge is just left like that. You think first looking at it that the printer forgot to slice the outer edge so the pages are all cut like a normal book. After all, the underside of the page isn’t blank. There’s an image you can see, kind of like a peek-a-boo surprise feature. However, it’s supposed to be like that. It’s aesthetic, it’s fancy, it’s unusual design, but just think about it. It is so Wong Kar Wai. I couldn’t think of a more fitting detail for a film collection of his.

So, highly recommend this just for the effort Criterion took to release packaging this unusual and stylish. A very fitting tribute to the aesthetic of a Wong Kar Wai film.