IN
THE MOOD FOR LOVE ($40) is an unforgettable and incredibly beautiful
motion picture, that reminds one that cinema is indeed an art form. This
film creates such a fragile, delicate illusion of love in a bygone era-
that one should be fearful that it would vanish if they looked at it too
intensely. Set in 1962 Hong Kong, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE tells the
story of two couples moving into the same apartment building at roughly
the same time. The husband from one couple and the wife from the other
develop a quiet friendship, which grows into a mutual attraction, yet
the two never act upon their feelings. However, both find their lives
forever changed when they uncover a shared secret about their spouses.
Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung deliver moving performances of quiet dignity
as they maintain the very formalized facades of their characters. IN
THE MOOD FOR LOVE is a very touching film, but I doubt that the majority
of American audiences will find this romantic drama living up to their
preconceived notions.
The
Criterion Collection has made IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE available in
a 1.66:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback
on 16:9 displays. This is a meticulous transfer that perfectly recreates
the film's beautiful and moody cinematography. The image is usually sharp
and well defined, which brings out the details in the production design
for this recreation of 1960s Hong Kong. Some of the cinematography is
filtered to give the image a hazy dreamlike quality, but the image is
always visually appealing. Colors are beautifully rendered in a subdued,
but vibrantly accented manner. Various hues leap out at the viewer from
a world of muted, earthen tones, without a trace of chroma noise or smearing.
Blacks are accurately rendered, plus the picture produces a very nice
level of shadow detail. The dual layered DVD doesn't display any noticeable
signs of digital compression artifacts.
IN
THE MOOD FOR LOVE is presented with a Dolby Digital 5.0 channel soundtrack.
The mix is very subdued, which is in keeping with the low-key nature of
the material. There is a good sense of ambience in the sound mix, with
the sound effects remaining quite subtle. But then again, IN THE MOOD
FOR LOVE is very much a dialogue driven film and has very few opportunities
for noticeable sound effects. The haunting musical score is well mixed
and recreated with excellent fidelity. Despite the absence of a separate
bass channel, the soundtrack has a strong bottom end that well serves
both music and the occasional sound effect. Dialogue is crisply rendered,
but I am unable to judge the intelligibility of the Cantonese and Shanghainese
spoken in the film. A Dolby Surround mix is also present on the DVD, as
are easily readable English subtitles.
Music
and a bit of animation enhance the interactive menus, which provide access
to the standard scene selection and set up features as well, as the supplemental
materials contained on the two-disc set. Disc one contains four deleted
scenes, an isolated music and effects track, notes on the film's music
and a short film by director Wong Kar-Wai. Disc two features a fifty-minute
documentary on the making of IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, two on camera
interviews with Wong Kar-Wai, a forty-three minute press conference and
Q&A session from the Toronto International Film Festival, essays on
Hong Kong in the 1960s, a promotional material gallery, a theatrical trailer,
TV spots, electronic press kit, photo galleries, a career essay on director
Wong Kar-Wai and cast & crew biographies/filmographies.
IN
THE MOOD FOR LOVE is a haunting an unforgettable film about the love
shared by two people from a bygone era. The Criterion Collection DVD release
is utterly superb in terms of both the presentation and the supplemental
material offered. If you are a fan of the movie, then this is a DVD you
will want to own.
IN
THE MOOD FOR LOVE ($40) is an unforgettable and incredibly beautiful
motion picture, that reminds one that cinema is indeed an art form. This
film creates such a fragile, delicate illusion of love in a bygone era-
that one should be fearful that it would vanish if they looked at it too
intensely. Set in 1962 Hong Kong, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE tells the
story of two couples moving into the same apartment building at roughly
the same time. The husband from one couple and the wife from the other
develop a quiet friendship, which grows into a mutual attraction, yet
the two never act upon their feelings. However, both find their lives
forever changed when they uncover a shared secret about their spouses.
Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung deliver moving performances of quiet dignity
as they maintain the very formalized facades of their characters. IN
THE MOOD FOR LOVE is a very touching film, but I doubt that the majority
of American audiences will find this romantic drama living up to their
preconceived notions.
The
Criterion Collection has made IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE available in
a 1.66:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for playback
on 16:9 displays. This is a meticulous transfer that perfectly recreates
the film's beautiful and moody cinematography. The image is usually sharp
and well defined, which brings out the details in the production design
for this recreation of 1960s Hong Kong. Some of the cinematography is
filtered to give the image a hazy dreamlike quality, but the image is
always visually appealing. Colors are beautifully rendered in a subdued,
but vibrantly accented manner. Various hues leap out at the viewer from
a world of muted, earthen tones, without a trace of chroma noise or smearing.
Blacks are accurately rendered, plus the picture produces a very nice
level of shadow detail. The dual layered DVD doesn't display any noticeable
signs of digital compression artifacts.
IN
THE MOOD FOR LOVE is presented with a Dolby Digital 5.0 channel soundtrack.
The mix is very subdued, which is in keeping with the low-key nature of
the material. There is a good sense of ambience in the sound mix, with
the sound effects remaining quite subtle. But then again, IN THE MOOD
FOR LOVE is very much a dialogue driven film and has very few opportunities
for noticeable sound effects. The haunting musical score is well mixed
and recreated with excellent fidelity. Despite the absence of a separate
bass channel, the soundtrack has a strong bottom end that well serves
both music and the occasional sound effect. Dialogue is crisply rendered,
but I am unable to judge the intelligibility of the Cantonese and Shanghainese
spoken in the film. A Dolby Surround mix is also present on the DVD, as
are easily readable English subtitles.
Music
and a bit of animation enhance the interactive menus, which provide access
to the standard scene selection and set up features as well, as the supplemental
materials contained on the two-disc set. Disc one contains four deleted
scenes, an isolated music and effects track, notes on the film's music
and a short film by director Wong Kar-Wai. Disc two features a fifty-minute
documentary on the making of IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, two on camera
interviews with Wong Kar-Wai, a forty-three minute press conference and
Q&A session from the Toronto International Film Festival, essays on
Hong Kong in the 1960s, a promotional material gallery, a theatrical trailer,
TV spots, electronic press kit, photo galleries, a career essay on director
Wong Kar-Wai and cast & crew biographies/filmographies.
IN
THE MOOD FOR LOVE is a haunting an unforgettable film about the love
shared by two people from a bygone era. The Criterion Collection DVD release
is utterly superb in terms of both the presentation and the supplemental
material offered. If you are a fan of the movie, then this is a DVD you
will want to own.
