Criterion has put five Blu-Ray DVD up for preorder on their sight, three for November 18 (The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Third Man and The Last Emperor) and two for November 25 (Chungking Express and Bottle Rocket), all for $31.96. Chungking Express is the big news even if you are not a huge Wong Kar Wai fan. It is the one release that has been ignored domestically, unless you want to count the pan scan DVD that Tarantino slapped his picture on. A couple remaster versions have come out in Japan, France and most recently in Hong Kong. Criterion is releasing Chungking Express on Blu-Ray as well as on plain ol' DVD. Here are the special features listed for both:
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack supervised by director Wong Kar-wai
- Audio commentary by noted Asian cinema critic Tony Rayns
- U.S. theatrical trailer
- Episode excerpt from the BBC Television series Moving Pictures, featuring Wong and cinematographer Christopher Doyle
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Amy Taubin
6 comments:
Well I guess that's my excuse to see Chungking. Have to get a Blu-Ray player first, though...
Daniel, you are totally on the list for the Chungking Express party! It may not be ON Thanksgiving, but maybe that weekend.
Loved 'Chungking Express', we're WKW fans too.
Man, if I only had a BD player. I'd love to own a copy of "Chungking Express".
Also, you might find this to be a hoot, but apparently Criterion renovated their "home theater" and they selected a Sony PS3 as their BD player!
That's awesome! I hadn't seen that Sound and Vision article. It's reassuring that they chose the PS3 since that is definitely the player I'm leaning towards. Having a gaming console is an added perk, but it also seems the best player for the money (with upgrade ability that others don't have.) Of course the Christmas shopping season is just around the corner, and I bet there will be some significant price drops in stand alone players.
I think I saw a lower-end BD player in this week's Best Buy sales circular for $300 or something like that.
But, I think if you're going to spend $300 for a BD player, I think you should spend an additional $100 or so for the PS3, too.
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