Miscellaneous Movie Musings

[innerSpaceman]

I haven't seen either version, but mousepod made a grand point of saying the edited, U.S.-release version, which is the one available via Netflix I presume, was pure crap.


so when i sadly I missed the screening, I knew there was no way to see the same version of Perdita Durango which screened at la casa (much less one with the customized subtitled care of senor mousepod).


Le sigh.

[Alex]

What I saw was the "unrated director's cut" not the US theatrical version.

According to comments on IMDb what was cut was mostly Rosie Perez nudity and rights-difficult TV and movie clips.

I don't know what was happening during that nudity and I've read how Vera Cruz was involved. Somehow I don't think that seeing her boobs would have made Perez any more palatable but as with fried pork penis, I won't say I didn't like it until I've had it; but I'm not going to go out of my way.

[Not Afraid]

So, in the version you saw, was the film Vera Cruz featured twice? (I especially want to know if it appeared at the end of the film.)

Here's a listing of all of the cuts.


We watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest tonight. I haven't seen that film since the late 70's. It is amazing how it holds up to time and is still such a great film!

[Alex]

No, Vera Cruz was cut from the end as that page described. Of all the cuts listed that is the only one I see possibly having a huge impact on the film. Somehow not seeing the dad watching Mary Tyler Moore or an extra shot of Perez's boob doesn't seem significant.

Did I mention that Rosie Perez was really, horribly awful? Whenever she was off screen for a few minutes I felt myself warming up to things a bit. But then back she'd come.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Yeah, it was that last use of Vera Cruz that really sold the film for me. Very, very important to appreciation of the whole thing.

[Alex]

I'll just have to take your word for it. I don't see how it could be (especially since I've never seen Vera Cruz) though. A payoff in the final 2 minutes doesn't really help with being bored silly for the first 119.

[innerSpaceman]

Two films by Wong Kar Wai last nite:

Happy Together - 1997 movie about a dysfunctional Chinese gay couple stranded in Argentina. OMG, botched mess of bad editing, script, cinematography and concept. The fuctupness of the two guys and their on-again-off-again lives together and not was relentlessly distressing. But Tony Leung is a total cutie as the more sympathetic of the two lovers.

-and-

In the Mood for Love - beautiful but sad film about neighbors in 1962 Shanghai who find their respective spouses (his wife, her husband) are having an affair. They start spending a lot of time together, fall deeply in love, but refuse to carry on like the spouses they are so upset with ... and never fulfill the promise of their romance.

I found it astonishing that, in 2000, just 3 years later, the same director and cinematographer created this work of stunning beauty. Gorgeous cinammontography, assured editing, stylish directing, fantastic use of music. Evocative and moody, but not a downer until near the end when you realize the two lovesters will never be lovers. They are played by the yummy Tony Leung (a little older than he was in Happy Together, but still so handsome) and the unbelievably gorgeous Maggie Cheung.

It took me a while to remember where I'd seen them as a couple before ... and it was in Yimou Zhang's stunning 2002 film Hero (which I also hearily recommend if you haven't seen it).

[Alex]

Wong Kar Wai is one I generally don't see the appeal of but I really did enjoy In the Mood for Love.

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

In the Mood for Love - beautiful but sad film about neighbors in 1962 Shanghai who find their respective spouses (his wife, her husband) are having an affair. They start spending a lot of time together, fall deeply in love, but refuse to carry on like the spouses they are so upset with ... and never fulfill the promise of their romance.

Tony Leung is so frellin' gorgeous in Mood. I love this movie so much. I've avoided the "quasi-sequel", 2046. Even though he's supposed to be just an echo of the character he played in Mood, I rather like how the other film ended. How he was left. I'll probably watch it eventually.

Amazon description of 2045, behind a spoiler tag because it's lengthy.

Spoiler:

In Wong Kar Wai's quasi-sequel to In the Mood for Love, 2046 is a hotel room, a futuristic story, and a state of mind. Tony Leung returns as Chow, but perhaps not the same Chow who appeared in the first film. Starting three years later in 1966, we see Chow on various Christmases as he lives, loves, and writes in a hotel and nearby restaurants. Although he is less sensitive and more of a ladies man now, Chow's love life always seems to exceed his grasp. Whether the character is the same (the director calls this an "echo" of the first movie) might be trivial. Hong Kong filmmaker Wai is such a visualist (Time magazine tabbed him as the "world's most romantic filmmaker"), the images wash over with swirling smoke, neon lights, and the faces of his outstanding cast, all lovingly photographed and smoothly scored. There's a lot more going on than the visuals, and Wai's fans will certainly find more and more details on repeated viewings. We travel into Chow's futuristic story, where the acquaintances become fictional characters traveling to a place where "everyone goes" to recapture lost memories. Often Chow talks about never seeing a lover ever again, but eventually bumps into her. The final result is a film some will cherish; others will long for the more traditional storyline of the first film. Wai certainly finds a new direction for actress Ziyi Zhang (House of Flying Daggers) as a prostitute who becomes one of Chow's many lovers. And Leung continues to be one of the world's great film actors, with a face and acting style the camera just loves. --Doug Thomas

[Alex]

It took me almost a week to watch 2046 on DVD. Every single time I started it I would be asleep within 15 minutes. Seriously, the most powerful sleeping aid I've ever experienced.