Going into this year, one of the most anticipated titles for film lovers was Criterion’s lavish box-set of Wong Kar Wai’s films – a box set containing brand-new 4K restorations of the master Hong Kong filmmaker’s most famed works.
However that excitement turned into a minor controversy due to some visual changes to the restorations. Many of the films like “In the Mood for Love” and “Days of Being Wild” run decidedly more green in hue, but “Fallen Angels” in particular has been singled out as it is now a drastically different film with a whole new aspect ratio, framing and color palette.
In a recent interview with Pagina 12 (via The Playlist) with Wong’s cinematographer Christopher Doyle, the lenser says shouldn’t obsess over the changes all that much:
“I think that we should not be so sensitive with our works. You have to let go, let them go. No need to masturbate over creations. I was not firmly involved in the restorations, although I gave my opinion several times and I was observing how the process was carried out.
I think the ‘Fallen Angels’ case is a perfect example of an attitude towards work: they tried switching to an anamorphic format and oh, how they marvelled. You always have to see with new eyes, the social and conceptual changes have been many. One thing that happened in almost all of those movies, something that people often call our ‘style,’ is that it usually came out of a mistake. [Laughs].
Post-release restoration controversies of late aren’t just restricted to Wong’s films either lately with Criterion’s recent release of Bong Joon Ho’s “Memories of Murder” suffering similar complaints.
That one boasts a new 4K restoration from the Korean Film Archive that has a completely different color scheme now – offering a heavy green hue with crushed blacks, and reviews for the transfer have not been kind.
