Days of Being Wild

Days of Being Wild (1990)

Director - Wong Kar-Wai

DVD Released by : Mega Star

Player reviewed with : Sony S3000

Receiver reviewed with : Sony 925

Features:

Cantonese Soundtrack

Dolby Digital 5.1 remix

English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, Vietnam Subtitles

Trailer

Trailer for As Tears Go By

Enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs

Running Time : 94 min

DAYS OF BEING WILD is the story of York (Leslie Cheung), a lady's man who finds girlfriends very quickly and then terminates the relationship without warning. Needless to say, this is devastating to the women involved. The woman he meets early in the film (Maggie Cheung), is not instantly smitten by him. York tricks her into being his friend for one minute. After, they gradually become friends. York then ends their involvement. York then is called to help his stepmother who has drank to much. While at her apartment, he beats her younger boyfriend up for stealing her jewelry. York then meets another woman (Carina Lau), who he gets caught with by his former girlfriend when she goes to his apartment to get back some things she left. York soon afterward dumps his new girlfriend to search out his real mother.

This is another Wong Kar Wai movie that won several awards, including best picture, best director, and best cinematography. Leslie Cheung is great in his role as York. Jacky Cheung has a small part but is very good in it as York's friend. Andy Lau is also great as a policeman who befriends Maggie Cheung.

I couldn't wait to watch this movie because I heard very different opinions of the quality of the picture. The movie starts off with some specks in the film print and is very grainy looking. The picture clears up after a couple of minutes even though there are some occasional specks throughout the film. Overall the picture is decent. The AS TEARS GO BY transfer is a little better than this one. The artifacts are most noticeable in the beginning of the film but after that I didn't notice any. The film print that is used is okay. Other than the previously mentioned specks, the print is relatively free of damage.

The sound is in Dolby Digital 5.1 and there is only a Cantonese track. The sound comes mostly form the front speakers. The mixing is done pretty well but there are some pops and crackles at times in the soundtrack. This doesn't happen very often but I feel it's worth mentioning so other do not doubt their audio equipment. Overall, the sound is pretty good and the few imperfections won't ruin your enjoyment of the film.

Extras consist of the usual filmography's and synopsis of the story. There is also a trailer for AS TEARS GO BY.

At the moment, this is the best representation of this film on DVD. The picture isn't perfect but it's watchable. If you are a fan of Wong Kar Wai or any of the stars of this movie, at least rent this one before deciding whether to buy it or not. I should also mention that Tony Leung is listed in the credits of the film but is only in it for a minute or two. Another interesting note, Maggie Cheung's character in DAYS OF BEING WILD is also the name of her character in IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE.