Fallen Angels (1995)
Director - Wong Kar-Wai
DVD Released by : Kino Video
Player reviewed with : Sony S3000
Receiver reviewed with : Sony 925
Features:
In Chinese with English Subtitles
Scene access
Trailer
Not enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs
Running Time : 95 mins.
Fallen Angels is a visually stunning film. Wong Kar-Wai really can make other directors look like first time hacks. Though this movie is slower paced than CHUNG KING EXPRESS, it is also much darker but equally beautiful to watch. There are a couple of stories going on at once. One is about a hitman and his partner who falls in love with him. He wants out of the business but finds it difficult to tell her. Another story is about a mute who opens businesses after they close so he can make money. This story in particular is very touching. Though a drama, there are some great action scenes.
The DVD is a straight forward presentation of the movies. No extras besides a trailer and it can only be watched in Chinese with English subtitles. The trailer is pretty long but it is nice to have. I didn't miss not having those filmographies on this disc.

Every frame of this movie is a work of art. You could take a snapshot of any single frame and literally put it on your wall. The picture quality is pretty good on this DVD. The darks and lights were done very well. The film is shot entirely at night and the city streets aglow with neon lights look great. The picture only suffers from the quality of it's source material. Overall, the picture is a little better than average.

The packaging doesn't really say anything about the sound. I believe it's Dolby 5.1. It comes only from the center speaker. The mixing seems to be pretty good and only on one or two occasions did the music overpower the dialogue. The movie is mostly music with very little dialogue. When characters speak it is mostly in voiceovers.

When I first saw the sparse menu I though I got hosed again like with World Video version of ASHES OF TIME. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the picture and sound were pretty good. At first the subtitles are a little distracting but I quickly got used to them. If you like the movie, you will like the DVD. This is one movie that you will watch more than once.