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In the Mood for Love - Criterion Collection
Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Actors: Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Rebecca Pan, Lai Chin, and Siu Ping-Lam
Rated: Unrated
Retail Price (not our price): $39.95
Release Date: 2002-03-05
Theatrical Release Date: 2000
Studio: Criterion
Run Time: 98 minutes
Format: Array
Format: Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Discs: 2


Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):

1) Amazon.com
Winner of numerous awards including Best Actor at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, In the Mood for Love confirmed that Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai is a major figure in world cinema. As passionate as it is politely discreet, his film takes place in 1962 Hong Kong, where neighboring apartment dwellers Mr. Chow (Tony Leung) and Mrs. Chan (Maggie Cheung) discover that their oft-absent spouses are having an affair. This realization parallels their own mutual attraction, but fidelity and decency ensure that their intimate bond remains unspoken though deeply understood. With a stealthy, eavesdropping camera style and a screenplay created through spontaneous on-set inspiration, Wong Kar-wai crafts an intricate, finely tuned platonic romance, enhancing its ambience with a kaleidoscope of color (most notably in Cheung's dazzling wardrobe of cheongsam dresses) and careful attention to character detail. Deservedly placed on many critics' top 10 lists, this elegant film should not be missed. --Jeff Shannon

2) Description
Hong Kong, 1962: Chow Mo-wan and Su Li-zhen move into neighboring apartments on the same day. Their encounters are polite and formal-until a discovery about their respective spouses sparks an intimate bond. At once delicately mannered and visually stunning, Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love is a masterful evocation of romantic longing and fleeting moments in time.

Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5

1) Wonderfully Subtle   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
As many have said, the cinematography is visually stunning and really sets the mood, akin to a smoky jazz club and you're the only one there, except there are no jazz clubs in the movie and there are actually two people... neither of them you. These people are Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung.Some detractors of the movie claim it to be too slow or boring. Yes, it is a very slow moving piece and if you have a short attention span, you have to take that into consideration. If you do find that you are afflicted with ADD, try this... absorb the two main characters' acting style, notice the details, see how much they can convey through facial expressions and postures. That alone can carry the movie, the complex desires of what is not said... or rather what is said verbally but expressed differently. I'd say Tony and Maggie put on the best performance I've ever seen in any movie.To those who found it boring and lacking plot, I kindly disagree with you. While you can watch the movie and get blown over questioning the existence of subtext and symbols (some of which may be nonexistent), wondering what anything means, the movie DOES have a plot. At the core, it is about two neighbors discovering that their respective husband and wife are having an affair AND how they come to terms with this: the little games they act out in hypothetical confrontations with their spouses, the little scenarios they act out as they puzzle over how a relationship begins, and finally the distractions they put play to put the affair out of their minds. In particular, you may find it quite interesting and also quite realistic watching them come together by this betrayal and over time, growing fond of each other. If you are watching this movie for the Big Breakdown or a Dramatic Fight That Clinches Everything, you won't find it here. But there are many other pieces that can move your heart. Additionally, the dialog has a poetic cleverness at precise moments, allowing for it to be taken both literally and figuratively.Quite beautiful.One thing I thought worked very well for this movie is how ambivalent the ending is. Unlike Chungking Express where the movie ends on a definitive note or at a definitive point for each character, this movie plays more like real life. There are no actual 'endings' and there's always the potential for great joy or missed opportunity. If you didn't like this movie the first time around, give it another go with some patience. Admittedly, the first time I watched it I wasn't 'in the mood for love' and had to set it aside. Subsequent viewings have led to a deeper appreciation. Make sure you are inclined to be receptive.Good luck!

2) Perfect   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
In the Mood for Love has to be rated one of the best films ever made. The film is a visual feast -the art direction, lighting, sets and most of all the wardrobe are stunning. The story line of two people meeting by chance and how in someway are forced into each others company. The main highlight of their story is the complexities of relationships and loyalties - two very profound life matters which test us on a daily basis. The actors performance is mesmerizing. There's not much dialogue and much of it is left to your interpretation. The film's chemistry is focused in its visual presentation including the story and its dialogue - you pretty much feel like your looking through a visual and emotional kaleidoscope.

3) Wonderful release by Criterion   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Hats off to Wong Kar Wai for successfully bringing to screen a brilliantly written poignant romance. Everything from the beautiful Maggie Cheung to the red wall paper in room 2046 makes this DVD worth it.Criterion has put together lots of extras. Special mention goes to the deleted scenes, which gives the viewer a totally different perspective to the film's ending.Overall, its a must have for all film buffs!

4) the mood, the moment, the relationship   [Rating: 4 out of 5]
Every metaphor is in Wong Kar-Wai's amazing directing and coloring. Towhich, successfully evolves a flummoxing emotions between Maggie andTony to audiences. There are several significant scenes I like:Scene 1: A kind of relationship reveals when Maggie's husband onlyvocally appears in the movie. Maggie's gently scratch over her legafter her husband gets up for a change hints prior sex. During thistime, the scene was viewed through a door seam that leads arestraining,or suppressing atmosphere. Later on, the director also usesthis technique taking the eyes of camera through windows, fences, veils,etc.Scene 2: the rice cooker. Gathering for meals is an important thing inmost oriental cultures. Maggie is often alone and lack of connectionwith her husband while her friends' dinner scene provides a juxtapose.Scene 3: the clock, the rain (water), and diurnal eat-and-out suggestthe time. Time concedes a vastly recurring mise-en-scene.Scene 4: albeit the lack of his countenance, the smoke of cigarettesurrounding by Tony gives an invisible projection of his perplexingthoughts.The whole scene: speak it all a conservative year back in 1962. Nostrong physical affection back then, yet the intense love andaffection ferment deeply inside these two protagonists.It is a beautiful film and also a good study material for students infilm majors.

5) If you read between the lines it can get very intense.   [Rating: 4 out of 5]
This film is a teasing allegory of loneliness and longing. Here is a film without sex, or even kissing -- and it is no doubt one of the sexiest and definitely the most thought-provoking and psychological romance I have seen for a while. In addition to this Maggie Cheung can really sport some beautiful dresses through this film.Telling the story of two people who coincidentally, live in the same apartment, and are a door away from each other. The film, like and unlike Random Hearts, is about how two people come together via the affair of their two lovers. Only once they receive this news, they take the time to think about the consequences of an affair, and each other's feelings towards having just broken-up -- and whether or not the two people are willing enough to fall back in love.What's terrific about the film is the way director Wong Kar-Wai, presents each character's way of dealing with loneliness. Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung are both fantastic and Christopher Doyle is simply the best cinematographer in the business watch Temptress Moon (perhaps my favorite ever from him) for more evidence that what I say is true. With Maggie Cheung's character, he'll show her, in a repeated montage: leaving work, going home, watching her neighbors gamble, head to the noodle shop, leave the noodle shop, and bump into her attractive age-equal, played by Tony Leung. This is a clever, if not subtle and knowing technique to present loneliness. For it is when you are alone, when you find yourself falling into a loop. There are many, many close-ups in this movie, I really think this gives a claustrophobic atmosphere to their romance. This comes as no surprise since the movie does take place in Hong Kong and we get the impression that this is a place where everything is cramped and everyone knows everything about everybody else. It seems like they give as much concern to seeing each other as they are to keeping their relationship within the confines of social standards as well. As I said before there is nothing explicit. It is all percolating under the surface. This lends itself to the feeling that the chaos of the world outside is mirrored by the chaos of their own hidden emotions on the inside. This film was forward to me by my friends who adores Asian cinema in return I will highly recommend this to you.