DVD
Criterion Watch: ‘Bottle Rocket’ & ‘Chungking Express’
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Above is the cover for for two big new “modern” masterpieces being given the fabulous Criterion Collection treatment. ‘Chungking Express’ is a mesmerizing and beautiful film by Wong Kar–Wai and ‘Bottle Rockets’ is the smart, subtly humorous feature film debut from filmmaker Wes Anderson.
‘Chungking Express’
Synopsis:
The whiplash, double-pronged Chungking Express is one of the defining works of nineties cinema and the film that made Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai an instant icon. Two heartsick Hong Kong cops (Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung), both jilted by ex-lovers, cross paths at the Midnight Express take-out restaurant stand, where the ethereal pixie waitress Faye (Faye Wong) works. Anything goes in Wong’s gloriously shot and utterly unexpected charmer, which cemented the sex appeal of its gorgeous stars and forever turned canned pineapple and the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’†into tokens of romantic longing.
Special Features:
- – New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- – Remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack supervised by director Wong Kar-wai
- – Audio commentary by noted Asian cinema critic Tony Rayns
- – Episode excerpt from the British television series Moving Pictures featuring Wong and cinematographer Christopher Doyle
- – U.S. theatrical trailer
- – New and improved English subtitle translation
- – PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Amy Taubin and excerpts from a 1996 Sight and Sound interview with Wong by Rayns
‘Bottle Rocket’
Synopsis:
Wes Anderson first illustrated his lovingly detailed, slightly surreal cinematic vision in this witty and warm portrait of three young middle-class misfits. Fresh out of a mental hospital, gentle Anthony (Luke Wilson) finds himself once again embroiled in the machinations of his best friend, elaborate schemer Dignan (Owen Wilson). With the aid of getaway driver Bob (Robert Musgrave), they develop a needlessly complex, mildly successful plan to rob a small bookstoreâ€â€then go “on the lam.†Also featuring Lumi Cavazos as Inez, the South American housekeeper Anthony falls in love with, and James Caan as local thief extraordinaire Mr. Henry, Bottle Rocket is a charming, hilarious, affectionate look at the folly of dreamers. Shot against radiant southwestern backdrops, it’s the film that put Anderson and the Wilson brothers on the map.
Special Features:
- – DIRECTOR-APPROVED DOUBLE-DISC SET SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
- – New, restored high-definition digital transfer supervised and approved by director Wes Anderson and director of photography Robert Yeoman
- – Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack
- – Commentary by director/co-writer Anderson and co-writer/actor Owen Wilson
- – The Making of “Bottle Rocket†: an original documentary by filmmaker Barry Braverman featuring Anderson, James L. Brooks, James Caan, Temple Nash Jr., Kumar Pallana, Polly Platt, Mark Mothersbaugh, Robert Musgrave, Richard Sakai, David and Sandy Wasco, Andrew and Luke and Owen Wilson, and Robert Yeoman
- – The original thirteen-minute black-and-white Bottle Rocket short film from 1992
- – Eleven deleted scenes
- – Anamorphic screen test, storyboards, location photos, and behind-the-scenes photographs by Laura Wilson
- – Murita Cycles, a 1978 short film by Braverman
- – The Shafrazi Lectures, no. 1: Bottle Rocket
- – PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by executive producer James L. Brooks, an appreciation by Martin Scorsese, and original artwork by Ian Dingman
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