Wong Kar Wai's - Days of Being Wild

(aka "Days of Being Wild" or "A Fei jing juen" or "A Fei zheng zhuan" or A-Fei Tsing Chun" or "Ah Fei's Story" or "The True Story of Ah Fei")

Hong Kong 1991

In Wong Kar-wai's 1991 film Days of Being Wild, Yuddy (Leslie Cheung), a charming drifter captures the attention of store attendant Su Lizhen (Maggie Cheung) by asking her to look at his watch. When she sees that it says one minute before 3:00PM on April 16, 1960, he tells her that she will never forget the moment and will dream about him that night. The next time they meet, the moment becomes two, then one hour, then weeks and months but Yuddy is like the mythical bird with no legs that just flies and flies and never lands. Abandoned by his real mother and brought up by a wealthy alcoholic courtesan (Rebecca Pan), he does not know where he came from or where he is going. He treats women with little respect, discarding them when they no longer serve his purpose. When one lover asks him if he loves her, he tells her that during his life he will be friends with many, many women but won't know whom he truly loves until the end.
Days of Being Wild unfolds like a dream with color filters, unusual shadows, and the sights and sounds of Hong Kong's rainy nights and sweltering summers. Based on the director's memories from his childhood and admiration for the style of Argentinean novelist Manuel Puig (Heartbreak Tango), the film is a series of episodes involving six people who touch each other's lives. After his short-lived relationship with Su, Yuddy meets a cabaret dancer who calls herself Mimi (Carina Lau) but their relationship fares no better and she is left to suffer the consequences of their breakup. Meanwhile, Su meets Tide (Andy Lau), a gentle policeman whom she is able to confide until he suddenly leaves Hong Kong to become a sailor. Each character seeks a sense of identity and fulfillment. After Rebecca tells him of her plans to move to America with her boyfriend, she finally lets him know that who and where his real mother is. After Yuddy goes to the Philippines to try to find his mother, the lives of the main protagonists come together in a powerful conclusion.

Excerpt from Howard Schumann's comments on IMdb HERE.

Posters

Theatrical Release: 23 February 1991 (Berlin International Film Festival)

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Memoirs from the Beijing Film Academy by Zhen Ni, Chris Berry, Ni Zhen	Zhang Yimou: Interviews (Conversations With Filmmakers) by Frances Gateward	Chinese Films in Focus: 25 New Takes by Chris Berry	Wong Kar-Wai: Auteur of Time (Bfi World Directors) by Stephen Teo	China into Film: Frames of Reference in Contemporary Chinese Cinema (Envisioning Asia) by Jerome Silbergeld	New Chinese Cinemas by Nick Browne	Once Upon a Time in China : A Guide to Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and Mainland Chinese Cinema by Jeff Yang	Chinese Film Theory by George S. Semsel

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DVD Comparison:

Tartan (The Wong Kar-Wai Collection) - Region 2 - PAL vs. Tartan - Region 2 - PAL vs. Kino - Region 0 - NTSC* vs. Scholar (Taiwan) - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Mega-Star - Region 0 - NTSC

*From a Wong Kar-wai Boxset including As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild, Happy Together, Fallen Angels, and Chungking Express

(Tartan (The Wong Kar-Wai Collection) - Region 2 - PAL TOP LEFT vs. Tartan - Region 2- PAL 2nd vs. Kino - Region 0 - NTSC 3rd vs. Scholar - Region 0 - NTSC - BOTTOM LEFT vs. Mega-Star - Region 0 - NTSC - BOTTOM RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers

or buy the Kino NTSC Wong Kar-wai Boxset:

including As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild, Happy Together, Fallen Angels, and Chungking Express!

Distribution

Tartan

Region 2 - PAL

Tartan

Region 2- PAL

Kino Video

Region 0 - NTSC

Scholar/Shengchi/New Generation (LL) [A Taiwan-Based Distributor]

Region 0 - NTSC

Mega-Star (Hong Kong)

Region 0 - NTSC

Distribution	Tartan Region 2 - PAL	Tartan Region 2- PAL	Kino Video Region 0 - NTSC	Scholar/Shengchi/New Generation (LL) [A Taiwan-Based Distributor] Region 0 - NTSC	Mega-Star (Hong Kong) Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:31:10 (4% PAL speedup)	1:30:10 (4% PAL speedup)	1:33:54	1:34:03	1:33:54
Video	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.64 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.52 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 4.94 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.50:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.79 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.83 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Tartan(boxset) + Tartan + Kino
Bitrate: Scholar + Mega Star
Audio	2.0 Dolby Digital Cantonese	DUB: 2.0 Dolby Digital Mono Mandarin	Cantonese (Dolby Digital 2.0)	Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1)	Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles	English, None	English, None	English, none	English, Chinese, (both burned in)	English, Japanese, Korean, Bahasa Malaysian, Bahasa Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese (traditional), Chinese (simplified) and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Tartan Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • In the mood for Love trailer • 2046 Trailer DVD Release Date: November 13, 2006 Box Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Tartan Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Trailers • Booklet DVD Release Date: January 24, 2005 Keep case Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Kino Video Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Trailers for 4 Wong Kar-wai films • Stills gallery (8 in click through) • Filmographies of cast Release: October 19th, 2004 Keep Case Chapters: 12	Release Information: Studio: Scholar/Shengchi/New Generation (LL) [A Taiwan-Based Distributor] Aspect Ratio: Widescreen - 1.50:1 Edition Details: • None Keep Case Chapters 6	Release Information: Studio: Mega-Star (Hong Kong) Aspect Ratio: Original aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Edition Details: • "As Tears Go By" trailer • Cast information Keep Case Chapters: 9

Comments:

Tartan made promise of their word and have now re-released both "Days of Being Wild" and "As Tears Go By" in correct Cantonese language, part of their WKW box, also including "2046".

The new Tartan is an improvement overall. Sharper image and stronger details. There are however differences in one or two scenes, notice the "zoomed in" image in image #6. Still, with - finally - correct language, and a better image, Tartan is the best image available.

- Henrik Sylow

ADDITION (Tartan - PAL - January '05):

The Tartan DVD is a DVD5, film only taking up about 3.5 GB.

Tartan image is a different scan and source. It is cropped approx 2.5% right, and is vertically 3% lower than Kino. It is also squeezed approx 2% horizontally. The colour scheme is green-ish, and as such more accurate.

While both Tartan and Kino are beautiful, frame #3 is slightly sharper in details (notice combteeth).

Where all other DVD releases of this film is in Cantonese, Tartan comes with a 2.0 Dolby Digital Mono Mandarin track. As this is a Hong Kong production, the language should be Cantonese. According to Tartan, they did request the Cantonese version, but received Mandarin.

But the real critical issue here is, that apart from the booklet, this is a DVD5 bare-boned release, and to ask £19,99 is really pushing the envelope to cash in on Wong and the January UK premiere of "2046".

Henrik Sylow

It is pretty hard to know what the exact color should be in this release. We have read what Cinematographer Christopher Doyle has said and interpreting that, yes the Tartan and the Mega-Star fall into that category of having a greenish-tinge. I look for some hard evidence that the brighter Mega-Star has excessive edge enhancement but can only find minute traces. It can appear that the Mega Star in slightly sharper than the Tartan, but checking the zoomed in captures at the end, I believe this may be a false assessment. I think the Tartan's colors are better and it is a sharper image. The Tartan also has far superior contrast than the Mega Star. It appears that the Mega Star is less-cropped (top edge) than the Tartan. Overall the Mega-Star has some grammar errors in the subtitles, but the big faux-pas of this entire comparisons is the DUB on the Tartan! That alone is enough to throw the Tartan out of contention. I prefer the Mega-Star's flaws to any of the other editions weaknesses.

Gary Tooze

*******

ADDITION (Kino - Region 0 - NTSC - Sept -04) - The darker Kino edition show the other two to be side-cropped. The subtitles are improved (both font and grammar). It appears to be a toss-up regarding sharpness from the Mega-Star to the Kino, but I suspect because of some contrast boosting the Hong Kong edition that it may artificially appear sharper. The Kino does have more extras, but it is not stellar in that department. I don't think the Mega-Star's green haze is accurate, nor the boosted 5.1audio (but I don't have confirmation on that yet). The Kino is the best of the three and may remain the best this film will look on DVD although the Upcoming TF1 ( HERE ) might be the definitive.

*****

Seems the Taiwanese Scholar image may have been taken from an Open Matte print - cropped by ? to 1.50. The true aspect ratio appears to be listed at 1.85 which would make the 1.78 anamorphic aspect ratio on the Mega-Star certainly more accurate. As well as having dual subtitles burned in the Scholar image is excessively red. The Mega-Star looks a little green in comparison. There is 'ghosting' to varying degrees in both issues, but the obvious choice of purchase is the Mega-Star DVD. The Scholar looks like some sort of weird Taiwanese bootleg and I would avoid it.

- Gary W. Tooze

NOTE (thanks Peter): According to Amazon France HERE TF1 has announced a Wong Kar-Wai boxset with these 5 movies due November 4th: Days of Being Wild, Ashes of Time, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, and Happy Together. I don't know anything about the sources used by TF1, but I really hope that we will see some new excellent transfers with English subtitles.

NOTE: (Thanks Jason): Some comment I like to talk about is the "green haze" (very noticeable) on Mega Stars release of Days of being Wild. If I remember correctly, the green haze is there on purpose even when I watch it in cinema when the movie is first released. It is also pointed out by WKW in some magazine (again if I remember correctly) that the green haze all over the movie is a style to make it a look of "old" so to simulate the 60's feelings.

From a new interview with Christopher Doyle:

"We began the interview looking over some DVDs of Chris Doyle's work with Wong Kar-wai. He picked up the Hong Kong import of Days of Being Wild, their first collaboration. "You have to get the Japanese version," he remarked. "The color is wrong on this one. It's not green enough. It was all green, but then they kind of 'corrected' it when I wasn't there. They took away the green because they thought I didn't know what I was doing."

DVD Menus

(Tartan (The Wong Kar-Wai Collection) - Region 2 - PAL)

(Tartan - Region 2- PAL LEFT vs. Kino - Region 0 - NTSC RIGHT)

(Scholar - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Mega-Star - Region 0 - NTSC - RIGHT)

Subtitle Samples

(Tartan (The Wong Kar-Wai Collection) - Region 2 - PAL - TOP vs. Tartan - Region 2- PAL 2nd vs. Kino - Region 0 - NTSC 3rd vs. Scholar - Region 0 - NTSC - 4th vs. Mega-Star - Region 0 - NTSC - BOTTOM)