If my memory of her has an expiration date, let it be 10,000 years...

I'm a relative latecomer to the HD revolution, but baby, let me tell you: Now I'm a believer.

All it took was the right gear together.

Once in place, there is nothing quite like rediscovering a classic movie you love explode on the screen in technicolor.

That's what Wong Kar-Wai's classic, Chungking Express did for me tonight. It's like falling love with an old friend, all over again. Criterion did an sublime job transferring a movie long neglected -- you should see the grainy junk Asian copy I had!

Wong's meandering camera and Christopher Doyle's stunning cinematography are a perfect match for high definition. The movie isn't meant to be sharp, clear and booming at all times, like some of the other more notable HD movies out there.

What the experience does for this film is allow the colors to pop, the soundscape of chaotic Hong Kong to shine and the subtle, wonderful performances of the actors to shine through.

It was a reminder of what I love about cinema. I look forward to rediscovering my old favorites anew as they start appearing in HD as well.

May they all be so lovingly presented as Chungking Express tonight.

Ashes of Time Redone.

Long known for leisurely shoots and last minute re-edits, Wong Kar-Wai is a meticulous visionary, rarely content with the final cuts of his films. In the past, this has led to slightly different versions of his movies being released in different parts of the world.

Now he is going back to Ashes of Time, his 1994 wuxia classic, to spruce things up for a definitive version, premiering this week in Cannes.



Hopefully this redux will make it to a screen around here, later this year. It premieres at the Cannes Film Festival, currently underway.

As with anything he does, Wong's take on martial art spectacle is already unique. I look forward to seeing what he does to take it to a new level!