Directed by Wong Kar Wai

Directed by Wong Kar Wai

14 Episodes

With his lush and sensual visuals, pitch-perfect soundtracks, and soulful romanticism, Wong Kar Wai has established himself as one of the defining auteurs of contemporary cinema. Joined by such key collaborators as cinematographer Christopher Doyle; editor and production and costume designer William Chang Suk Ping; and actors Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Maggie Cheung Man Yuk, Wong (or WKW, as he is often known) has written and directed films that have enraptured audiences and critics worldwide and inspired countless other filmmakers with their poetic moods and music, narrative and stylistic daring, and potent themes of alienation and memory. Whether tragically romantic, soaked in blood, or quirkily comedic, the films collected here are an invitation into the unique and wistful world of a deeply influential artist.

Subscribe Share
Directed by Wong Kar Wai
  • As Tears Go By

    Episode 1

    Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 1988 • Hong Kong
    Starring Andy Lau Tak Wah, Maggie Cheung Man Yuk, Jacky Cheung Hok Yau

    Wong Kar Wai’s scintillating debut feature is a kinetic, hypercool crime thriller graced with flashes of the impressionistic, daydream visual style for which he would become renowne...

  • Days of Being Wild

    Episode 2

    Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 1990 • Hong Kong
    Starring Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing, Andy Lau Tak Wah, Maggie Cheung Man Yuk

    The breakthrough sophomore feature by Wong Kar Wai represents the first full flowering of his swooning signature style. The initial entry in a loosely connected, ongoing cycle th...

  • Chungking Express

    Episode 3

    Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 1994 • Hong Kong
    Starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Faye Wong, Takeshi Kaneshiro

    The whiplash, double-pronged CHUNGKING EXPRESS is one of the defining works of 1990s cinema and the film that made Wong Kar Wai an instant icon. Two heartsick Hong Kong cops (Takeshi Kaneshiro ...

  • Fallen Angels

    Episode 4

    Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 1995 • Hong Kong
    Starring Michelle Reis, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Leon Lai Ming

    Lost souls reach out for human connection amid a glimmering Hong Kong in Wong Kar Wai’s hallucinatory, neon-soaked nocturne. Originally conceived as a segment of CHUNGKING EXPRESS only to spin of...

  • Happy Together

    Episode 5

    Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 1997 • Hong Kong
    Starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing

    One of the most searing romances of the 1990s, Wong Kar Wai’s emotionally raw, lushly stylized portrait of a relationship in breakdown casts Hong Kong superstars Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Leslie Cheun...

  • In the Mood for Love

    Episode 6

    Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2000 • Hong Kong
    Starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung Man-yuk

    Hong Kong, 1962: Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk) move into neighboring apartments on the same day. Their encounters are formal and polite—until a discovery abo...

  • The Grandmaster

    Episode 7

    Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2013 • Hong Kong
    Starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen

    Wong Kar Wai brings his intoxicating visual lyricism and swooningly romantic sensibility to the martial-arts genre with this sumptuously stylized, ten-years-in-the-making action epic. Tony Leung star...

  • Hua yang de nian hua

    Episode 8

    Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2000 • Hong Kong

    This 2000 short film by Wong Kar Wai was made entirely out of print elements discovered in a California warehouse. It is set to Zhou Xuan’s song “Hua yang de nian hua.”

  • The Hand

    Episode 9

    Directed by Wong Kar Wai • 2004 • Hong Kong
    Starring Gong Li, Chang Chen, Feng Tien

    Like IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, THE HAND is set in the hazy Hong Kong of the 1960s, but its characters couldn’t be more different from the earlier film’s restrained, haunted lovers. Originally conceived for the omnibu...

  • Wong Kar Wai on His Career

    Episode 10

    Made in 2020, this program features director Wong Kar Wai answering ten questions about his work asked by fellow artists.

  • DAYS OF BEING WILD Alternate Version

    Episode 11

    This digital transfer of a 35 mm print of DAYS OF BEING WILD features an altered prologue sequence and different edits during the final scenes of the film.

  • Christopher Doyle on CHUNGKING EXPRESS

    Episode 12

    This interview with cinematographer Christopher Doyle about his work on CHUNGKING EXPRESS was filmed in 2002.

  • Christopher Doyle on FALLEN ANGELS

    Episode 13

    In this 2002 interview, Christopher Doyle discusses the cinematography of FALLEN ANGELS.

  • @ IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE

    Episode 14

    Created by Jet Tone Films, this 2000 documentary follows director Wong Kar Wai and his cast and crew through the production of IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. It offers a unique look at Wong’s creative process as he hones ideas, abandons footage, and fleshes out the visual styles, characters, and stories t...