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IMDbPro

Chungking Express

Original title: Chung Hing sam lam
  • 19941994
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 42m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
80K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,534
211
Takeshi Kaneshiro, Brigitte Lin, and Faye Wong in Chungking Express (1994)
Watch Trailer [OV]
Play trailer2:40
2 Videos
74 Photos
ComedyCrimeDrama
Two melancholy Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious female underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal waitress at a late-night restaurant he frequents.Two melancholy Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious female underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal waitress at a late-night restaurant he frequents.Two melancholy Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious female underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal waitress at a late-night restaurant he frequents.
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
80K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,534
211
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Kar-Wai Wong
    • Writer
      • Kar-Wai Wong
    • Stars
      • Brigitte Lin
      • Takeshi Kaneshiro
      • Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Kar-Wai Wong
    • Writer
      • Kar-Wai Wong
    • Stars
      • Brigitte Lin
      • Takeshi Kaneshiro
      • Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 231User reviews
    • 128Critic reviews
    • 78Metascore
    • Awards
      • 10 wins & 23 nominations

    Videos2

    Trailer [OV]
    Trailer 2:40
    Trailer [OV]
    Streaming Passport to China
    Clip 4:35
    Streaming Passport to China

    Photos74

    Chungking Express (1994)
    Takeshi Kaneshiro and Brigitte Lin in Chungking Express (1994)
    Valerie Chow, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Brigitte Lin, and Faye Wong in Chungking Express (1994)
    Faye Wong in Chungking Express (1994)
    Brigitte Lin in Chungking Express (1994)
    Valerie Chow, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Brigitte Lin, and Faye Wong in Chungking Express (1994)
    Brigitte Lin and Faye Wong in Chungking Express (1994)
    Valerie Chow, Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, and Faye Wong in Chungking Express (1994)
    Takeshi Kaneshiro and Brigitte Lin in Chungking Express (1994)
    Takeshi Kaneshiro, Brigitte Lin, and Faye Wong in Chungking Express (1994)
    Michelle Reis in As Tears Go By (1988)
    Brigitte Lin in Chungking Express (1994)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Brigitte Lin
    Brigitte Lin
    • Woman in Blonde Wig
    • (as Ching-hsia Lin)
    Takeshi Kaneshiro
    Takeshi Kaneshiro
    • He Zhiwu, Cop 223
    Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
    Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
    • Cop 663
    • (as Tony Chiu Wai Leung)
    Faye Wong
    Faye Wong
    • Faye
    Valerie Chow
    Valerie Chow
    • Air Hostess
    Piggy Chan
    Piggy Chan
    • Manager of 'Midnight Express'
    • (as Jinquan Chen)
    Lee-Na Kwan
    • Richard
    • (as Guan Lina)
    Zhiming Huang
    • Man
    Liang Zhen
    • The 2nd May
    Songshen Zuo
    • Man
    Thom Baker
    • Drug Dealer
    • (uncredited)
    Rico Chu
    Rico Chu
    • Man
    • (uncredited)
    Vickie Eng
    Vickie Eng
    • Barmaid
    • (uncredited)
    Lynne Langdon
    Lynne Langdon
    • Complaining Customer
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Kar-Wai Wong
    • Writer
      • Kar-Wai Wong
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Since 'Chungking Express' was filmed in sequence or "like a road movie" as Kar-Wai Wong has said, Wong wrote each scene either the night before or in the morning of the day of filming.
    • Goofs
      When Faye (Faye Wong) delivers a letter to Policeman 663 (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai), said letter is being held in a way that makes the front side point down. However, in the following cut, it is held straight.
    • Quotes

      He Zhiwu, Cop 223: If memories could be canned, would they also have expiry dates? If so, I hope they last for centuries.

    • Alternate versions
      The original Hong Kong release ran 98 minutes. 'Kar Wai Wong' made several changes to the international version, bringing the running time to 102 minutes:
      • The international version expands the scenes where The Blonde prepares for the smuggling trip and later searches for the smugglers.
      • Indian music plays during the smugglers' arrival at the airport in international prints; in the Hong Kong version, the title theme plays.
      • The international version includes the kidnapping of an Indian girl, which does not occur in the Hong Kong version.
      • The sequence with Zhiwu loitering outside his girlfriend's window appears earlier in the international edit.
      • In the Hong Kong version, the Faye Wong cover of "Dreams" plays over the shot of 663 drinking coffee. The international version strips out the music (leaving only ambient noise), although "Dreams" still appears at the end of the film. The international cut is Wong's preferred version and has been used for most home video releases. The Hong Kong cut was released on VHS/laserdisc by World Video and on VHS/LD/DVD by Mei Ah.
    • Connections
      Edited into 365 Days, also Known as a Year (2019)
    • Soundtracks
      Dream Person
      Written by Dolores O'Riordan and Noel Hogan

      Performed by Faye Wong

      (cover of "Dreams" by The Cranberries)

    User reviews231

    Review
    Top review
    Express Chungking Express
    Every day we interact with people. Within the course of 24 hours we can influence someone's life (for better or worse) so deeply that they will never forget us. Is it possible that the next person you fall in love with could be a notorious heroin smuggler or the counter girl at the express luncheonette counter? Wong Kar-Wai, the writer/director of Chungking Express seems to think so. The film is broken into two tales. The first story is mainly about the sadder side of love. Love comes and brings us light and joy, but it also goes and leaves us feeling empty and needing fulfillment. The two main characters in this half of the film, a police officer played dolefully by Takeshi Kaneshiro, and a heroin smuggler played icily by Bridgitte Lin, interact for only ten percent of the story, but their meeting leaves them both with memories that will last life time. The story ends on a high note that shows us that a simple act of kindness can bring the most unreceptive people to appreciate the beauty hidden in life. The second (and far stronger) story centers around two people and their interaction at a fast food counter in the Kwaloon section of Hong Kong. Tony Leung plays the part of a rejected lover perfectly and gives of the air of being sad without ever really being pathetic. Faye Wang's quirky portrayal of the free-spirited counter girl who helps Leung forget about his ex-girlfriend, is exactly what the film needed to counter-balance its darker first half. These characters and their bizarre relationship illustrates that love can manifest itself in any number of ways, many of them unconventional. The mechanism that allows these seemingly disjointed stories together is the camera work. Wong Kar-Wai uses a decidedly unique filming technique for much of the first half of the film; a blurry hand-held technique (think Blaire Witch on drugs) used during the chase scenes. The recurring style in the second half is a time-lapse type shot with people around the main subjects moving very fast and the subjects themselves moving in slow motion (a really cool effect). The camera styles add a common surreal element to each of the stories, while still keeping them somewhat independent. Perhaps the most striking element of the film is the interconnectedness of the characters and situations. There are many establishing shots showing characters inhabiting the same places at different times, and even the same places at the same times without noticing each other. This style of filming can alter the viewer's perception of reality, daring us to believe that we are all extras in somebody else's movie.
    helpful•203
    17
    • CardMastah
    • Apr 13, 2001

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 8, 1996 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Hong Kong
    • Languages
      • Cantonese
      • English
      • Japanese
      • Hindi
      • Mandarin
      • Punjabi
      • Urdu
    • Also known as
      • Chinching Samlam
    • Filming locations
      • Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong, China
    • Production company
      • Jet Tone Production
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $600,200
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $32,779
      • Mar 10, 1996
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,500,226
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 42 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • 4-Track Stereo
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1(original ratio)

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