As Tears Go By

It is romanticized, melodramatic schlock (my god, that score and soundtrack), but anything set in 1980s Hong Kong has my eye, and there is something to be said for this film's visual schemes, which are kind of incredible. It is told in quick cuts and bold gestures, almost Bressonian (no really) in its essential simplicity.

Impressive visuals for the time it was made, proving Wong has an innate skill no matter the circumstance. The dialogue gets to be cheesy at some points, and parts of the romance subplot bothered me, but overall it's not bad. Still, watch Mean Streets before you see this movie.

wong kar-wais debut. typical heroic bloodshed, but you can already see what this director would eb capable of in the future.

I thought this was a really solid directorial debut. It’s far from original, and you can certainly tell which films probably inspired it, but gangster film with actually likable people? A love story that doesn’t feel like a fairy tale? A brother relationship that’s actually pretty emotional and convincing? Sign me up. Wong’s directing really is super solid too. You can tell this is made by the filmmaker and not the studio. Soundtrack goes pretty hard and all of the performances are excellent!

This is your quintessential promising debut pretty much. If you were to watch this when it came out, you’d be like “this director is very promising!” and then get to spend the next 15 years having your belief rewarded over and over

Stylish triad actioner caught between bloodshed in the tradition of HK's male-weeping pop cinema and auteur's unmistakable signature (melancholic and dreamy characters in a neon-lit, foggy, rainy HK), as we follow gangster torn between falling for his cousin and trying to look after his younger bro (nicknamed Fly) -- hothead who can't keep job or work for the mob and just wants to be as badass as his bro. Take My Breath Away's chinese cover as Lau/Cheung kiss in a phone booth is just pure bliss.

(Viewed on 28/04/14): Awkward debut from Wong Kar-Wai has been described as an Asian Mean Streets. It isn't a bad comparison, but the crime scenes are not always well handled, the tone is wobbly, and it's quite typical of HK films of its time. Traces of his future style definitely break through, especially in moody scenes that express the longing of his characters, romantic or otherwise. Just try getting the Cantonese version of Take My Breath Away out of your head after hearing it.

Solid debut film by Wong Kar Wai, if a bit rough around the edges, as debuts tend to be.

It certainly has style... This could only have been made in the 80s. Fortunately for movie lovers, Wong lost interest in the gangster-opera genre and moved on to movies with more universal appeal. He clearly knew from the outset, though, how to handle the quieter moments, and they're quite good.

Neon gangster drama with a dreamy style. Features an extended homage to Top Gun, the guy puts on aviators and "Take My Breath Away" plays over nearly a ten-minute makeout montage. Watchable for the 80's aesthetic.

wong kar wai's affectations make this by the numbers hk melodrama worse, not better

???????????????????/???????

completely incomprehensible and boring

Mid-range 80s Hong Kong gangster movie with a romantic subplot. I don't know much about WKW, but I'm guessing that he has a soundtrack in his head before he starts writing the movie. Some interesting stylistic choices make the pretty standard plot feel a little different for a while.

There's a very violent life with great tension, the desire of relevance, the conflict with enemies; and, all of this have a strong contrast with a strong family bond that goes to the ultimate sacrifice and the beauty of a romantic love affair. The plot turns out to be very violent and emotional at the same time, which makes it look very real and bittersweet.

As Tears Go By riffs on many of the most common Hong Kong crime film cliches: a young gangster torn between love and duty, romance and revenge. But oh, what style Wong tells it with. Few feature debuts have ever been so stylistically assured and awe-inspiring. His visual sensibility was already well in place. And frankly, I happen to love those HK cliches...

If we're doing Mean Streets comparisons I actually think this is the better looking film by far. Dunno if it was the wonky subtitles on my copy or what but the actual gangster stuff was a bit all over the place.

Stylish with some breathtaking shots and lighting, but otherwise this is a pretty naff film with an awful soundtrack, and uninteresting plot.

Pretty blah but some nice shots here and there. Totally Mean Streets, and it's really unfortunate. Bad dubbing too.

It's basically Mean Streets but set in Hong Kong and nowhere near as good. You wouldn't recognize this as a Wong film if you hadn't been told. The absolutely dreadful, cheesy '80s soundtrack on its own ruins the film, though it's nothing special in the first place. It's just a fairly straight forward decent Hong Kong crime film with a really good romance plot attached all presented in a slightly amateurish way (lame music, lame dubbing - why does everyone shout half the time?). Meh.

Viewed July 3, 2014. I mostly watched this because I heard there was a Chinese version of "Take My Breath Away" in it, so maybe I'm just not cut out for this movie shit.

Wack move with a great soundtrack.

Very enjoyable Scorsese rip-off [and cousin-love story... uh O.o]. Con: no Doyle; pro: it's the '80s. Still have never made up my mind as to whether or not the super low frame rate scenes in "Chungking Express" are cool or just annoying, but the sequences with low fps and slow-mo. were super awesome in this one. Dialogue, photography, editing are gloriously cheesy.

76.500

poor story, but his style is remarkable

It's got some good touches that hint at what Wong Kar-Wai would train and master in the future, but it's a little unfocused. It is his debut, after all. From beginning to end it feels like a Wong Kar-Wai film already, although maybe in some parallel dimension where he was never that good. Some touches of brilliance and a great climax, but a little too slow, a little too cliched, and a little too boring. Score is not a grade.

Great forbidden romance from WKW

Anything related to Fly was terrible, but the romance is fantastic.

Sometimes it was "rude" and has similarity with Mean Streets... But all to all ok....

Interesting debut by Wong Kar-Wai. It's more HK action flick meets Mean Streets than anything else but it's worth watching regardless.

Wong Kar Wai's first film. Like a Hong Kong version of Mean Streets except... not very good. Predictable and clichéd and poor production value (bad dubbing, silly use of slo-mo and other corny camera tricks, lousy choice of 80's cheese music).