tony leung In the Mood for Love, 2000

This is the latest Tony CD, released in 10/2000. To listen to Audio Samples, click the songs listed above. Realplayer required.

These files are sample download for non-commercial personal entertainment use. If you like what you heard, please support Tony by place an order through YesAsia, or any other online stores. My favorite out of these four tracks are Hua Yang Nian Hua (503kb) and Tiao Dou (442kb). Hua Yang Nian Hua is a male-female duet-vocal. The female vocal performed by Niki is just wonderful, of course Tony isn't too shabby either. The design of this collectible edition CD is quite stylish, resembling the black Vinyl Records of yesteryears.

Following introduction by WKW (Wong Kar-Wai) comes in an inserted poster card from the CD.

From Summer in Beijing to In the Mood for Love

In 1994, I made Ashes of Time, a martial arts film set a thousand years ago. During pre-production, I spent a summer month in Beijing. One night, while my taxi was driving past Tiananmen Square, I heard John Coltrane's music on the radio. I got the idea to make a new film.

Two years later, we arrived at the city to prepare for that film, with a working title Summer in Beijing. The film crew and I spent a lot of time in Sanlituan. There were many pubs in that area, and we heard some Chinese contemporary music. We were especially impressed by one song, "Face to Face", which reminded me of that night and Coltrane. But this film did not happen - as if the summer we spent in Beijing never really took place.

We moved to Argentina for Happy Together. In 1998, we returned to Hong Kong. The summer in Beijing was too cold for us. We decided to do something else and started filming in Hong Kong, later moving to Thailand and then Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Between Summer in Beijing and In the Mood for Love, eras changed, locales changed, and the music changed. We moved far from contemporary jazz to nostalgic waltz.

A Handsome Devil with a Cigarette

The first film I worked with Tony Leung Chiu-Wai was Days of Being Wild. He is a quiet man who likes to smoke a lot. Somehow, we get along well and have worked on four subsequent films. We communicate in rather peculiar ways. Most of the time, we don't have a complete script. Often, I give Tony a song or some music as reference.

I don't know whether my working style fits Tony, but throughout these years, he seldom complains. Most of the time, when I ask him to listen to a piece of music, he would do so sitting in a corner, holding a cigarette and peeking at me with a devilish smile.

Osamu Dazai once wrote a short story entitled "A Handsome Devil with a Cigarette." I had always thought it was a great title for a film. I like Dazai a lot. Tony reminds me of him.

WKW

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