Wong Kar Wai and DP Christopher Doyle

Wong Kar-Wai Biography

While a product of the fertile Hong Kong filmmaking community of the '90s, writer/director Wong Kar-Wai did not traffic in the over-the-top action blowouts favored by the likes of John Woo and Tsui Hark. Instead, his films took their inspiration from the seminal work of Jean-Luc Godard and the French New Wave, painting idiosyncratic and romantic tales of the young and disenfranchised uniquely representative of the myriad cultural influences which distinguish his native land. Essentially, Wong restructured a sector of the entertainment genre that thrives on action in a way that would allow him to use its traditional themes in order to make art films, proving himself to be a rarity within the genre. Equally unique is Wong's bold style, which thrives on pixilated slow motion action scenes, distorted close-ups, and fight sequences shot from several disoriented angles. Far from being alienated within the film community, Wong has become a favorite among both critics and the Honk Kong acting circuit. Drawn to his fascination with mood and texture over a more straightforward narrative approach, action favorites including Maggie Cheung,Tony Leung Kar-Fai, and Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia have enjoyed working with Wong, claiming that it gave them a rare opportunity to play meatier, less conventional roles. Born in Shanghai in 1958, Wong studied graphic design at Hong Kong Polytechnic. Fostering an interest in photography, in particular the work of Robert Frank, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Richard Avedon, Wong enrolled in a TV drama training program sponsored by Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Ltd shortly after his graduation in 1980. After being recognized for his initial work as a production assistant on a number of serials, he quickly progressed to scriptwriting, most notably for the popular soap opera Don't Look Now. After exiting HKTVB's ranks in 1982, Wong became a noted screenwriter, scripting close to a dozen films over the course of the following five years. While working on Patrick Tam's 1986 feature The Final Victory, Wong conceived his directorial debut, the gangster picture As Tears Go By; released two years later, the film was a sensation on the festival circuit, winning raves for its gritty portrayal of the mean streets of Hong Kong. 1991's Days of Being Wild cemented his reputation as a talent to watch, garnering a number of international awards. In 1992, Wong mounted Ashes of Time, an ambitious martial arts epic filmed with an all-star cast. During a break in the picture's lengthy editing process, Wong began working on another project dubbed Chungking Express, writing the screenplay in a Holiday Inn coffee shop by day and shooting each night wherever there was enough light. Debuting in 1994, the quirky romantic thriller emerged as the director's international breakthrough when it was selected by rabid fan Quentin Tarantino as the first product of his Rolling Thunder distribution company, becoming the first of Wong's features to receive proper American release. After resurfacing in 1995 with Fallen Angels, two years later Wong premiered Happy Together at the Cannes Film Festival, going home with the jury's Best Director award. Wong followed its success with the well-regarded In the Mood for Love in 2000. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

His latest film----The Grandmaster---

THE WORK OF WONG KAR WAI AND HIS DP CHRISTOPHER DOYLE:

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE

HAPPY TOGETHER

2046

                

Christopher Doyle

H.K.S.C. (Director of Photography)

Christopher Doyle has shot some of the most memorable recent films of world cinema.

Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Mr. Doyle’s love of Asian cultures developed in his youth, through extensive reading of Japanese literature. When he turned 18, he joined the merchant navy and sailed the world for two years. He landed in Israel and then moved on to India, where he became an oil driller. Eventually, he landed in Taiwan, to study Chinese. Despite not having a credit to his name, director Edward Yang trusted him enough to shoot That Day on the Beach. Following that experience and a Best Cinematography award at the 1983 Asia-Pacific Film Festival, Mr. Doyle was now a professional cinematographer.

Since then, he has been director of photography on over 50 films. His longtime collaboration with director Wong Kar-wai has brought Mr. Doyle three Hong Kong Film Awards, for Days of Being Wild, Ashes of Time, and Fallen Angels; and three Golden Horse Awards, for Ashes of Time, Happy Together, and In the Mood for Love. The latter also earned Best Cinematography honors from the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics. The duo has also teamed on Chungking Express; the short film The Hand; and 2046, the latter of which won the Best Cinematography prize from the New York Film Critics Circle.

Mr. Doyle’s other features include Kei Shu’s Soul, which brought him his first Hong Kong Film Award; Claire Devers’ Noir et blanc; Chen Kaige’s Temptress Moon; Gus Van Sant’s Psycho; Barry Levinson’s Liberty Heights; Phillip Noyce’s Rabbit-Proof Fence and The Quiet American; and Zhang Yimou’s Hero, which won the Best Cinematography award from the New York Film Critics Circle.

More recently, his work on Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park brought Mr. Doyle the Best Cinematography award from the Boston Society of Film Critics.

He continues to make his own still and moving images for gallery exposition; and collaborated with a number of artists over the last few years on works for the Venice and Sydney Bienalles. He has published several books on his personal and professional approach to the moving image and visual context.

He previously collaborated with Jim Jarmusch on the music video for The Raconteurs’ “Steady as She Goes.”

Mr. Doyle was director, co-writer, and cinematographer on the feature Away with Words, which world-premiered at the 1999 Cannes International Film Festival.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0236313/