Duoluo Tianshi (Fallen Angels)

Is this film available in Taiwan on DVD in the original cinema version with the original soundtrack ?

This guy might have what you want. His Web site is kind of slow, though. Maybe you can ask him by e-mail or phone.

www.hivideos.com

A film from one of my favourite directors.

Can you tell me what the difference is betweent he two versions. I saw a DVD version at an MTV here, but I’m not sure what version it is.

Brian

Tarantinos’ version for the USA includes an ice cream eating scene involving Bridget Lin and the kidnapped child, and there is an extra “smuggler scene” which I can’t remember. Faye Wong sings “Dreams” in the scene where Tony Leung is drinking coffee. Dreams is not played in the US version. I am going to go and watch the version Film Four broadcast on UK cable a few years ago, as I’m sure that Dreams is played in it, and it includes the ice cream scene.

I wish people wouldn’t muck about with films and their soundtracks.

Okay. I am a complete idiot. All of that is about Chungking Express (obviously) !!! Aaaargh ! [Don’t you “Chongqing” me you bleddy robot !!! It’s a proper noun !!! MAOMAAAAAAAAAAN!!! Help ! I’ve been Pinyinned !]

Now, let us return to our sheep, as my french teacher used to say.

The VCD of Fallen Angels which I have lost, had two soundtracks. One was all in Mandarin, and the other was a mixture of Mandarin and Cantonese (I think). Which is the authentic version ? I have to say that to me the Mandarin version sounded much more authentic, and the Canto version seemed dubbed. I am pretty sure the Mandarin voices were the original actors.

Hong Kong movies are almost always dubbed. I mean they use voice doubles for all of the dialogue (so they do sound like the real actors). That way they don’t have to worry about good sound conditions on set. Then there’ll be a Hong Kong release version in Cantonese (or often a mixture of Cantonese and Mandarin if there are Mandarin-speaking characters or they go to Taiwan or something) and a version which is all Mandarin. I like the all Mandarin versions for Chiense practice, but I do find it pretty stupid when they have lines like (in Mandarin) “I’m going to kill you you stupid Mainlander pig” (in Mandarin) “what you don’t understand Cantonese, I’ll say it in Mandarin - I’m going to kill you you stupid pig”. Or in a Jacky Chan film I caught a little of on telly, there was a white guy talking to Jacky in dubbed Mandarin for a while and an onlooker said "what are they talking about, I don’t understand English.

I think of seen both versions of Chungking Express.

Brian