Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
We love what we can't have, and we can't have what we love.
I am just the band leader, and I just keep everything in tune.
Im a big fan of martial arts films, novels and radio programs.
I'm a big fan of martial arts films, novels and radio programs.
Heritage is something martial-arts films don't often talk about.
I was born in Shanghai and moved to Hong Kong the year I was five.
I think of action as a dance. It's a riddle; it should have emotion in it.
I'm not coming from film school, I learned cinema in the cinema watching films.
What's so great about inspiration is sometimes it finds you when you're not looking.
I never studied film formally at school, but as a kid, I spent most of my time in cinemas.
Love is all a matter of timing. It's no good meeting the right person too soon or too late.
I didn't know anything about martial arts. I'm a big fan, but I never practiced martial arts.
1936 is a very important year: a golden time for martial arts, right before the Japanese invasion.
At film festivals, I put on my sunglasses and go to sleep because I don't want to see my films again.
I sometimes compare making a film to cooking. Some dishes need to be stewed, while others need to be fried.
I think, to be a director, sometimes you need to have certain hunches - you have to believe in some gut feeling.
One's memories aren't what actually happened - they're very subjective. You can always make it much better, right?
Somehow, we fall in love with the films and don't want to let go, but financially and physically, we cannot afford it.
I never had a problem with genre because a genre actually is like a uniform - you put yourself into a certain uniform.
I always think to shoot action scenes is not really about the stunts. It's more about an expression and about imagination.
I think the martial arts tradition has a big influence on our generation - we all read these novels when we were very young.
We're all unlucky in love sometimes. When I am, I go jogging. The body loses water when you jog, so you have none left for tears.
When you look at martial arts films, the later ones became more and more exaggerated. It's like, wow, is martial arts only a show?
In much the same way Ip Man embodied the struggles of the Chinese people, I wanted Gong Er to represent the changing role of women.
I'm not afraid to delay the schedule to make sure that this is the film that I want, that this is the best that I can do at that point.
I have an image of Shanghai, which is quite different from other directors, I think. The story of Shanghai should happen in back alleys.
The original title for 'In the Mood for Love' was called 'A Story About Food.' The idea was to tell a love story through different courses.
To me, romantic means, um, you follow your heart more than your mind. Sometimes when you're shooting a film, you have to follow your heart.
I think one day I can make a book about coffee shops in Hong Kong. I spent almost most of my time in coffee shops, in different coffee shops.
People are very surprised when they come to Hong Kong after seeing my films, because my version of it is quite different than Hong Kong in reality.
My films are never about what Hong Kong is like, or anything approaching a realistic portrait, but what I think about Hong Kong and what I want it to be.
I'm not very aware of styles. We never talk about styles before we start shooting, or even during shooting, because I think the film will bring you there.
I've always wanted to make a film about the Tong Wars, the rioting and the crime factions in San Francisco's Chinatown in the early part of the last century.
It is always good to work with a very regular group of people because we know how high we can fly and what are the parameters, and it becomes very enjoyable.
For 'Chungking Express,' the way we shot the film was all handheld and with all this existing light, and that became very popular. Everybody thought it was cool.
When it's time to let go, I don't look back, and I start another project as soon as possible. One thing I remind myself is that I don't want to Photoshop my past.
When I look at 'Fallen Angels,' I realize it is not a film that is truly about Hong Kong. It's more like my Hong Kong fantasy. I want Hong Kong to be quiet, with less people.
I wanted to know what exactly martial arts is. When you look at martial arts films, the later ones became more and more exaggerated. It's like, wow, is martial arts only a show?
To make films, it always begins with two words: what and how. First of all, you have to find a story, or what are you going to tell? And you have to find a way to tell it visually.
There are certain types of genres that are impossible in China. Ghost stories, something too graphic, too violent, and of course if it's too political. Other than that, it will be fine.
In most kung fu films, they want to create a hero who's always fighting a bad guy. In the story of Ip Man, he's not fighting physical opponents. He's fighting the ups and downs of his life.
It used to be when you eat, you eat with people. But instant noodles are so instant that people eat by themselves. And it's a very convenient way of eating but also a very lonely way of eating.
'Ashes of Time' was my third film, and as a young director at that point, it's not very often that you have the chance to make a big martial arts film, so of course I jumped at this opportunity.
I'm not coming from film school. I learned cinema in the cinema watching films, so you always have a curiosity. I say, 'Well, what if I make a film in this genre? What if I make this film like this?'
The Chinese government promised Hong Kong '50 years, and change.' And 50 years later, after 1997, will be 2046; I think, 'Well, that's a very interesting promise.' So I want to make a film about promise.
Each production has certain circumstances that will bring you to a certain way of making it. It is not intentional, it is not an artistic decision, the way we make films, it is the way we address to our problems.
I came to Hong Kong when I was five, but we didn't have any relatives in Hong Kong. My mom is a big movie fan, and she watched all kinds of movies, so when I was a kid, basically, we went to watch a movie every day.
My mother has a very big family in Shanghai, so I have, like, almost 40 cousins, so we stayed together all the time. So by the time I get to Hong Kong, I become the only child and the only one surrounded by adults, you know.
I don't do rehearsal. Some directors prefer to do rehearsal - readings before the actual shooting - but I don't like this process because I think there are certain things that are so spontaneous, and they cannot happen twice.
Some actors like encouragement. Some actors prefer to have pressure. And sometimes, for some actors, its better to give your comment by silence, because they are so skillful, so gifted, that they understand without talking too much.