i can't believe he's the one in HOFD!!! i did not even recognize him! when i watched his part in CE nothing went off in my head like "hey, that's the guy who played wind in HOFD"! nope, i didn't even recognize him. [how cute that both tony and takeshi have played characters named "wind"
] so CE was my second tony leung movie. i think he's a genius.
if anyone is reading this, thanks for letting me indulge.
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First, I must say, Veronica, you're really cute. (In a non-sexual/romantic way of course!) It's great to read about your excitement in discovering Asian cinema. I totally agree with you! To me, Asian cinema, and in particular HK cinema (which I'm more familiar with) reminds me of the Golden Age of Hollywood, '30-'40, when they made such glamorous entertainment and had larger than life MOVIE STARS.
Hollywood's output these days are so deary and depressing that's it's actually painful for me to watch sometimes even though I love movies. Lighten up Hollywood! You're big, rich & powerful can't you put out some ENJOYABLE entertainment without all the special effects & gagetry & doom & gloom? Look east young director and find inspiration in stories about people and be creative & not just throw your money around! (By the way, I just saw a showing of "On the Waterfront" with Brando, a new film print of that '54 movie, on the big screen. What a thrill, although I was 10 minutes late - I was so mad @ myself! I love Brando. I know he said he hated acting, but it was really all he had, and when he put his heart into a role, he'd blow everyone else out of the water. I was really sad when he died. I wanted to make my 1st movie with him ... ah, dreams.)
Anyway, back to your post ... I'm confused about what you wrote. Tony Leung is not in HOFD. The other police offical (other than Takeshi who played Jin/Wind) was called Leo and was played by Andy Lau. Tony Leung is arguable the most respected Chinese actor working today ... he is just that respected and has won numerous awards (won best Actor for CE @ the HK Movie Awards) in HK, Taiwan, Cannes (best Actor for In the Mood For Love). He's HK director Wong Kar Wai's favorite actor, gets all the good movie roles - unless he's competing against Andy Lau, of course, more on Lau later.
Tony Leung Chieu Wai (not to be confused with Tony Leung Kar Fai, who is commonly known as Tall Tony, & who appeared in French production set in Viet Nam called the Lover) is the Short Tony. Tony Leung was in Zhang Yimou's "Hero" the one with Jet Li & Zhang ZiYi. Is that what you meant when you recognized him, "hey that's the guy ..."??
But, yeah, if a Chinese director has a juicy & difficult role, I'm sure the 1st name that pops into their head is Tony Leung ... he's just that good and that respected everywhere. You might try seeing if your Video store has some of the John Woo movies that he's been in: Bullet in the Head, Hard Boiled (with Chow Yun Fat) Personally, I don't like John Woo movies, they're too violent, but I liked Hard Boiled.
Other good Tony Leung movies:
TEXTTEXT (new WKW directed movie w/ Faye Wong),
TEXT (funny),
TEXT (another WKW directed movie), Flowers
TEXT (from a famous Taiwanese director whose name I don't remember how to spell),
TEXT (from famous Vietnamese director, Tony plays a poet of few words & speaks Vietnamese! Very artisy & quite interesting-I really liked it.) And of course, Infernal Affairs. Tony used to sing too (most of the HK stars do @ some point in their careers - they're all around entertainers. I have one of Tony's CD, very jazzy, laidback, sexy, smoky everything you'd imagine he'd sound like.)
Oh, back to Andy Lau, he's a huge Chinese star. Top dog in all of HK, very popular. Acts, sings, businessman, producer - his movies are guarranteed to make money, HK audience love him. He's the common man - plays a lot of gangster type roles, sexy, macho leading man type. I read that director of HOFD selected Andy Lau for HOFD because he was such a big star, the director wanted good box office results.
Alright, about CE. When I was this obsessive HK movie fiend during the 90s (when the HK was at the height of its creativity), CE was absolutely my favorite movie. And I loved part 2 with Tony & Faye. (I didn't see Takeshi's appeal when I was younger because he seemed so boyish back then & I was older than him, but my, how he's grown into a man! Especially in HOFD!) I would fast forward CE to part 2 & I loved the scene where Tony is just entering the Express fast food store for the first time. He's swaggering in, every so slowly taking off his cap & whola ... those eyes magically appear! Knocks ya socks off, that!
Oh my gosh
, the way Tony Leung's eyes sparkle, soooo sexy soooo seductive, the way the lighting captures the soul behind those eyes is just amazing! He does have the most expressive eyes in the world of acting! I think he squeezes by Takeshi in that race - but it's definitely neck & neck. Takeshi has these dreamy, beautiful eyes, but Tony has these sexy, manly, take-no-prisoner eyes. In CE, Takeshi is a boy, Tony is a man-Takeshi had no chance, experience wins every time! Tony's eyes are to die for, for sure. Tony's ability to act with his eyes reminds me of Al Pacino who's got killer eyes!
I really liked Faye Wong in CE. She was actually nominated for Best Actress for CE in both HK & Taiwan. She's really cute, akward & geeky in that movie, but so endearing, I thought. She's actually a huge POP star in HK, Taiwan & the Mainland. She's originally from Bejing, I think, & Mandarin is her first language. She's a lovely singer - that's her singing the Chinese cover version of the Rasberry song, "Dreams" in CE. (Hmm, I'm not sure if the song appears in the US released version of CE, it's in the HK version.) She also sang the theme song for "Hero", but her song's not included in the US released version of the Hero soundtrack (bummer.) :(Her voice is very light & etheral.)
I think Faye has a really lovely voice, she's a really good singer. Her music is a mix of Asian-pop, European-techno & English alternative, and it all mixes really well. She's really beautiful too. In CE, her hair is short, but when she has longer hair, she's absolutely stunning. I don't know how much of her character in CE was acting or if most of it was just her being her ... she's like that, kinda dorky. She hasn't made many movies, most famous for CE. And she's in 2046 with Tony Leung again (directed by WKW) and another good movie of hers is Chinese Odsessey 2002.
But, yeah, if CE is your introduction into HK/Asian cinema, don't be too disappointed if other movies don't match up to that one. CE is a timeless classic now. That was the movie that made me want to pack up my bags & move to HK - which I did, but lasted for only 3 weeks. But I got to see Fallen Angels when I was there, so it made up for the disappointment that HK was not at all like the glamorous place that was portrayed in CE. And, I didn't see any guys as good-looking as Tony or Takeshi, I found 1 cute one, but he was way too young for me. I visited the Chungking Mansions & boy was it a dump! Never found the market where Tony helped Faye with her basket of vegetables though.
Aahh, CE, what a lovely movie.
Have you seen Fallen Angels? If you haven't, see that one, Takeshi makes a much bigger impression in Fallen Angels. I used to watch CE for days on end, and it was officially my favorite HK & Wong Kar Wai movie, but the more I watched Fallen Angels, the more substances I found in Fallen Angels. FA affects me more, lingers in my memory more, mainly due to Takeshi's role and the lovely ending.
A good ending can make or break a movie, FA has the best ending I've seen in a movie. It's a bit bleak on hope up til the end when it lifts you up & lets you find hope in small moments. CE was a great movie, light & airy as a feather, but FA said something about life in modern times & the loneliness that comes with it. If CE is the feather, FA is the chicken. They sorta have to be seen together - they are the yin & yang of movies, and Takeshi is the tie (only common actor) between the two. Coincidence? I think not!!
] so CE was my second tony leung movie. i think he's a genius. 
, the way Tony Leung's eyes sparkle, soooo sexy soooo seductive, the way the lighting captures the soul behind those eyes is just amazing! He does have the most expressive eyes in the world of acting! I think he squeezes by Takeshi in that race - but it's definitely neck & neck. Takeshi has these dreamy, beautiful eyes, but Tony has these sexy, manly, take-no-prisoner eyes. In CE, Takeshi is a boy, Tony is a man-Takeshi had no chance, experience wins every time! Tony's eyes are to die for, for sure. Tony's ability to act with his eyes reminds me of Al Pacino who's got killer eyes!
Have you seen Fallen Angels? If you haven't, see that one, Takeshi makes a much bigger impression in Fallen Angels. I used to watch CE for days on end, and it was officially my favorite HK & Wong Kar Wai movie, but the more I watched Fallen Angels, the more substances I found in Fallen Angels. FA affects me more, lingers in my memory more, mainly due to Takeshi's role and the lovely ending.
