Leslie Cheung

Leslie Cheung, a pop singer and actor who starred in the Oscar-nominated 1993 film "Farewell My Concubine," died Tuesday after leaping from a hotel in Hong Kong. He was 46. The star plunged from the 24th floor of the five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hong Kong's central business district, said hotel spokeswoman Sally De Souza. Police said they found a note on Cheung's body in which he stated he was plagued by emotional problems.

The opening scenes of Wong Kar-Wai's 1991 "Days of Being Wild" feature the unnervingly handsome and conceited Yuddy, played by Leslie Cheung, as an insistent suitor to Su Lizhen, Maggie Cheung's apprehensive snack bar clerk. He gradually wears her down, warning that the moment she gives in -- 3 p.m., June 16, 1960, to be exact -- will forever be etched in their memories. It certainly will remain in ours.

In his final film, "Inner Senses," Leslie Cheung, who leaped to his death in April from the 24th floor of Hong Kong's Mandarin Oriental Hotel, plays an empathetic, workaholic psychiatrist who cures a young woman of her demons only to become overcome by his own once they begin an affair. The psychiatrist's repressed torment brings him to the very brink that in real life the Hong Kong film star did not step back from.

In his final film, "Inner Senses," Leslie Cheung, who leaped to his death in April from the 24th floor of Hong Kong's Mandarin Oriental Hotel, plays an empathetic, workaholic psychiatrist who cures a young woman of her demons only to become overcome by his own once they begin an affair. The psychiatrist's repressed torment brings him to the very brink that in real life the Hong Kong film star did not step back from.

Leslie Cheung, the Hong Kong superstar and pop singer, has never been busier. He has a new film, Chen Kaige's exquisite "Temptress Moon." He is in the midst of a worldwide singing tour marking his return to the concert stage after a seven-year hiatus. And he is reaping building international acclaim for his remarkable acting talent, which spans classic screwball comedy to martial arts fantasies to the epic tragedy of Chen's 1993 "Farewell My Concubine."

The opening scenes of Wong Kar-Wai's 1991 "Days of Being Wild" feature the unnervingly handsome and conceited Yuddy, played by Leslie Cheung, as an insistent suitor to Su Lizhen, Maggie Cheung's apprehensive snack bar clerk. He gradually wears her down, warning that the moment she gives in -- 3 p.m., June 16, 1960, to be exact -- will forever be etched in their memories. It certainly will remain in ours.

I would agree with Dacy up to a point, that it's the star performances that make Hong Kong films popular. But who creates many of those star performances? Until he was cast in a John Woo film, Chow Yun-Fat's "undeniable personal charisma" didn't find much of an audience. Woo's ability to bring out the best in actors and to give them a previously unimaginable weight and depth has in the past revived the failing career of Ti Lung, made a serious actor of pop star Leslie Cheung and made Chow Yun-Fat a mega-star in Asia.

This is high-style vintage (1986) John Woo in which the celebrated writer-director has struck a perfect balance between emotion and violence. Its premise could well have been lifted from early Warner Bros.--one brother becomes a gangster, the other, a cop--and it also extols the virtue of loyalty between friends in the tradition of Howard Hawks. The film's success, however, rests on a well-developed plot and the three-dimensional characterizations.

Wong Kar-Wai's 1991 "Days of Being Wild" offers the flip side of his dazzling "Chung-king Express." Like the latter film, it is a romantic fable of the vicissitudes of love and the role fate plays in our lives, expressed with a bravura, go-for-broke style, but it is as dark and sober as "Chung-king" is bright and amusing. Imagine, if you will, a Hong Kong movie without so much as a single neon sign in view; it's a film seen in shadows.

The title of Wong Kar-Wai's wrenching, jagged "Happy Together," taken from the popular song, is decidedly ironic. Shot alternately in high-contrast black and white and rich color, it has a harsh charcoal-sketch look in either mode as it charts the coming apart of a gay love affair. Photographed by Wong's usual collaborator, the award-winning Christopher Doyle, "Happy Together" is as fragmented in style as the relationship it depicts with relentless emotional honesty.

Leslie Cheung, a pop singer and actor who starred in the Oscar-nominated 1993 film "Farewell My Concubine," died Tuesday after leaping from a hotel in Hong Kong. He was 46. The star plunged from the 24th floor of the five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hong Kong's central business district, said hotel spokeswoman Sally De Souza. Police said they found a note on Cheung's body in which he stated he was plagued by emotional problems.

Leslie Cheung, the Hong Kong superstar and pop singer, has never been busier. He has a new film, Chen Kaige's exquisite "Temptress Moon." He is in the midst of a worldwide singing tour marking his return to the concert stage after a seven-year hiatus. And he is reaping building international acclaim for his remarkable acting talent, which spans classic screwball comedy to martial arts fantasies to the epic tragedy of Chen's 1993 "Farewell My Concubine."

I would agree with Dacy up to a point, that it's the star performances that make Hong Kong films popular. But who creates many of those star performances? Until he was cast in a John Woo film, Chow Yun-Fat's "undeniable personal charisma" didn't find much of an audience. Woo's ability to bring out the best in actors and to give them a previously unimaginable weight and depth has in the past revived the failing career of Ti Lung, made a serious actor of pop star Leslie Cheung and made Chow Yun-Fat a mega-star in Asia.

Last week's Top 5 rentals: "Titanic," "Primary Colors," "Wild Things," "The Wedding Singer" and "U.S. Marshals." Last week's Top 5 sellers: "Titanic" (pan and scan), "Barney's Great Adventure," "Titanic" (widescreen), "Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World" and "The Borrowers." What's New In stores this week: "Mercury Rising" (Universal), suspense thriller starring Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin. (R) "My Giant" (Warner), sentimental comedy starring Billy Crystal.