Mean Streets

i hought the exact same thing when i watched this today - except i think its much better than mean streets. not that i dont like scorsese, or mean streets - but as tears go by is just so beautfully shot, a stunning debut

I was always under the impression that "As Tears Go By" was an intended remake of "Mean Streets." Of course, many people can say a lot of films were remakes of "Mean Streets" (especially a lot of gangster pictures, possibly one of the reasons "Mean Streets" is so well regarded aside from its own excellence). But I think "As Tears Go By" is intended as a re-envisioned remake.

I personally like both films a lot, but I do look at them quite differently. Of course, the historical aspects of these films influence a lot in how I watch them, I have to admit that. "Mean Streets" was sort of the film that proved to a lot of the world that Scorsese was a talented filmmaker and it was probably very different from other films at the time (it also brought a decent amount of attention to Robert DeNiro). I think for WKW, "As Tears Go By" was his "Boxcar Bertha," a first commercial film to get him in the door of the industry (though Wong had worked a lot on television prior to film, I believe) with hints of his potential, but not quite all the way there. I think "Days of Being Wild" eventually became the breakthrough film for WKW, giving him similar recognition levels as "Mean Streets" brought to Scorsese.

Anyhow, both films showed the potential in their creators, and even in some of their stars (particularly Robert DeNiro and Maggie Cheung). I think "Mean Streets" was something quite new in its time, but I wasn't alive then. Its themes of sin, guilt, and consequence were strong. On the other hand, "As Tears Go By" has some nice stylistic touches in it and it clearly has the energy of WKWs later films, but it came out during a time when there were a lot of stylistic street/gangster pictures coming out of Hong Kong. I don't know if it really won WKW much respect or acclaim outside of retrospect. I think it got him in the door though. I think when WKW worked with Christopher Doyle and the cast of "Days of Being Wild," he had refined his vision strongly and that film reflects it. Not to discredit WKW (he is pretty much my favorite director after all), but I think working with Doyle helped both of them guide each other to understand what they really wanted to do with film, creating paths they could explore.

As a side note, I absolutely love the choices WKW and Scorsese generally make on their soundtracks (I'd also like to toss Tarantino into the mix). They're both extremely visionary with cinematography and the emotions of their characters, but I have to acknowledge how much I love the soundtracks their films produce. It has completely influenced how I think popular music should be integrated in film.

The similarity can't be denied. I prefer Mean Streets, only because De Niro's character is SO bad. He has more of a Lenny quality, and you expect him to redeem himself, but he doesn't. We've all been conditioned to think that stupid people can't be sinister, and Scorcese defeats us by playing against that assumption. The little brother character in As Tear Go By is just too tame, though the writing is all around superb. Scorcese's version is just more of a nail-biter.

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Yes they are similar, but I'd say As Tears Go By is vastly superior. The style, like in all Wong Kar Wai movies is a real cerebral experience, and I found the story to be more engaging.