To Those Who Don't Understand, or Don't Like, This Release... or To Anyone Unfamiliar w/ the Film
Added 8/3/2009
Dennis A. Amith and UbiK did very fine reviews of the film. BUT those who just don't read, if you didn't know, Wong Kar-Wai, for the most part, had no choice but to re-edit just about everything for this film because: 1. The original stock footage (also "in pieces") was stored in a warehouse which was about to be shut down, and rid of everything into "ashes". 2. Many of the original film footages/audios were also too damaged to repair/display, PLUS he had to run all over the world to recover all the distributed negatives he sent out to other companies (14-15 yrs. ago), whatever left he could find. 3. It was his first project, his "baby", through his independent film company, and didn't want the film to age or get lost somewhere else any longer. 4. Therefore he decided to restore and re-edit it, plus there was never a proper western distribution of the film, and also realized, after all these years, how much importance this film (and influence) has actually become... (These reasons can be non-linear too! and still make sense)
I have to disagree that the film's a mess, as some say it is. It is a non-linear film to begin with, and not without reason. It's a journey through a man's thoughts and his random encounters with the people that visit him, who, the most of them, happen to loosely connect/indirectly connect to his life or remind him of his past, and even reveal a bit of their own inner-self turmoil, etc. Kar-Wai's execution is the same way of maybe how Ouyang Feng would remember things of whatever surfaced to his thoughts first, yet it still comes full-circle to emphasize the thing that haunts him most. It may sound like some random things taken out of each and everyone's journal, but they're still events that occurred in that one's life. If you pay attention to detail or things most people take for granted, you realize how much greater things are. And once again, the film is played out (in my interpretation) how Ouyang Feng possibly registers his thoughts. If you realize, he's a bit delusional and/or cynical anyways, since his life-turning event that's lead him to live in the middle of the desert; or maybe yet more discombobulated in the head than we think since, at one point in time in the past, he had one straight mind-set which was to become the greatest swordsman, which came to a sudden stop.
If you expected many action scenes (still neat, for the few brief scenes there was), the film was never driven by that purpose. Find action in Mr. Wong's directorial debut film, As Tears Go By.
In conclusion, I hope I said all the main things behind this film and what I wanted to say, in counter to the negative or confused views or who's new and curious of this film. Wong Kar-Wai set out to preserve this beloved and important film in a very sticky-slow, painstaking, and many unfortunate, process. Also, to one reviewer - you can't compare this to 'CTHD', because 'AT' was one of the major reasons why 'CTHD' came out the way it came out. Plus, both films' storytelling are the polar opposite of each other... yet two great milestone films for the greatest of cinema. The 'Redux' has quite a bit of changes, yet Kar-Wai said, after the reconstruction, that this is THE definitive version of the film he realized he was looking to make.
4 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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at at first you don't succeed...move on
Added 6/20/2009
On principle, I object to filmmakers going back years later and re-editing and rethinking a movie they made. But if you're going to fiddle with the past, at least present the new cut side by side with the original, something this DVD fails to do. Not that it matters: director Wong kar Wai hasn't had any more luck creating a compelling drama out of this mannered action flick that prefigures the unique style of his that would flower on great films like Chungking Express and In The Mood For Love. But everything he attempts here -- basically trying to bring a depth of performance and genuine conflict to an action flick -- is done much better by Ang Lee with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A mess, albeit a somewhat cleaned-up one. Visit me at michaelgiltz dot com.
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Chinese Art Film
Added 6/1/2009
Maybe Chinese Film director Mr. Wong KAR Wai, set out to make a martial arts film, but ended up in my opinion with perhaps one of China's, first art films. Ashes of Time Redux, is a story of life, love and lessons learned by those characters involved, and shared with us in the passing seasons of, Ashes of Time Redux
2 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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The original movie is better
Added 5/17/2009
The original movie Ashes of Time was a masterpiece and gets 5 stars. Every shot of the film was like a painting, every line of dialogue was poetry.
The only thing I like about the redux is the sharper images. The new music is not half as effective as the old music. The added titles severed the film into sections and disrupted the flow of the film. The new editing destroyed Leslie Cheung's narrative and rhythm of the film. I hate the bright yellow tint in desert scenes and green tint in some other scenes that make them look annoyingly unnatural. Brigitte Lin's dialogue was changed from the original Cantonese to Mandarin and sounds stiff, but is tolerable. I wish they had just cleaned up the image quality and kept everything else intact.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Reconstructed Deconstructive Masterpiece
Added 4/22/2009
Wong Kar Wai's ASHES OF TIME has for many long-time fans of HK action cinema of the 80s and 90s been a kind of unrealised masterpiece. For years we've struggled along watching inferior prints of the film that seemed to reflect the visceral graininess of the desert which features so prominently in the narrative - until now!
Beautifully restored, with a re-recorded soundtrack, Wong Kar Wai's homage to HK action cinema is both a loving celebration and a bittersweet mourning of its passing.
Therefore it's a real treat for all cineastes!
A meditation on change, loss and regret focusing on the darkening days and decline of five swordsmen through interconnecting episodes, ASHES is a deconstruction of HK martial arts cinema (which by 1994 had had better days), a bold and avant garde reinterpretation of the genre's conventions as well as a homage to the classic films of Tsui Hark, the Shaw brothers and Sergio Leone westerns.
The cast is mouthwatering! Just look at those names!!! It reads like a who's who of HK cinema! As to be expected from a cast of this caliber the acting is magnificent. Particularly outstanding are Brigitte Lin who is spellbinding as a schizophrenic swordsman and an empathetic Tony Leung C-W, a fighter for hire who is rapidly losing his sight.The late, great Leslie Cheung turns in a complex, morally ambiguous performance, Jacky Cheung shines as a young swordsman attempting to preserve a sense of chivalry in changing times, Maggie Cheung is radiant and Carina Lau delivers considerable sensuality in what a lesser actress would consider a minor role.
The location of the film is set entirely in a desert, metaphorically depicting the desolation of the characters, which is beautifully lensed by the peerless Christopher Doyle. Some of the shots he achieves have resonated with me for years.
The soundtrack is also extraordinarily beautiful, enhanced by the addition of virtuoso Yo Yo Ma. It's arguably one of the best scores in HK action cinema and an obvious influence on Tan Dun's "Hero" compositions.
In fact ASHES OF TIME is the perfect antidote to the overtly nationalistic, overblown, spectacle-driven Chinese epics of Zhang Yimou that have (unfortunately) come to set the standard for martial arts cinema in contemporary popular consciousness.
Therefore fans of the more recent Chinese fantasy films may find ASHES a difficult viewing because, as typical to his style, Wong Kar Wai delivers a personal, character-driven piece, that is minimalist in action set-pieces and expansive in both scenery and emotional development.
By "reduxing" this landmark film we are given a timely reminder of the creative, cultural roots of the HK martial arts genre but we are also called to reflect upon its demise.
3 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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