Ashes of Time Redux (Wong Kar Wai, 2007)

[Grimfarrow]

Wong Kar-wai remodels classic Ashes Of Time

Liz Shackleton in Santa Monica 02 November 2006 04:00

Wong Kar-wai is reworking his 1994 martial arts epic Ashes Of Time and the film is being sold at AFM by Fortissimo Films under the title Ashes Of Time – Redux.

Currently in post-production, the project is described as the definitive version of the critically-acclaimed film, which was shot by Christopher Doyle with Sammo Hung as action director.

Wong corralled a cast of Asia's leading stars – including the late Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung – to make the film, which then took him almost two years to shoot in the far west of China.

"The original release of Ashes Of Time marked the beginning of my long standing partnership with Fortissimo Films," said Wong. "I'm very pleased to see our relationship come full circle with the release of my re-envisioning of the film. Ashes Of Time is a film I am very proud of and I am excited to finally be able to present it in the manner it was originally conceived."

[Artois]

Interesting news. Having never seen the film I suppose I should wait for this version (just picked up the TFI disc too). But what was it that had prevented it from being presented "in the manner it was originally conceived" in the first place?

[jon]

great news.

this is the only WKW i havent seen yet. Hopefully the redux will be out soon, and when the dvd comes around, it will have both versions

was wondering how good this movie was in comparison to his others. The themes seem like the might be drastically different, but i have no idea.

Was the original cut near masterpiece quality? I am really in the dark on this movie. Anyways, I am excited.

[zedz]

I consider Ashes of Time, in its released form, Wong's best film, and one of the most original departures from the traditional HK action film form that I've seen - the hallucinatory battle sequences have to be seen to be believed. If you get the chance to see the original, don't hold out for the 'redux' version. It's already fantastic.

I know the production of the film was long and troubled, but I'd never heard that WKW felt the finished product was compromised, so I'm curious, but a little trepidatious, about his second thoughts now. I just hope that this new version doesn't cause the original to disappear from the face of the Earth.

[JFarina]

This is great news...whether it results in a chance to see it theatrically or in a new dvd transfer (preferably both).

I loved this film as well, but the only dvd version I was able to get my hands on was the Mei Ah edition, which is quite possibly the worst dvd transfer I have ever come across. English subs are yellow, and burnt in on a grey background that obscures the bottom third of the picture. Poor picture quality, too. Terrible injustice to the film.

I'm sure most on this forum are dvdbeaver readers and are probably aware of this, but I just felt the need to vent.

There is an R2 NTSC version available in Japan from Pony Canyon, selling for $35.99 at yesasia.com. Pricey for a blind buy, and not a risk I'm willing to take considering how bad other versions have been. Has anyone ever seen this R2 version?

[Barmy]

It is DEFINITELY his best film.

[John Cope]

For once I actually agree with Barmy.

[jon]

Well, I am very excited then.

There is such a ridiculously high emotional connection, for me at least, when I watch WKW's films. It's wonderful. Same thing for Ashes?

[Lemdog]

Finally. Any idea who is going to pick it up in the U.S.?

[zedz]

There is such a ridiculously high emotional connection, for me at least, when I watch WKW's films. It's wonderful. Same thing for Ashes?

I'd say so, but I think the WKW-isms gain extraordinary power from being presented in the context of a historical action film: it's an extremely elegant deconstruction of the genre that blossoms into something exotic and new. And Maggie has a scene at the end that's transcendently beautiful and extremely moving.

[Andre Jurieu]

There is such a ridiculously high emotional connection, for me at least, when I watch WKW's films. It's wonderful. Same thing for Ashes?

I'd say so, but I think the WKW-isms gain extraordinary power from being presented in the context of a historical action film: it's an extremely elegant deconstruction of the genre that blossoms into something exotic and new. And Maggie has a scene at the end that's transcendently beautiful and extremely moving.

I think the film is great, but I don't know if I have the same emotional connection with this WKW film as some of his others. Of course, I'm not a stickler for emotional connection when it comes to enjoying films.

[Cold Bishop]

What is likelihood that this will get a "Complete Dossier" treatment?

If little, I should just by the current disc if the Redux ends up being inferior. Or if it's radically different, it would be nice to have the two cuts.

[MichaelB]

I loved this film as well, but the only dvd version I was able to get my hands on was the Mei Ah edition, which is quite possibly the worst dvd transfer I have ever come across. English subs are yellow, and burnt in on a grey background that obscures the bottom third of the picture. Poor picture quality, too. Terrible injustice to the film.

That sounds like the World Video edition to me - the Mei Ah one is certainly bad, but not quite that bad!

But the World Video edition really does rank amongst the worst DVDs I've ever seen, an opinion I reached way back in 1999 and stand by seven years later.

[JFarina]

That sounds like the World Video edition to me - the Mei Ah one is certainly bad, but not quite that bad!

You're right, my mistake. So does the Mei Ah not have the burnt in subs? Wouldn't mind getting that in case the forthcoming redux edition doesn't include the film as originally released.

[Lemdog]

Sony Pictures Classics has picked up North American distribution rights.

[Len]

I'm not jumping on the "Ashes is WKW's best film"-bandwagon yet (Chungking Express had a HUGE effect on little Len way back in high school, for better or for worse), but I am quite ecstatic about the news nevertheless, as I've waited for a good release of it for ages. The fact that he's reworking it doesn't sound too bad either, considering the troubles with the production and I'm curious to see how much he's going to change it. However, it is an amazing film in it's current form, that's for sure.

[Balthazar]

Wong clarified the Ashes of Time 'remodelling' this evening at a talk at the BFI Southbank in London - the issues he had with the film were to do with the audio track, and hence it's being remastered. The film itself isn't being re-cut in any way.

[Lemdog]

Has anyone heard any update about a release? From what I can find, Fortissimo Films has picked up international sales, and Sony Pictures Classics has North American rights, but no new info since May. I would appreciate any info.

[Keith Kawaii]

I had just fallen in love with Wong Kar Wai when I saw the shitty Ashes of Time DVD... and maybe it was that bad transfer, but the film just DIDN'T grab me. I felt my mind continuously drifting while watching it, which never happened at all with his others. I guess whats worse is that it didn't leave an impact on me, besides seeming... un-epic? (maybe that was the point)

I will definitely get this new version though... I have a suspicion that the bad quality actually prevented me from putting myself in the film. Literally, like not being able to find yourself 'inside' the environment. I honestly think the same comparison can be made with other films, between seeing one in a theater vs. on a small tv. That visual impact is so important, maybe even moreso for WKW

[King Prendergast]

This was mentioned in the March issue of Sight and Sound in the Wong article but didn't say anything about its release. Anyone have any news and details?

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

The Hollywood Reporter said it might show up at Cannes.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

uh oh

I have seen it 3 times in Cannes.
So:

- the redux version is 93 minutes, shorter than the others editions;
- the entire movie is restored in digital and the colors are a bit sature;
- the first images are a little different: Wong has inserted a big yellow-moon in a storm;
- Wong has removed the first two battle scene!!! So we can't see the first appearence of the horse thieves...
- the main titles & ending titles are different;
- the music is a lot different: Wong has removed the fantastic music from 3 important sequences;
- the editing is a little different in 2-3 scenes: for example, the flashback of the night of the marriage of Maggie Cheung is a bit longer;
- Brigitte Lin doesn't scream in the impressive lake scene;
- Wong has removed the (dead) cat hanged on the wall in the sequence of Huang and Yin;
- Wong has removed the shot in witch Tony jump on the roof in the battle with the thieves;
- the battle scene of Tony and the thieves is a lot different in the sound and in color-correction;
- the splitting blood of the poor Tony (sigh!) is a bit more detailed, probably digitally corrected;
- Wong has removed one shot (of two!) where the sick Hong Qui is helped by his wife;
- Wong has inserted 2 short (and not very well cut) images of peach blossoms;
- the editing of the very final sequence is different: in this new one there is only Leslie Cheung with long hair;
- 2 shots color-corrected: the stop-frame of Tony Leung and the image of the face of Tony with blue sky in the background;
- Wong has added the 4 season didascalie on black background;
- the subtitles are sometimes a bit different.

and unfortunantly..... THE BEST PIECE OF MUSIC OF THE WHOLE MOVIE HAS BEEN REMOVED !!!!

I forgot:

- a shot of the White Camel Mountain has been added;
- there is non sign of Joey Wang that appeared for 2 seconds in the original version (I think...)
- the shot where the girl with the mule leaves is changed a bit of position
- there is some blood in the water from where jump out Hong Qi, in the old version I didn't noticed that...

Some of these changes were already made for the international cut (the one on the TF1 disc) but a lot of them are new. And dumping the original score (or most of it, anyway) is a goddamn crime IMO.

[Murdoch]

I had just fallen in love with Wong Kar Wai when I saw the shitty Ashes of Time DVD... and maybe it was that bad transfer, but the film just DIDN'T grab me. I felt my mind continuously drifting while watching it, which never happened at all with his others. I guess whats worse is that it didn't leave an impact on me, besides seeming... un-epic? (maybe that was the point)

I didn't fork over the money for the DVD, but instead watched it on youtube, horrible picture, but I just wanted to see it. I enjoyed it, and have a feeling if I get a new DVD of it with good picture and sound quality I'll probably love it. From what I saw the film tried to cram too many stories in at once and it was hard to follow, I hope the redux makes some improvements. However, I can say of the little amount of martial arts movies I've seen this is my favorite of that genre and this critique is solely based on viewing it on youtube so I'm almost certain I missed a lot.

[Skritek]

I didn't fork over the money for the DVD, but instead watched it on youtube, horrible picture, but I just wanted to see it. I enjoyed it, and have a feeling if I get a new DVD of it with good picture and sound quality I'll probably love it. From what I saw the film tried to cram too many stories in at once and it was hard to follow, I hope the redux makes some improvements.

It does improve a lot after the second viewing. I love the film, but the first time I've seen it, I was also slightly perplexed. The stories and characters aren't confusing at all.

As for the soundtrack, I too am very sad the Redux has a more "international artsy" soundtrack, instead of the old "Hong Kong synthy" one. The original is one of my all time favorites.

[Antoine Doinel]

Trailer.