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Product Description
Director Wong Kar-Wai revisits his lavish 1994 martial arts action film 'Ashes of Time' with this restored and expanded version. Broken-hearted hit man Ouyang Feng (Leslie Cheung) moves to the desert after being jilted by the woman he loved. His experiences have left him pitiless and cynical, and he spends his time hiring skilled swordsmen to carry out his contract killings - but as time passes he starts to question his solitary existence and develop tentative relationships with the people around him.
Product Description
Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Tony Leung Kar FaiDirector: Wong Kar-Wai
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This movie is very strange indeed. In fact I would describe it as enigmatic if I could spell the word, for that is precisely what it is, especially in this, the director's final authorised cut. A warrior living on the edge of a desert, a camel, a basket of eggs, a strange and beautiful woman who wants someone killed, and a bloke played by Tony Leung who won't die. These apparently disparate elements are woven into an epic film whose meaning becomes less and less clear as the story progresses.
Set against these difficulties however are (1) the extraordinary and beautiful cinematography of the incomparable Christopher Doyle and (2) the extended soliloquy on the transience of human life by Maggie Cheung in the movie's second half. These elements alone make the film unmissable. Wong Kar-Wai is a filmmaker of genius and anything by him is worth seeing. Here he is being (deliberately?) obscure but the film is good even given its difficulties.
Set against these difficulties however are (1) the extraordinary and beautiful cinematography of the incomparable Christopher Doyle and (2) the extended soliloquy on the transience of human life by Maggie Cheung in the movie's second half. These elements alone make the film unmissable. Wong Kar-Wai is a filmmaker of genius and anything by him is worth seeing. Here he is being (deliberately?) obscure but the film is good even given its difficulties.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Andrew Nevo
Format:Blu-ray
For all of those wondering, this UK exclusive blu-ray release is REGION FREE, NOT region 2(b) locked as stated in the item specifications. Other then that, this movie is great and the blu-ray transfer is pretty good.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
There are certain movies that simply defy genre conventions, films such as Walkabout, or 2001 a Space Odyssey, films which even defy explanation. Ashes of Time is just such a film.
The film takes place on the edge of a vast desert, where assassin Ou-yang Feng (Leslie Chueng) has come to seek solace and solitude from the mistakes of his past. Whilst here, he is visited by a variety of characters, the presence of each of them making him reflect on various aspects of his past, and the weight of the love he lost. This probably does not sound like much of a plot to those cine-files raised on a steady diet of Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower (and before anyone gets angry, I am not saying there is anything wrong with those aforementioned films, except maybe Curse of the Golden Flower), but Ashes of Time is a much deeper and satisfying movie experience than any of the above.
Taking his time with character development, director Wong Kar Wai has crafted a beautiful and intimate film, the sort of mesmerising experience that happens all too rarely in cinema. Dealing with love, loss and regret, the slightly fractured nature of the film can seem confusing at first, but each character is essential to the feel of the film, and each character leads Ou-yang Feng to his final revelation.
And what superb characters they are. Aside from Leslie Cheung in the title role, we have Tong Leung Ka Fai as Huang Yao-shi, Fangs friend and confidante who has much in his past to regret, a superb and more than a little disturbing Brigitte Lin as the highly conflicted Murong Yin and Murong Yang (no clues in the names then?... Read more ›
The film takes place on the edge of a vast desert, where assassin Ou-yang Feng (Leslie Chueng) has come to seek solace and solitude from the mistakes of his past. Whilst here, he is visited by a variety of characters, the presence of each of them making him reflect on various aspects of his past, and the weight of the love he lost. This probably does not sound like much of a plot to those cine-files raised on a steady diet of Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower (and before anyone gets angry, I am not saying there is anything wrong with those aforementioned films, except maybe Curse of the Golden Flower), but Ashes of Time is a much deeper and satisfying movie experience than any of the above.
Taking his time with character development, director Wong Kar Wai has crafted a beautiful and intimate film, the sort of mesmerising experience that happens all too rarely in cinema. Dealing with love, loss and regret, the slightly fractured nature of the film can seem confusing at first, but each character is essential to the feel of the film, and each character leads Ou-yang Feng to his final revelation.
And what superb characters they are. Aside from Leslie Cheung in the title role, we have Tong Leung Ka Fai as Huang Yao-shi, Fangs friend and confidante who has much in his past to regret, a superb and more than a little disturbing Brigitte Lin as the highly conflicted Murong Yin and Murong Yang (no clues in the names then?... Read more ›
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
I remembered watching this movie in cinema 16 years ago. I have VHS, VCD & the movie making magazine with Wong Kar Wai signature. Ashes of time is and always will be one of my favorite movie. The blue ray picture quality is fine, but the print has gone through very heavy modification whereby it is really dif with what I original saw in cinema. I somehow enjoyed the audio very much, the new soundtrack managed to sustain the original heavy mood with new life & more sentimental. This is the only version of Ashes of Time that will available in blu ray & it satisfied me.
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This film is exquisite to look at - haunting, enigmatic and elusive and it boasts a superb performance from Maggie Cheung - an actress of greater range imho than Li Gong.
By Keith M
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:DVD
Initially released in the same year (1994) as Wong's masterpiece Chungking Express, Ashes Of Time (or, in its slightly shorter, 2008 re-edited and re-scored version, Ashes Of Time Redux), on the surface at least, could hardly be a more different cinematic proposition. Gone are the claustrophobic urban interiors and pop music soundtrack, to be replaced by a 'Samurai' tale set in the ancient Chinese desert, all to a Morricone-esque soundtrack. Closer inspection does, however, reveal in Ashes Of Time many of Wong's recurring thematic obsessions of memory, identity, dreams and lost love, with (perhaps in keeping with a Leone/Kurosawa tradition) a good measure of betrayal and vengeance thrown in.
Ashes Of Time also presents Wong at his most elliptical, narrative-wise. At (or close to) the centre of the film is Leslie Cheung's 'middleman' Ouyang Feng, an apparently unscrupulous hirer of passing master swordsmen to anyone seeking vengeance, whether it be against gangs of marauding bandits or simply a traitorous lover or spouse. Wong's parable-like narrative is rendered all the more enigmatic by his trademark sharp cutting and editing style, his (at times) only partially explained character motivations and (to cap it all) by his use of the androgynous-looking Bridget Lin playing the brother/sister pairing, Murong Yang/Murong Yin, the sister having been previously spurned by visiting swordsman Huang Yaoshi (Tony Leung Ka-fai).
Stylistically, Wong's film is (as is his wont) stunning to look at.... Read more ›
Ashes Of Time also presents Wong at his most elliptical, narrative-wise. At (or close to) the centre of the film is Leslie Cheung's 'middleman' Ouyang Feng, an apparently unscrupulous hirer of passing master swordsmen to anyone seeking vengeance, whether it be against gangs of marauding bandits or simply a traitorous lover or spouse. Wong's parable-like narrative is rendered all the more enigmatic by his trademark sharp cutting and editing style, his (at times) only partially explained character motivations and (to cap it all) by his use of the androgynous-looking Bridget Lin playing the brother/sister pairing, Murong Yang/Murong Yin, the sister having been previously spurned by visiting swordsman Huang Yaoshi (Tony Leung Ka-fai).
Stylistically, Wong's film is (as is his wont) stunning to look at.... Read more ›
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3.9 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
it never tires me
how the story is narrated. the characters are excellent and so are their individual stories. the filming and the settings are great and so is the work of fantasy
Published 5 months ago by FUMETTO
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strange Fruit
1) You are an assassin (of sorts).
2) You have been hired to take multiple contracts.
3) They involve killing each party who hired you. Read more
2) You have been hired to take multiple contracts.
3) They involve killing each party who hired you. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Fabian Faun
1.0 out of 5 stars
Better to watch a basket of eggs go off
WKW excels himself in this five hour (it felt like it) film about nothing. It's as good as a bad French film noir from the 80's. Lots of blurry lens shots, slo-mo, longing looks. Read more
Published on 17 Jun 2011 by Scott Bolton
3.0 out of 5 stars
what was that about
a beautifully shot movie that starts promisingly but doesn't seem to go anywhere, you are left with a big question "what was that all about" . Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2010 by A. D. Hearn
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hard to watch but..
Hard to watch but compelling enough to see through to the end. Difficult to follow but I did, and enjoyed it for its complications. Intertwined, enigmatic, with many meanings... Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2010 by Writer
2.0 out of 5 stars
Redux is Redundant
An experienced assassin(Leslie Cheung)lives alone in the desert,meets a coterie of oddballs who may or may not wish to commission him for a murder or two,pines for his past love as... Read more
Published on 23 Dec 2009 by Mark Pearce
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ashes of time redux blu ray
Excellent picture and sound quality. Very big improvement than the DVD version from 10 years ago and even much better than this 2008 DVD.
Published on 23 Nov 2009 by Tsang Hin Pong Timothy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Totally stunning!
Just finished watching this film. Man! This re-release is superior in very way to the original one. It almost felt like a different movie. Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2009 by Frank Che
3.0 out of 5 stars
More drama than action
If you are looking for spectacular action sequences, you will be disappointed. This film is more like a drama with martial artists as its characters. Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2009 by Monkey King
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