Ashes of Time Redux Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Ashes of Time Redux Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 9, 2009

Re-cut, re-edited and restored, Wong Kar Wai’s legendary "Ashes of Time" (1994) is given a new life as "Ashes of Time-Redux" (2008). Boasting a magnificent new color-scheme and an ambitious new soundtrack, the film dazzles with its repolished cinematography and classic wuxia action, but it remains as impossible to fully deconstruct as it has always been. Courtesy of UK-based distributors Artificial Eye.

The swordsman

Before I get into addressing the plot of Ashes of Time-Redux, I would like to make it clear that I have always had trouble fully understanding everything that takes place in this film. I think that it is only fair that I made it perfectly clear to you before you went on to read the rest of the review.

Ancient China, a vast desert. Swordsman Quyang Feng (Leslie Cheung) recalls his past. Through a number of flashbacks, we learn about the Princess of the Murong (Brigitte Lin) and her fascination with Huang Yaoshi (Tony Leung Ka-Fai), a legendary swordsman who once confessed his love to her. We are also told about a young girl, Peach Blossom (Carina Lau), who was married to the Blind Swordsman (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), a man impossible to defeat during daylight. Finally, we also learn about the beautiful woman (Maggie Chenug) Quyang Feng once loved who now belongs to his brother.

As you could see, Ashes of Time-Redux offers a very complicated narrative where multiple stories are intertwined in a fascinating puzzle of images and words. Each of the stories that Quyang Feng recalls is also attached to a specific text from an ancient Chinese almanac that is used to explain the fortunes of the main protagonists.

The key element that holds everything together in Ashes of Time-Redux is memory. It is used to give us clues (as well as mislead us) about emotions and feelings that aren’t immediately recognizable. For example, we learn that Huang Yaoshi was actually not in love with the Princess of Murong only after Peach Blossom’s story is told, yet her story is only partially explained at the very end of the film (strangely, the Blind Swordsman’s story tells us more about her).

The confusing construction of the narrative is indeed one of the key reasons why Wong Kar Wai and his team made Ashes of Time-Redux a reality. When the original Ashes of Time was released in 1994 it was a substantially more difficult to decode film with far more complex characters (for a number of years Wong Kar Wai insisted that the film wasn’t finished). Unsurprisingly, Ashes of Time-Redux realigns the scattered bits of the original narrative while it also introduces an entirely new color-scheme.

Technically, Ashes of Time-Redux is more of an organic film than a concept story. In fact, it is quite similar in spirit to Mexican director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s cult El Topo (1970). The two films feed off of their creators’ fascination with surrealism and more often than not the actual stories they tell are rather unimportant. This being said, Ashes of Time-Redux is the more sensual film whose ultramodern cinematography, courtesy of legendary Aussie Christopher Doyle, is undoubtedly impossible to resist.

Ashes of Time Redux Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Wong Kar Wai's Ashes of Time-Redux arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of UK-based distributors Artificial Eye.

The back cover for this Blu-ray release incorrectly states that Ashes of Time-Redux is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. As noted above, the film is actually framed in the correct 1.85:1 ratio.

To make a long story short, what Artificial Eye have done with this Blu-ray transfer is nothing short of phenomenal. Compared to the original print, clarity, detail, and contrast are so impressive that I honestly felt like I saw an entirely new film. Having gone through a few horrendous-looking HK DVDs, I knew that the massive restoration Ashes of Time-Redux underwent for its Cannes screening would address plenty of the issues the original print suffered from, but I was most definitely not prepared for what I saw last night. This new presentation of Wong Kar Wai's moody love story introduces an entirely new color-scheme that is so overwhelming I am actually struggling to find words that could describe adequately what has been done with the old film elements. Rich and fantastically-saturated yellows, browns, and blacks are the key colors in Ashes of Time-Redux. Furthermore, they are used in such a wild fashion that often times I felt like watching a giant Salvador Dali painting that had miraculously come to life (really, if you have already seen what Wong Kar Wai and his team have done with this print, you would know that I am not exaggerating at all). On the other hand, fine grain and detail have not been DNR-altered at all. This being said, I could clearly tell that the tech team had to work with different master prints – there are a few notable frame displacements that not only reveal different color tints, but also different aspect ratios (1.85:1 vs. 1.78:1). Still, the final result is what I could only describe as a triumph which film enthusiasts will be simply blown away with. For the record, there are still a few minor examples of print damage but I have to assume that they are actually embedded into the master print the tech crew had to work with. (Note: Even though this Blu-ray disc is marketed as Region-B, it is actually Region-Free. This means that you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Ashes of Time Redux Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Ashes of Time-Redux arrives on Blu-ray with two audio tracks: Cantonese (with portions of Mandarin) DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Cantonese (with portions of Mandarin) Dolby Digital 5.1.

Before I discuss the quality of the two audio tracks noted above, I would like to point out to you that Ashes of Time-Redux boasts an entirely new music soundtrack. Wong Kar Wai has altered Frankie Chan's old score, adding an intriguing new orchestration with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma appearing as a guest soloist, which adds a lot more to the film's epic overtones.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track most definitely provides a completely new type of audio experience. The new restored and remixed score by Frankie Chan and Roel A. García is far richer and evocative. For example, the surround activity is surprisingly effective. There is an interesting overlapping between the string section and a lonely pan-flute that comes off the speakers in a spectacular fashion – the sound is deep, rich, yet incredibly nuanced. Furthermore, during the key desert scenes the new orchestral score really enhances the viewing experience far better than the old unremixed score. As noted earlier, the orchestral score delivers an entirely new atmosphere. Finally, the dialog is now crystal clear and exceptionally easy to follow. For the record, I did not detect any disturbing, pops, cracks, or hissings. Artificial Eye have also provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

Ashes of Time Redux Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The first extra on this Blu-ray disc is an interview with cinematographer Christopher Doyle, taken after the Cannes premiere of Ashes of Time-Redux, where he discusses his collaborations with Wong Kar Wai, how he selects the locations for his films, the production history of Ashes of Time-Redux, etc. Next is an interview with Tony Leung, also recorded at Cannes, where he shares his memories about the film, the specific locations in China that were selected for it, the impressive fighting scenes, etc. An interview with Charlie Young is next. The young actress recalls her first meeting with Wong Kar Wai, the character she had to play, the shooting of the film, etc. Next is an interview with actress Karina Lau where she also recalls her collaboration with Wong Kar Wai, how she was approached by the director's team, etc. Finally, there are two interviews with Wong Kar Wai, both recorded at Cannes, where he talks about the history of Ashes of Time, why a restoration was needed, how Redux came to exist, what is the importance of the season-episodic structure of the film, etc. In addition, Born From Ashes: The Making Of Ashes Of Time Redux recaps the history of the film from its early production days until the Cannes premiere in 2008. (Note: Where necessary, Artificial Eye have provided English subtitles for the extras addressed above. For the record, all of the extras are in standard-def PAL, so unless your TV could handle PAL directly, or you have a player that performs an onboard PAL-NTSC conversion, you will not be able to access the supplemental materials on this Blu-ray disc).

Ashes of Time Redux Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Artificial Eye have made a believer out of me! Many years ago, I saw Ashes of Time on the Left Bank in Paris and concluded that no restoration efforts would manage to save what I thought was an intriguing film. To be honest, I had a terrible time fully understanding its story, but I walked out of the theater feeling like I had discovered something very special. Since Wong Kar Wai had just conquered the hearts of everyone at Cannes with his In A Mood For Love, I thought there was a good chance that a French arhouse distributor could team up with the Hong Kong company that owned the rights to the film and deliver an improved print, but I never thought that I would ever see anything even remotely close to what Wong Kar Wai, Christopher Doyle and the rest of the team involved with Ashes of Time-Redux have accomplished. Simply put, this is absolutely phenomenal! Really, if you miss on it, you would more than likely miss on one of the best and most sensual films to be released on Blu-ray thus far. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.