That is all.

Whatever You Want!

I loves me some Wong Jing-Wai. Except, you know, in that other movie where he goes back in time. :ph43r:

Do you mock me, sir?

Tsk, tsk. Just watch EAGLE SHOOTING HEROES. Close enough.


(I think that's mockery)

Jeez. If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.

TwitchFilm has a tidbit from May that Sony Classics has picked up rights.
"expected to be completed late this year." Hm, we'll see.

I've also read that it's going to be "completely rescored"! :unsure: Ermmm... I love the original music and it's intimately intertwined with the movie for me.

I'm still excited about this project, but it looks like it might be time to snag an older DVD or even VHS of the '94 cut to hang onto.

Maybe Sony was hoping to cash in on the much-delayed US release of MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS. Supposedly, it's now bound for February. Perhaps ASHES REDUX will follow a month or two later.

Hello,

Good times in the south of France with Christopher, Charlie, Carina, little Tony, and some bloke with shades:

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/AYprduZO0-l...all/zprr4OAZ2w1

And look, a theatrical release poster courtesy of Louis Cha's _Ming Pao_:

http://www.mcnblogs.com/mcindie/archives/2...poster_for.html

The U.S. opening is September. One can only hope this and the original version, whatever that is given the multiplicity of cuts out there, will be bundled together on DVD.

There's also a promo reel out with the new music. Oddly, the picture is in 2.35:1 ratio. Wasn't the original in 1.85?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqWHI8pL5LI

Hello,

I've generally stayed away from most new media on the redux--I want to be surprised when in the theatre this fall--but I gather the musical score has been replaced in full according to many news feed articles. Although I have a copy of the Frankie Chan synth soundtrack purchased back in the day, the disc is now out of print and difficult to track down even for most die-hard aficionados. Just letting other fans know that you can listen to it on-line here (and possibly download it if you have the right technical know-how):

http://www.inkui.com/a2/3/9/392919B43E44C09DF8AB.html

Chinese internet law, particularly in regard to TRIPS, is quite labyrinthine but it's nice to know that until the PRC and WTO come to some sort of agreement, media like this is still available legally over the web. Enjoy it while it lasts!

As I get older--or perhaps more distanced from 1994--it seems that Ku Lung's _Merciless Blade of the Sentimental Swordsman_ serves as a better starting point to "Ashes" (as well as Tsui Hark's "Blade") than Jin Yong's _Legend of the Condor Heroes_. From a certain light "2046" can even be seen as an informal bio-pic of Ku not to mention a partial adaption of Liu Yi-chang's novella _The Drunkard_.

I hear you, I usually don't even watch movie trailers, but I don't think I can resist until September, assuming it even comes to a theater around me. But from the accounts/reviews that I've read not much of the actual film has been changed. There is another change, also sound related, that is interesting - so don't watch the promoreel if you don't want to know. The music change is the biggie, which scared me since it IS the best soundtrack ever...for me. From the clip, though, I feel a little less worried. At least, I don't think the movie will be ruined for me, it'll only just be different.

I also watched the promo reel and was a happy to hear that (some of?) the original score has been kept, albeit with new instrumentation. So while I will miss the original soundtrack, I don't think I will be bothered by the new one.

Dennis, is the other sound-related change you refer the decision to use Brigitte Lin's original Mandarin dialogue with the original Cantonese dialogue of the other actors? I was *very* happy to read about this change.

Yes, that's the one. I didn't want to mention it, for Yi Lee's sake, if he cared. :P

Thanks to the two Lees for digging up the good stuff. I'm relieved that they're simply using a reorchestrated version of the original score, although I still don't think there was anything wrong with it the way it was.

This is now officially my most anticipated movie of the year. Just for anyone out there keeping track.

Yes, 1.85:1 is the correct ratio. That trailer has been compressed for some reason.

Hello,

This isn't redux news per se. Just wanted to write that I'm on a kick re-reading martial arts novels along with re-watching some of their screen adaptations during the summer lull. Part of this entails re-examining Jin Yong's _Eagle-shooting Heroes_, which has made me pop-in the old Mei-ah VCD of "Ashes." Anyway, from what I gather about the re-release, Wong seems to be going for a definitive revision of the movie that will stand as his final declamation on his artistic interpretation. Before we get to that point--that is, those of us who didn't get to catch "Ashes" at Cannes or other festivals on the way--I just wanted to celebrate some of the current pre-redux versions before they disappear into cinematic obscurity. Sort of like how some fans pine for Lucas' pre-CGI Star Wars.

Although I own the Mei-ah HK cut, the first "Ashes" version that I saw was actually the Taiwanese one rented from a Chinatown video store. It sticks out in my memory primarily for two reasons. First, its' natty "Days of Being Wild"-like promotional material and all the incandescent Joey Wang bits at the end (somehow suggesting that "Eastern Heretic" big Tony Leung meets future wife Feng Heng in an inn duel. For those of you keeping track at home, that would make Joey Huang Rong's mom whom, after she grows up into a beguiling beauty herself, becomes the disciple and successor of "Northern Beggar" Jacky Cheung.) Thanks to the power of the inter-webs, a kindly Taiwanese blogger has put up some of the old '93 promotional material on-line along with screen captures of the Taiwanese DVD. See:

http://blog.xuite.net.tw/ringo.liu/1069/17269332

Another thing that stands out about "Ashes" as I get older is that I don't seem to mind Wong's take on the ultimate swordsman Dugu Qiubai ("Defeat-seeking Loner" in the subtitles) assayed by Brigitte Lin. Although the time frame is slightly off, the revelation that the greatest swordsman in Jin's pantheon is a lovelorn loser is no less shocking than, say, Darth Vader being a mama's boy afraid of losing his wife to his best friend/mentor. Mid-1990s WTF?! head scratching has definitely turned into something more mellow and I kinda like Wong's revisionist take on de-mythologising heroes. Speaking of which, all of this really makes me want to revisit "The Eagle Shooting Heroes" (those "mocking" posts at the start of this thread are actually quite apropos) with little Tony Leung as "Western Venom" Ouyang Feng. Anyone else dusting off their old tapes and discs of "Ashes of Time" before Wong's new version comes out?

Additional report from the Shanghai International Film Festival screening:

To salute Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing, Wong Kar Wai's film in the end
left a shot for him. (Not really sure what this means. A freeze frame, maybe?)
... Wong Kar Wai hired a foreign special effect company to
restore this 15 year old film frame and frame with the latest digital
technology. On the big screen the effects were very obvious, the visual
color were heavier. Each scene was like an oil painting. Editing wise,
the entire film was less than minute longer than the original with the
addition of Lau Ka Ling's close up on horseback in the water and a scene
that stood out Brigitte Lin (Lam Ching Ha)'s character. Yet the rumored
Joey Wong Cho Yin scene did not appear. Some action scenes were actually
cut, like Leung Chiu Wai's horse thief killing scene.

As for sound effect, the original ASHES OF TIME was in mono. The
REDUX had 5.1 Dolby stereo surround sound with famous cellist Yoyo Ma's
all new score. Yoyo Ma's Silk Road band performed in Hong Kong when Wong
Kar Wai after the concert felt that his music was very similar to ASHES OF
TIME. Thus he approached Yoyo Ma to help with seven new scores. Wong
Kar Wai stated that one of Yoyo Ma's solo performance had an enormous
effect on the entire visual, a sound that could not be imagined and only
a cello could make.

When ASHES OF TIME was released 15 years ago, many viewers
complained about its difficulty to comprehend. In comparison to the
original 100 minutes, REDUX was only 93 minutes long. With changes in
the order of actor appearances the film was smoother and easier to
understand. When ASHES OF TIME was made, Cheung Kwok Wing, Leung Chiu
Wai, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Jacky Cheung Hok Yau, Maggie Cheung Man Yuk, Lam
Ching Ha, Lau Ka Ling and Wong Cho Yin starred. Out of the eight
superstars with the exception of Cheung Kwok Wing other scenes were very
loose. Wong Kar Wai and William Chang Suk Ping could only add narrative
during editing to connect the scenes into a story. Finally the resulting
film had a lot of hints and viewers would not help but become confused.
Now Wong Kar Wai has arranged the order anew. The film's themes
were the seaons and returned to spring. Appearing in memory Cheung Man
Yuk, Lau Ka Ling and Lam Ching Ha had slight order changes that made
understanding easier. Even Leung Chiu Wai and Lau Ka Ling agreed that
they liked REDUX more. Lau Ka Ling said, back then she felt that film was
very hard to understand. This time the story was very easy to accept.
Leung Chiu Wai liked REDUX's music and visual, which were better to
appreciate in the cinema.