Ashes of Time (Redux)
Director: Wong Kar-wai Run Time: 100 min. Format: 35mm Release Year: 1994
Starring: Brigitte Lin, Jacky Cheung, Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tony Leung Ka-fai
Wong Kar Wai, Hong Kong, 2008, 35mm, 93 min.
There are five seasons in the Chinese calendar, each a chapter in the life of Ouyang Feng (Leslie Cheung), an ex-warrior who cures his broken heart as a middleman for vengeance. Between dazzling swordplay, choreographed by none other than Sammo Hung, the assassin’s agent relates the stories of his clients — the single greatest assortment of Hong Kong cinematic talent ever seen — including Tony Leung Chiu-wai as a blind swordsman, Brigitte Lin as dueling twin siblings, Yin and Yang, Maggie Cheung as a bygone lover and so many more. Initially released in 1994, Wong Kar Wai would revisit his eerie desert heartbreaker in 2008 to re-edit the film for future release. This is his definitive vision.