Ashes of Time

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Ashes of Time
Directed by	Wong Kar-wai
Produced by	Tsai Sung-lin
Written by	Wong Kar-wai
Starring	Leslie Cheung Brigitte Lin Maggie Cheung Tony Leung Chiu Wai Tony Leung Ka Fai Jacky Cheung
Distributed by	HKFM
Release date(s)	1994
Running time	100 minutes
Country	Hong Kong
Language	Cantonese
Budget	HKD 40,000,000 (estimated)
Preceded by	Days of Being Wild (1991)
Followed by	Chungking Express (1994)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Ashes of Time (traditional Chinese: 東邪西毒; simplified Chinese: 东邪西毒; pinyin: Dōngxié Xīdú, literally "The Heretic East and the Venomous West") is a 1994 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Wong Kar-wai, based very loosely on four characters from the Louis Cha novel The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

Wong completely eschews any plot adaptation from Cha's novel, using only the names to create his own vision of an arguably unrelated movie.

Although it received limited box office success, the parallels Ashes of Time draws between modern ideas of dystopia imposed on a wuxia film has led many critics to cite it as one of Wong Kar-wai's most underappreciated works.

Contents 1 Cast 2 Plot 3 Connections to Chinese Odyssey 2002 4 Soundtrack 5 Critical reception 6 Awards and nominations 7 Box office

[edit] Cast

• Leslie Cheung - Ouyang Feng, a.k.a Venomous West
• Brigitte Lin - daughter of Murong clan
• Maggie Cheung - Ouyang Feng's lover
• Jacky Cheung - Hong Qigong, a.k.a North Beggar, founder of Begger Sect.
• Tony Leung Chiu Wai - Blind Swordsman
• Tony Leung Ka Fai - Huang Yaoshi, a.k.a Heretic East
• Li Bai
• Carina Lau - "Peach Blossoms," blind swordsman's wife
• Charlie Yeung - a woman who requests Ouyang Feng revenge her brother's death

[edit] Plot

In this film, set in ancient times in China, Leslie Cheung plays an agent, Ouyang Feng, hiring famous bounty-hunters. His character is portrayed as a fallen swordsman driven by greed and heartless to both friend and foe. He was perpetually being spiteful of love as his own love history was not nearly so beautiful. His bounty-hunters came and went as was narrated by Ouyang Feng himself as based on the Tung Shu predictions.

In essence, he was a loner with little love, but the bounty hunters that worked for Ouyang Feng, like 'Blind Swordsman' (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and another of his best fighters, Hung Chi (Jacky Cheung), discovered the intangible secret of true love while Ouyang retained his attitude towards his fighters and the precious lessons that they have taught. However, the thread that runs through the entire narrative has clearly the spirit of refusal in the sense that one should reject another before he gets to be rejected in the future. To illustrate, nearly every character in this story has resorted to being selfish and malignant in order to prevent being rejected by others, be it in love or in comradeship as their individual hardships have moulded their attitude turning them into heartless and cold individuals in order to survive in the uncompromising desert where the story is set.

It has many moral implications but is less evident since the main character is Ouyang himself and most of the narration would unquestionably be centred on him.

Ashes of Time is scheduled for a re-release in France and USA sometime in 2008. It will have "Redux" added to the title (much like Apocalypse Now's re-release). It is unknown if it is a longer cut. A remastered DVD release is also in the works, the release date or studio is unknown.

[edit] Connections to Chinese Odyssey 2002

Chinese Odyssey 2002 which is a movie produced by Wong Kar-wai has used the theme and style, music.

[edit] Soundtrack

The music was composed by Frankie Chan, and released on 1994 as a single CD, produced by Rock Records in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Ashes of Time Original Motion Picture Soundtrack tracklist:

1. 序幕: 天地孤影任我行 Prelude - A Lonely Heart 2:50
2. 殺手生涯 The Killer's Career 3:55
3. 情慾流轉 A Flood of Love 2:45
4. 又愛又恨 Both Love and Hate 4:15
5. 幻影交疊 Illusion 3:25
6. 昔情難追 Bygone Love 4:06
7. 馬賊來襲 An Attack by the Highwaymen 3:17
8. 痴痴期盼 Expectation 5:00
9. 糾結難解 Tangle 5:18
10. 決鬥 A Duel 3:35
11. 塵歸塵 土歸土 Dust to Dust 5:58
12. 摯愛 Sincere Love 3:11
13. 追憶 Reminiscence 3:58
14. 真相 The Truth 3:03
15. 終曲: 世事蒼茫成雲煙 Finale - Gone With The Wind 2:52

[edit] Critical reception

When the film opened in Hong Kong it received a mixed review. Critics found it so elliptical it was almost impossible to make out semblance of a plot, something very unlikely in a wuxia movie.

In the New York Times, Lawrence van Gelder gave Ashes of Time a somewhat mixed review:

"For those who seek metaphors, Ashes of Time... presents the eye as well as the illusions of vision. One character is nearly blind. Another, a swordsman, goes blind in the middle of a horrendous battle. Two characters, Yin and Yang -- one presented as a man, the other as his sister -- are identical. And there is a brief appearance by a legendary sword fighter who hones his skills against his own reflection. For those who seek battle, Ashes of Time offers intermittent blurs of action, streaks of flying figures, flashing steel, and rare spatters and gouts of moist crimson, all washing across the screen like hurried brush paintings. Like the attainment of wisdom, Ashes of Time requires a long journey through testing terrain."[1]

[edit] Awards and nominations

• 1995 Hong Kong Film Awards
  • Won: Best Art Direction (William Chang)
  • Won: Best Cinematography (Christopher Doyle)
  • Won: Best Costume and Make-up Design (William Chang)
  • Nominated: Best Picture
  • Nominated: Best Director (Wong Kar-wai)
  • Nominated: Best Action Choreography (Sammo Hung)
  • Nominated: Best Film Editing (Patrick Tam, Kai Kit-Wai)
  • Nominated: Best Original Score (Frankie Chan)
  • Nominated: Best Screenplay (Wong Kar-wai)

• 1994 Golden Horse Awards
  • Won: Best Cinematography (Christopher Doyle)
  • Won: Best Editing (Patrick Tam, Kai Kit-Wai)

• 1995 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
  • Won: Best Film
  • Won: Best Director (Wong Kar-wai)
  • Won: Best Actor (Leslie Cheung)
  • Won: Best Screenplay (Wong Kar-wai)

• 1994 Venice Film Festival
  • Won: Special Jury Award
  • Won: Best Cinematography (Christopher Doyle)

• 1997 Fant-Asia Film Festival
  • Won: Best Asian Film - Third Place

[edit] Box office

Ashes of Time grossed HK$9,023,583 during its Hong Kong run. The tally was a huge disappointment considering the film's big budget of roughly HK$40 million.

v • d • e Films directed by Wong Kar-wai Feature films: As Tears Go By (1988) • Days of Being Wild (1991) • Chungking Express (1994) • Ashes of Time (1994) • Fallen Angels (1995) • Happy Together (1997) • In the Mood for Love (2000) • 2046 (2004) • Eros (The Hand) (2004) • My Blueberry Nights (2007) • The Lady from Shanghai (2008) Short Films: wkw/tk/1996@7′55″hk.net (1996) • Hua Yang De Nian Hua (2000) • The Hire: The Follow (2001) • Six Days (2002)