ASHES OF TIME

Details

• Release Year: 1994
• Genre: Action, Drama
• Plot: Shot in mainland China, this perversely lavish, self-consciously new wave martial arts film... is a languorous, sultry, sensuous action reverie. Accompanied by wailing flutes or solo electric guitar, it's set in a desert wilderness populated by a gang of angst ridden, lovelorn swordsmen-for hire. One is going blind, another turning amnesiac, the rest are haunted by their various memories. The names Kurosawa and Leone come tripping to the tongue in attempting to describe this brooding melange of extreme tilts and outlandish angles... Ashes of Time is mostly anticipation with sudden inexplicable episodes of slo-mo zap blurs of martial art tumult, as well as mystically congruent earthquakes and geysers. Just as the flickering network of shadoes efface the identities of Wong's swordsmen and women, the complicated plot is nearly overpowered by the film's anticipatory buildup, convoluted flashbacks, and cathedral lighting.; - J. Hoberman, Village Voice
• Cast: Brigitte Lin, Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Li Bai, Carina Lau, Charlie Yeung, Joey Wang, Shun Lau, Kar Wai Wong
• Director: Kar Wai Wong
• Runtime: 1:35
• Company: World Video
• Media Format: Movie