Ashes Of Time Redux - DVD Review

"Ashes Of Time Redux", like many of Wong Kar Wai's films, is astonishingly beautiful at times. This film necessitates with some characterizations and isolation reminiscent of David Lynch, the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone and the poetry of Tarsem. I was a big fan of "2046" which he did initially as a work-in-progress at Cannes a couple years ago. This movie was made way before that. The remaster of the sound is grand since that seems what is the most changed. The rest of the picture is inherently gritty. However there is one battle scene when one of the men living in the desert takes on a barbarian army that is so consuming, just in the editing and sound design, that it requires watching over and over. The story itself is non linear to a point where two men exist in different times speaking to the love of a woman who believes that he/they love someone else. It is quite a contradiction at times in terms of the story in terms of clarity. However it is the moments of calm when the male character seems the most confused. He seems only focused in battle which acts, one would think, as the crux of the emotional balance of the story. Beyond the esoteric, the actual cinematography along with the music which includes cello by Yo Yo Ma is exceptional. The fact that this movie was made almost 20 years ago shows its timelessness."Born From Ashes: The Making Of 'Ashes Of Time Redux'" gives a better perception of what was changed. I had not seen the original so everything seemed new. However the remastering especially with the score which for the most part wasn't apparently there before gives it even more richness. The interviews in this piece were done at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival where it made its premiere which makes this DVD release more timely. The "Q&A With Wong Kar Wai" segment was done some months later in NY by J. Hoberman who works with The Village Voice. Kar Wai's explanation of his approach to script and actors shows that he is trying to think outside the box. His discussion of camera use is actually quite on but changing things up sometimes scares people. He also discusses shooting "Ashes Of Time" in such a remote desert in China and what it took to get the actors there. It is actually a fairly comprehensive talk once it gets going. In terms of trailers on the disc, the standout is "Synecdoche, New York" which come off even more whimsical in the trailer than it does in the actual movie. For all intents and purposes, "Ashes Of Time Redux" is a reluctant masterpiece watching and aware of the angles from which people see it from. Out of 5, I give the disc a 3 1/2.