The Behind-the-scenes Production of Ashes of Time

"Ashes of Time" started shooting on September 2 1, 1992, and was filmed in Yulin, Shaanxi Province on June 1993. Lonely smoke in the desert, yellow sand covering the sun, peach blossoms and flowing water, all these beautiful scenery originated from Hongshixia in Yulin, Shaanxi Province. The crew of "Ashes of Time" chose Yulin, Shaanxi Province to shoot the peach blossom forest there. However, when the crew started on September 2 1 and 1992, the peach blossoms had already withered, and the director could only shoot in a desert.

When the crew filmed in Hongshixia Scenic Area in Yulin, the conditions were very difficult. Not only is it windy and dusty, but actors and crews have to drive three or four hours to the set every day. During the filming in Yulin for more than a year, Leslie Cheung was the only actor who filmed in Yulin from beginning to end, and the last one left.

Role change

Due to the slow progress of the filming of Ashes of Time, in order to catch up with the schedule of the filmmakers, the original crew had to shoot the New Year film "Going East and Going West". The filming of East and West gave Wong Kar-wai time to sit down and reconsider. He found that the performance of "East Evil" would not surprise the audience too much, because it had already been very attractive in "The True Story of Teddy Boy" before, and the performance of "East Evil" could only be a continuation, while Du's character was "self-abased and didn't want to be hurt", which had never been tried before and could be challenged. This is why Leslie Cheung plays "Xi Du" Ouyang Feng. In the role change, Joey Wong's scenes were cut a lot, and all her opposite and intimate scenes with Leslie Cheung were abandoned.

post production

When shooting Ashes of Time, there was no complete recording equipment, let alone a live band, due to the shortage of funds for making movie music. Director Wong Kar-wai only gave his collaborator Chen Xunqi two weeks to complete the music creation of this film.

During the production of Ashes of Time, some Hongkong musicians were invited to record China traditional national musical instruments, such as Xiao He, and even used guitars. Although guitar is a western musical instrument, it can simulate the sound of pipa. It is said that Xiao's voice can depict the lonely mood of chivalrous people, and his voice is high, which can express the unpredictable fate and the true nature of human nature.