Wong Kar Wai, director of "Ashes of Time" said, "I shot this film to attempt things I couldn't do myself in real life, didn't have the chance to do or was bad at. "

As it turned out, Wong's attempt to accomplish his own personal goals also included the efforts of ten noted Hong Kong actors. And in the pursuit of perfection, some scenes featuring stars were eventually cut out. Ashes of Time Redux premiered at a charity showing at the Shanghai Film Festival last year. It's seven minutes shorter than the original version. But Leslie Cheung's sequences have been added in memory of the actor who took his own life in 2004.