Region 4 Winners and Losers

    Ashes of Time was originally released with very poor video transfers. The Region 0 Chinese Zoke Culture and Hong Kong Mei Ah releases both have these poor transfers and both releases have no extras and are not 16x9 enhanced for widescreen televisions. The original Region 1 United States World Video and Supply Inc. release also is not 16x9 enhanced for widescreen televisions, as similarly is the case for the Region 2 Japanese Pony Canyon release.

    The Region 2 French release and Swedish releases are restored and are 16x9 enhanced for widescreen televisions but they contain no extras. The Redux restoration has been released by Sony in Region 1 in the United States, 16x9 enhanced for widescreen televisions and a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The two extras on this release include a 42-minute Q&A with director Wong Kar-Wai and the 14-minute EPK feature on the making of documentary of the film. In the United Kingdom Artificial Eye have released a Region 2 DVD that is identical to the Region 4 Madman Entertainment Directors Suite version.

    Therefore, the best available versions on DVD of Ashes of Time: Redux are the Region 2 Artificial Eye and Region 4 Directors Suite versions, complete with interviews with cast and crew. For a comparison of the huge disparity in image quality between the unrestored and restored Redux versions of Ashes of Time, follow this review link at DVDbeaver.