Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Starring: Yun-Fat Chow, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi ZhangDirector: Ang Lee
Studio: Columbia Tri-Star
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Running Time: 120 minutes
DVD Release: May 4th 2004
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DVD Review
Hong Kong wuxia films, or martial arts fantasies, traditionally squeeze poor acting, slapstick humor, and silly story lines between elaborate fight scenes in which characters can literally fly. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has no shortage of breathtaking battles, but it also has the dramatic soul of a Greek tragedy and the sweep of an epic romance. This is the work of director Ang Lee, who fell in love with movies while watching wuxia films as a youngster and made Crouching Tiger as a tribute to the form. To elevate the genre above its B-movie roots and broaden its appeal, Lee did two important things. First, he assembled an all-star lineup of talent, joining the famous Asian actors Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh with the striking, charismatic newcomer Zhang Ziyi. Behind the scenes, Lee called upon cinematographer Peter Pau (The Killer, The Bride with White Hair) and legendary fight choreographer Yuen Wo-ping, best known outside Asia for his work on The Matrix. Second, in adapting the story from a Chinese pulp-fiction novel written by Wang Du Lu, Lee focused not on the pursuit of a legendary sword known as "The Green Destiny," but instead on the struggles of his female leads against social obligation. In his hands, the requisite fight scenes become another means of expressing the individual spirits of his characters and their conflicts with society and each other.
The filming required an immense effort from all involved. Chow and Yeoh had to learn to speak Mandarin, which Lee insisted on using instead of Cantonese to achieve a more classic, lyrical feel. The astonishing battles between Jen (Zhang) and Yu Shu Lien (Yeoh) on the rooftops and Jen and Li Mu Bai (Chow) atop the branches of bamboo trees required weeks of excruciating wire and harness work (which in turn required meticulous "digital wire removal"). But the result is a seamless blend of action, romance, and social commentary in a populist film that, like its young star Zhang, soars with balletic grace and dignity. --Eugene Wei
User Reviews
crap - Rating: 1/5
It is impossible to know where to start my critique. Whether it is with the fact that this movie is on the top 100 foreign films of all time or whether to start with the large amount of crap that others have written. The editorial review is absolutely beyond me. A classic Greek tragedy? Where did you get that idea? I mean, the fact that they can fly is fine, in a fantasy fiction film, anything can happen. But this film had no storyline, the acting was minimal, and the martial arts that Ang Lee tried to present was ridiculous. In trying to make an artistic masterpiece, he sacrificed the entire beauty of martial arts. Its called martial arts because when someone has mastered it, the way they fight is a wonder and beautiful to watch. For instance, when you watch Jet Li's old movies done in Chinese, one can see the beauty of it all. The way his moves flow into one another and at the same time, he kicks another person's ass. This film was simply another foreign film that was brought to America and now people who think they know about movies say, "Do you know anything about Asian cinema? Well, there's this amazing film called 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.'" All of it is bs. The movie sucked and anyone who followed up this one with Ang Lee's other film "The Hulk" can see that this man needs some serious work on his editing and entire movie-making process. this was not a good film, the idea was stupid, the result was horrible. If you thought this was an amazing expression of Chinese cinema, think again. This is an insult to Chinese traditions and a step backward for Asian cinema.
film making as art - Rating: 5/5
"one of the best movies ever made"?
you better believe it!
i'm as strong a movie buff you can find. i normally watch anywhere between 15 to 20 movies a month - hollywood to foreign. and CTHD is easily one of the greatest movies i have ever seen. this movie has so much depth in it that you simply cannot comprehend its depth over a single viewing. you've to see it multiple times. there're so many things to understand and appreciate here. ang lee's labour of love for sure.
i first saw this movie in london in the year 2001. the first time i clearly enjoyed it but didnt perceive any special greatness. but over the last 4 years i've seen it atleast 15 to 20 times and with each viewing the exquisite details in this work of art have slowly unfolded.
the greatness in this movie doesnt merely lie in its remarkable photography of such beautiful locales or the brilliantly choreographed action sequences or stirring music (all of which are fantastic in themselves) - but in the emotional depth that lee is able to mine out of the characters.
the story is about a rich albeit troubled girl who is secretly tutored in martial arts by an outlaw called jade fox who's posing as a nurse/tutor. jade fox has multiple people on her trail each seeking to avenge several murders by the former. one of these people is li mu bai (chow yun fat) considered the greatest swordsman alive (in that time and space) whose martial arts master was murdered by jade fox. fox decamps with a secret manual and takes up the position of the nurse of the rich young girl jen and secretly tutors her in the martial arts. growing up jen being highly talented soon outstrips her teacher in fighting skills though hides her talent from her teacher so as to not offend/hurt her feelings.
jen's father is a governor and in her travels with him she meets and falls in love with a desert bandit, but still leaves him and returns home to her parents.
li mu bai tired of fighting gives his famed sword the green destiny to yu (michelle yeoh) who inturn is supposed to give it to an old friend for safe keeping. but jen sees the beauty and power of sword and steals it one night.
thus li mu bai enters the scene and slowly all the characters are brought together into the play.
the greatness of the movie lies in subtlety of the expression of emotional depth between all the actors - the despair of jen against the tradition which she considers stifling, her unattainable love, the forbidden love between yu and li, the troubled teacher-student relationship between jen and jade fox and between jen and li, rivalries and jealousy between jen and yu - the emotional intricacies are mined to their full potential in all these relationships.
two of the scenes which struck me are :
1. when jen goes after the bandit (soon to be lover) who has stolen her comb and her unexplainable frustration and angst in her relationship with him is suddenly ended when he puts his hand into her pants! (remakable scene - believe me)!
2. when jen fights li mu bai (who wants to teach and guide her) there's a scene when he tells her that she's undisciplined and should first learn to hold the sword in stillness and suddenly slashes his sword staggering her, saying that expertise should come without effort! typical zen (in contrast to the undignified foolery of yoda in the climax fight against count dooku in the attack of the clones)!
remarkable movie this. with this movie, you need the eyes and mind to appreciate its greatness!
HUH?? - Rating: 1/5
Not the worst movie I've ever seen. Probably 2nd worst. At first I thought maybe it's a spoof, but then I got the queasy feeling that it's meant to be taken seriously. I then got an overwhelming desire to scream "What the ****?" I could go on with a detailed critique, beginning with the unexplained suspension of the laws of physics, but I have a feeling it would serve no purpose. This is a movie that, judging from the reviews here, you'll either love or hate. If you haven't already seen it, and are considering buying a copy, I strongly recommend renting it first.
Crouching Under the Sofa - Rating: 2/5
Briefly - If you enjoy fantasy/action movies with lots of cartoonish fighting, you'll love "Crouching Tiger". I don't, so I didn't. At some point I was misled into thinking this movie would appeal to me. Can't remember why, other than the fact that it features Chow Yun Fat. But this film in no way resembles "Anna & the King" (huge understatement). The cinematography is quite good, but that's not enough to sustain my attention for two hours.
Sometimes I fear that when this Boomer is too old and frail to be anywhere but in a nursing home, I'll be stuck in the dayroom watching movies such as this, as I'll be too confused and feeble to protest. At least with the non-English dialogue, however, it will be easier to ignore. In fact, I'm ignoring it right now as I type this. I found myself hoping that Idina Menzel would suddenly appear singing "Defying Gravity", but despairing of that likelihood, I've given up on "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
A great film - Rating: 5/5
I highly recommend this film. If you love great drama, superb acting, martial arts films and have an open mind to another culture's own fantasy art forms, you will love this film.
Many who have reviewed this film find the "flying" offensive or out of place. But to Asians this form of fantasy is even commonplace for them. It's as if someone from another culture dismissed science fiction movies as an art form because faster than light speed is probably impossible and will never happen. But from Star Trek to Star Gate to Star Wars, they all have faster than light spaceships. We immediately accept this as a part of the form.
So watch this film a few times with an open mind to THEIR fantasy art forms and enjoy it.
A superb work of Art .....
