Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the martial arts masterpiece of a film from 2000. It was directed by Ang Lee and starred Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Cheng Pei-Pei, Chang Chen, Xian Gao, and Sihung Lung. The story is set in 19th-century Imperial China. Fat and Yeoh play two master warriors named Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien. Bai is a Wudang swordsman. He and Shu Lien head a private security company. The two are in love, but because Shu Lien had been engaged to Li Mu Bai's close friend, they do not act on their feelings. Li Mu Bai is also grieving the murder of his teacher by a mysterious woman named Jade Fox (played by Pei-Pei), and decides to retire, giving his sword, Green Destiny, to Shu Lien to bring to their benefactor, Sir Te. She brings the sword to Sir Te's palace, where he is hosting a Governor and his family in advance of Governor Yu's daughter, Jen (played by Ziyi). The Green Destiny is stolen, which sets off the rest of the film's plot. The 4k-set is a two-disc set released in 2016 containing a UHD disc and a regular blu-ray disc, each containing the identical content. The A/V quality is outstanding. Both the audio and video of the UHD disc are at or near reference quality. Although I will note that some of the audio seemed out of synch with the video upon my first viewing. I think, however, that was my 4k player's fault, rather than a problem with the disc. Most of the bonus content from the prior physical media releases is included in this release, and there is some new bonus material created for the 4k release. There are two commentary tracks on the movie. The first is with director Ang Lee and screenwriter James Schamus. The second is by the cinematographer Peter Pau. Both commentary tracks provide a wealth of information about the film. Then, there is a conversation with Michelle Yeoh and a photo gallery that was carried over from prior releases. New for this release is an introduction to the film by Ang Lee, several deleted scenes, a making-of featurette that includes some footage from the original making-of material included on the original release, and two versions of the music videa for the film's ending credits song, A Love Before Time (one in English and one in Mandarin). The most extensive bonus feature is a three-part retrospective on the movie that includes interviews with Lee, Schamus, and the movie's editor, Tim Squyres. The movie was a surprise hit, especially given that it was filmed in China, all of the dialogue was in Mandarin, and it played in US theaters with English Subtitles, had a cast made up of actors who were not extremely famous in the United States. This was the first major film role for Ziyi, who really had to carry much of the movie, especially during the half-hour-long flashback sequence in the middle of the film. Although she was only 19 when the movie was filmed, she did a wonderful job. Even though she was not billed as the movie's lead, she ended up being the lead. The film has a very good plot, and even though it can be difficult to follow everything that is happening (especially when the characters are talking during action scenes and you have to try to read subtitles and watch action at the same time), the story is not all that hard to follow. While it does have a lot of fighting and some character deaths, there is not a lot of gore. There is also some sexual content, but no nudity. Ultimately, it is a wonderful movie that is worth watching and is a must-see for anyone who is a practitioner of martial arts and/or a fan of martial arts movies.

It was one of Ang Lee's longtime dreams to make a wuxia movie. With a foot firmly planted in the idiom but also written and filmed to appeal to western audiences as well we get two immortal, timeless love stories and some of the best wuxia ever filmed on a movie screen. It started a wuxia craze in the global and western movie market for more than a decade. If anyone remembers classics like "A touch of Zen" that came decades before you'll appreciate the homage here in this fine film. There is a nice presence of the Tao and Buddhist philosophies without getting in too deep. As with almost all Ang Lee films we get a strong sense of suppressed emotions and truths always hidden. In fact, the fight scenes here, as really beautifully choregraphed as they are, become physical extensions of the deep inner conflicts, unrequited love, jealousy and the struggle to forge one's own path in life. There is almost a sorrowful atmosphere that falls when the characters fight. The cast is stellar with then newcomer Zhang Ziyi dominating much of the film and launching quite a career for the last couple of decades. Long time action star veteran Michelle Yeoh solidly anchors the story line and adds much depth to her troubled relationships with both co-stars. And a very surprising excellent turn as a wuxia master from Hong Kong gangster film star Chow Yun-fat. This fantastic remaster 4K HDR10 disc gives a nice tight, light grain with great detail. Colors are vivid but still realistic. The roof top night scenes are nice and gloomy but without black crush. There is just a solid cinematic feel to the image here. The Atmos audio is excellent with great envelopment, dynamics and very clear Mandarin dialog. Subtitles are white with a slightly larger font to enhance the ease of reading. I can think of no reason to hesitate to add this to your collection. Especially as a strong contender of the best wuxia of all time.

Crouching Tiger is a very good film with a lot going for it. The recreation of mid-evil China, the cinematography, the gorgeous fight choreograpy, a sweeping story and its focus on the role of women in society and the cultural expectations that are placed on them all add up to a fine film. But above all else it is the film's acting that makes it stand apart from the crowd, particularly the performances of its two leading ladies. Michelle Yeoh is amazing in this movie. Loyal and hard edged, Yeoh's character is the ultimate example of internal conflict, torn between a friendship and the truth, and between a deep respect and an even deeper love. There are several scenes where the subleties of her facial expressions say more than most actors manage in their entire careers with actual dialogue. As good as Yeoh is, its newcommer (at the time this film was made) Zhang Ziyi that steals the show. Never mind that a good argument could be made for her as the most beautiful actress alive today, Ziyi manages to portray Jen as a complex duality of fragility and power, of nobleman's daughter and thief. At times bratty and spoiled, at other times indigent, self-assured and cocky, and at all times someone who will, in the end, do what she pleases to do, cultural expectations, protocol, laws and even common decency be damned. Jen wants the world, but she'll only accept it on her own terms. Even though the DVD defaults to english, I recommend watching the film first in its native Mandarin with the english subtitles turned on, as the film was presented during its theatrical release. Too much of the subleties of these great performances are lost when the english audio is dubbed in. At the same time, it is worth watching later with the english audio, as the spoken english words are more elaborate and convey more than the much briefer subtitles can. I would also like to briefly comment on the use of wirework in the movie and the widespread criticism it has received for making the movie unrealistic. First, please realise that the movie is meant as a fairy tale / fantasy. It was not intended to be fully realistic. If you realise this, and allow yourself to enjoy the movie, you will. Just as we allow ourselves to enjoy films like Kill Bill, Rambo, and James Bond, even though they too have fight scenes that are completely unrealistic and would in reality leave the participants chalk full of bullet holes or beaten to bloody pulps. Second, there is something of a point as to why the characters can fly. Yeoh hits the nail on the head in the accompanying documentary on the DVD when she points out that the flying is meant to be symbolic of the character's relative freedom from social obligation. Yeoh's character, who runs a business and cannot speak her love for Li Mu Bai due to social standing, is also the least adept flyer of the major characters and often struggles to do so, weighed down by her obligations. Jen certainly has social expectations placed upon her, but has escaped most of them through her secret life. She is able to take flight far more easily than Yeoh's character. Finally, Li Mu Bai is a warrior who is at peace with who he is - he flies most effortlessly of all three of them.

Great movie.

Why a 400th review? Because I believe this film has a complexity few have noted. Yes it is a grand spectacle. While not quite as glorious as Lawrence of Arabia, I did think it could be mentioned in the same paragraph. Actually it was The Searchers that came to mind as I was walking out of the theater after seeing it the first time. Yes it is also a rollicking martial arts flick. "How do they do it?" I know -- they use wires and speeded up (ie slowed down) takes. It is also a touching love story. The stars of the film express considerable emotion with very modest looks and gestures. The line at the end of preferring to be a ghost close to his love over a spirit in heaven ranks up there with the best love lines in film. But most of all I thought this was a film about narcissism. There is the narcissism of the main character who is so touched with despair that he momentarily forgets his duty. There is the narcissism of a different kind of duty that prevents him from "disrespecting" the memory of his friend -- the deceased fiancee of the woman he loves. There are the complicated alliances, including one with a man who seems to be in league with a mafia-like underworld. (And this is a good guy!!) There is the bitter narcissism of Gray Fox, the proto-feminist warrior who kills our hero out of rage over a supposed seduction at the hands of his master. By the way, that was one spot that did not make full sense to me. Would we expect a Wudon master to have a casual affair with one of his students? The most narcissistic character is Jen, the Governor's daughter. She is blessed with native talent which she has begun to cultivate. She has a feisty spirit. But over and over again she chooses self-indulgence and narcissism over discipline, over love, over doing the right thing. She destroys the lives of everyone around her before narcissistically taking her own life in the final scene. It was the waste of talent resulting from narcissism and the wreckage left in its wake that haunted me for a long time after the film ended. The meditation on love, duty, discipline, and narcissism is what the film finally was about for me. I agree heartily with those reviewers who felt the film was poorly served by the DVD transfer. It is not really terrible, but it is sub-par. A film of this greatness deserves a first class DVD edition. I hope one will be forthcoming soon.

I love this film, I'm so glad I was able to purchase it here. One thing I wish, however, is that the version had the option for an English Dub. I wanted to have it on while I was doing cleaning, but since I don't speak Chinese I would have to watch carefully to know what's going on. So this is great for dedicated viewing, not so much for casual viewing when I'm multitasking.

This fine and even fun film is of singular quality to meet or beat just about any film of whatever genre ~ so it is much more than just a *kung fu action* movie ~ even when full of great *kung fu action*. It presents rich scenery and settings of various locales of Old China, including gorgeous natural scenery and weather, architecture with fine detail and traditional human styles of clothing, activity and mannerism. The background music ~ especially via cello and drum ~ is spot-on for mood ~ without ever being overwhelming. The flowing *kung fu* and weapons action is some of the best I have seen ~ even when blended smoothly with the more surreal magical spinning, jumping and flying activity ~ and with equally good human expression, interaction and conversation. The motives and tensions are especially well-done in moderation ~ neither under or over done. I enjoyed all the main characters and actors ~ especially Chow Yun-Fat ~ and most especially Michelle Yeoh ~ who I already appreciated via another interesting movie, *Wing Chun* ~ which is also a *kung fu action* movie with some interesting angles ~ if not quite as grand as *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*. Michelle Yeoh has such spot-on expression ~ via notion, emotion and motion ~ like a many-angled magnetic jewel that emits electrical sparks ~ and most especially in *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon* ~~~

Great

Reçu et testé. Un réel plaisir que de redécouvrir ce chef d’œuvre avec cette qualité. Testé uniquement en blu-ray et pas en ultra HD pour le moment (pas de lecteur encore) mais la qualité est là. C’est beau, c’est propre et ça fait plaisir. J’avais peur concernant la VF (oui il y’a des films que je préfère regarder en VF et celui-ci en fait partie) et c’est bien celle de la version DVD que je vais ranger précieusement. Le mixage sonore est de bonne qualité également et la musique ne parlons pas. Livraison un peu longue mais ça vaut le coup. Si vous aimez ce film, n’hésitez pas à acheter cette version qui le sublime vraiment.

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I bought that movie years ago. My son told me that I would love it. Even if I was not a fan of martial art movies and Chinese or Japanese way to show those kinds of supernatural abilities of human beings, I decided to give a try. After all, my son knows pretty well my taste in movies and as usually, when he recommend something, I was miles from being disappointed. The story lines, the landscapes, the costumes and the acting caught so much my attention that I even didn't mind or even forgot about those humans standing straight on tiny branches on top of trees. I was nothing else than delighted. I kept that movie in y collection and still watch it every once in a while even after those years. That movie was not the one that opened me to Asian and martial art movies, but it was certainly the one that brooked the ice and prevent me to miss the beautiful story of Forbidden Kingdom (Jacky Chan and Jet Li) bought few weeks ago and which was almost immediately followed by the stunning Red Cliff, directed by John Woo as well. If you like the genre and did not see this one yet, well I'm telling you, you are missing something.

Película se ve genial en 4k, algunos indican problemas en la calidad de pantalla, la verdad, ningún problema, incluso en escenas obscuras, se ve muy claro y nítido. De más está decir de la película, que es maravillosa. Trae Bluray y 4k, idioma y subtítulos en español latino, excelente

H.J.J. van der Haar: Wat ik toch wel erg jammer vind is dat er vele talen staan waarmee deze editie werkt maar geen Nederlandse (of Duitse of Scandinavische) ondertiteling of nasynchronisatie. Nederlandse ondertiteling zou al voldoende zijn geweest. Bestaat dat überhaupt niet voor deze film? Voor de makers: er zijn zeker 100 miljoen Duitstalingen ter wereld (Duitsland, Oostenrijk, Zwitserland (de grootste groep spreekt Zwitserduits en geen Frans, Italiaans of Retroromaans) & er zijn 55 miljoen Nederlandstaligen in de wereld (bron: de religieuze mensen in Salt Lake City die al die geboortebewijzen verzamelen). En de Scandinavische landen behoren tot de rijkste landen ter wereld. Dus een markt van 150 mensen en meer laat men op deze manier links liggen. Dat is toch zonde, vindt men niet?