Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000)

30 out of 46 people found the following review helpful:

Ma ma, ho ho

Waterboy from from Hertfordshire, 11th April, 2007

I have to agree with my Chinese friend's opinions about this film; it is only so so (ma ma, ho ho; part horse/part pig); horses can gallop, but pigs can't fly. Despite an excellent cast and some stunning scenery, at less than two hours this still felt like a long film. The fights seemed to go on forever and the wire work was bad. This film was not a success in Asia, they had seen it all done better before. Praised by Western critics and viewers, this is a crossover film that works for some and not for others. It took me three times to get to the end without falling asleep. As with Zhang Ziyi, this is a western success that is not well regarded in Asia. If you think a cross between a pig and a horse would be a good thing rent this.

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18 out of 19 people found the following review helpful:

Fantastic

Jon Smith from Bedford, England, 3rd September, 2003

A fine movie, re-awakening western interest in Chinese cinema. It has been sad to watch the great stars of Chinese / HK / Taiwanese cinema 'graduate' to the dizzy heights of Hollywood with some pretty lame movies (Anna and the King -Chow Yun Fat/ Romeo Must Die and Lethal Weapon 4 - Jet Li/ Mission Impossible 2 -John Woo etc.) when all their best stuff was made in their native countries. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon proves that you don't need the largest of budgets or an American influence to produce what is a masterful piece of cinema. Michelle Yeoh returns to the martial artistry she so masterfully demonstrated in Wing Chun and age, in my opinion, has smiled kindly on her. Chow Yun Fat puts on a performance not seen since God of Gamblers and Hard Boiled, powerful stares, poetic script, utterly captivating. If you're a fan of Asian cinema then this is a classic to add to your collection. If you're new to the genre then it's a great starting block, incorporating all the best themes, music and styles headed by two of the most revered and respected Hong Kong Actors. If you liked this, you might want to rent/buy - Once Upon a Time in China; Legend of the Fist; Moon Warriors and A Chinese Ghost Story.

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17 out of 21 people found the following review helpful:

The best film of the year 2000

JohnRead from Hampshire, 26th October, 2003

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the best film of the year 2000 and won four Oscars and four BAFTAs. Directed by Ang Lee, this film has three lead female characters - Yu Shu Lien played by Michelle Yeoh, Jen Yu played by Zhang ZiYi and Jade Fox played by Cheng Pei Pei, as well as the world famous Chow Yun-Fat as Li Mu Bai.

Crouching Tiger contains amazing Kung Fu and sword fights involving the four main characters and many fights involving sub characters as well. These fights were choreographed by the world's best martial arts choreographer Yuen Wo Ping. Yuen Wo Ping is also responsible for choreographing the fights in such movies as the Matrix and Fist of Legend.

Crouching Tiger is based in the Kung Fu world of ancient China, warriors trained in Wudan are able to fly and float in the air leading to walking on water, fights in the tree tops and chases up walls and over roof tops. The film contains everything Good vs. Evil, Love, hate, envy, jealously, revenge, adventure, fantasy, masters and their students, all based in different beautiful areas of China.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is an absolutely brilliant film and in my opinion it is best to listen to the Mandarin soundtrack with English subtitles rather than listening to dubbed track. I gave Crouching Tiger 10/10.

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24 out of 42 people found the following review helpful:

Yawwwwwnnnnn

cliftonhill from Lanarkshire, 19th February, 2005

After the hype I just had to see this film and have never been so disappointed with a movie before.

It's so slow and folk float about as if their on the moon when they jump. Boring, boring and boring!

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*** May contain spoilers ***

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Martial Arts Masterpiece

AxlReznor from , 10th August, 2010

At the turn of the century, the western perception of the martial arts movie was very much cliched. Badly dubbed muscular stars fight their enemies one at a time throughout a throwaway plot - usually about revenge - that is little more than excuse for the badly dubbed muscular star to fight some more enemies one at a time. Whereas, thanks to people like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan there are some bona-fide classics that used this formula, the whole thing was stale for a long time. All of those previous movies were made by Hong Kong studios, that modeled their action movies on Hollywood. In mainland China, a breed of martial arts movie based on the classic wuxia stories were taking a firm hold, and Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon exposed the western world to the potential of martial arts. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is essentially two different love stories that become entwined with each other... Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh are Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien - two middle-aged warriors who love each other deeply but aren't able to act upon their feelings. The absolutely gorgeous and then up-and-coming star, Zhang Ziyi is Jen - daughter of an aristocrat who is in love with Chang Chen's Lo - leader of a group of bandits who kidnapped her - but is being forced into an arranged marriage. When Mu Bai decides to give up his warrior life, he asks Shu Lien to take his sword to Peking as a gift to his friend. But when the sword is stolen, the pair are forced to confront their feelings for each other as they hunt to find out the true identity of the thief. The tale ultimately deals with themes of feminist empowerment and death. Whereas Hong Kong action movies are all about the how to get the characters from one fight scene to the next, in Crouching Tiger, the stars are all able to give fantastic performances that ground the movie in plot and characters that you really feel for and care about, rather than the action. This serves to make the already spectacular fight choreography even more impressive when you actually have a personal stake in the characters that are pulling off these graceful fighting moves. Without a strong cast, this would have been just another martial arts movie. As it is, it's not only the movie that introduced us in the west to wuxia movies... it's also one of the very best movies in any genre.

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Utterly EPIC!

RachelImogen from , 7th August, 2010

Ang Lee is an amazing director. The actors are brilliant.The performances are sensational, the drama is intense and the action and fighting is perfect. I love this film 100%.

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So this is where it all began...

H0LLIE from , 23rd July, 2010

As a lifelong fan of martial arts movies I was itching to get down to the cinema to see this. And I was greatly disapointed. Michelle Yeoh - one of China's greatest kung fu stars - flying around on a wire waving a sword about. The point being? O.K, I admit that this has more of a plot than your usual martial arts fare, but should that really have been done at the expense of the action? There are a couple of good sword fights in here, certainly - but at some point they are all spoiled by the actor taking to the air like peter pan. Having said that I did still buy the DVD upon it's release. And once I was over my origional disapointment and watched the film for what it really is - a drama, I did enjoy it more. But I don't think I can ever forgive it for the trend of over budgeted, partially nonsensicle epics it has inspired.

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*** May contain spoilers ***

how annoying was the thief!

deanrmorrison from , 19th July, 2010

I really wished Chow Yun Fat or Michelle Yeoh had 'disposed' of the female princess/thief early on in the film. She was nothing but a disrespectful, spoilt brat. After stealing the stupid sword twice, causing the death of a policeman, and slicing Michelle Yeoh across the arm (as well as damaging and vandalising a restaurant and training dojo), Chow Yun Fat still persists in trying to 'win her over' and basically just excuses her bad behaviour. I mean she tried to kill the only love of his life. And this is despite Michelle Yeoh helping her by not revealing her identity earlier on. Wow! Even at the end, when she arguably could have been accused of causing the death of Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh still lets her off and sends her on her merry way to be with the Mongol bandit guy. I mean what a B*$ch! Apart from her, the film was great

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