View Full Version : Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Using Matrix-type fight sequences, the Chinese film (with English subtitles) attempts to mix action sequences with two doomed love stories. It works for the most part, but there were some instances where it breaks down.
The fighting sequences are awesome, but the action is few and far between in several instances. Also, the first few fight scenes are so poorly lit that you're not sure what the heck is going on. If one person wasn't wearing white, you'd be in the dark--literally.
The first twenty minutes are fairly slow, but it gradually picks up, and it also has some great dialogue...some of it quite amusing and very witty.
"Crouching Tiger" also is bogged down in the traditional ancient Chinese way: "you killed my master, now you must die", that sort of thing.
I was left, however, with a certain lightness of being after seeing the movie, which doesn't happen very often. It is an action film, but it also has a big heart and has more depth--in both character and theme--than American audiences usually get to see.
Go see this movie!
* * * * (out of five)
Zephyrus
01-07-01, 01:20 AM
I've actually heard about this movie, I think it screened at my local theatre under the "Critic's Corner" section...didn't get a chance to see it though, didn't it get lots of acclaim from critics at some festival??
thmilin
01-07-01, 08:03 PM
i really wanted to see this ... i grew up in singapore and we always had the hong kong chinese action movies in theaters ... we knew chow yun fat before he became an american action star! ;) and i saw the ad for this movie and felt my heart just do a flip ... hoping against hope it would be good ...especially with the story of the woman being the force to reckon with (which actually happens very often in "chop-chop" movies, as they're called)
haven't been anywhere where it was playing .. i feel this is a movie that should be seen in a theater. i just hope i can find it before it goes to video!
Gee, I hope so, too! It's definitely a "big screen" movie. But DVD would be a nice alternative.
I'm as American as GI Joe, but I remember growing up watching Hong Kong movies every Saturday afternoon--most of which featured a young Bruce Lee. I was familiar with Chow Yun Fat, Jet Li, and the director John Woo before they ever found their niche in American film, but I'm glad that they have come over to the West so they could garner that exposure.
I'm a big martial arts movie buff. My room is littered with Jet Li movie posters and Bruce Lee. But from what I hear this movie is alot more than martial arts, which is why I want to see it so badly. But its only playing in Reston around my area, and don't particularily want to drive that far to go see it.
I can't wait to see this movie - unfortunatly, it's not out here where I live yet. :(
Want to get an idea of how good it must be? Well, big hits like, say, "What Women Want" open on something like 4,000 screens nationwide, and take in a rough average of $4,000-5,000 per screen. That's $16-20 million or so.
This movie, however, opened on around 30 screens/theatres, and averaged over $30,000 per screen! Almost all the shows for awhile were sold out!
Zephyrus
01-08-01, 12:17 PM
You see, that's the only problem...30 screens versus 4000 makes a hell of a difference in that it's not as accessible to everyone, so that's why a lot of people who might have appreciated the film miss out untill it comes out on video.
WOOHOO! I think I'm gonna see this one soon! I've been waiting for a release out here - just came out on the 12th. I'm giving up a shot this weekend at Thirteen Days and the LOTR trailer, but I'll be okay. :)
Originally posted by OG-
LOTR trailer?
Here, let me answer your question in JavaScript. :)
<script language="JavaScript">
var LOTR, excitement, faint;
LOTR = "Lord of the Rings";
excitement = 10;
if (excitement = 10) {
faint = true;
}
</script>
Make more sense now? :D
Believe the hype.
I saw this last night and it is easily one of the best movies I've seen in a while.
I like how director Ang Lee was able to balance out the drama, humor, and action. Despite the fact that it's subtitled, the story is very emotional. This is why some people may think it's "boring" -- cuz they wanna see nothing but action sequences. But the movie is much more than that. You will be drawn into the themes of love, betrayal, and freedom.
Not only that, but the action is amazing. People applauded after the first fight sequence -- including myself. It's just unreal. And the scene in the tavern is hilarious. And the fight between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi in the sparring room -- WOW
The funny thing is, if you watch some of Ang Lee's other movies (I've only seen Sense and Sensibility and The Ice Storm ), you'll find many of the same traits in this period martial arts film.
Do I think it'll be nominated for Best Picture by the Oscars?? Yes. Will it win?? I hope so. Hands down my favorite movie of the moment.
It was quite good - great? I dunno - I'm still undecided there. I'd have to see it again and pay more attention to things to make a decision there.
Less action than I had expected, but it didn't matter. I wish we would have gotten an explanation for the essential "flying" they did - at least tell me it's some mystyrious, ancient art that few know of - I'd be satisified with that! :)
Overall a very good movie - the romance did not detract from the action, everything was crisp and clear, and it was quite funny at times.
The reason for the "flying" is siply cuz the movie is supposed to be a fantasy, at least that's what I think. Notice it was only the "great warriors" (or those with potential) that could fly like that. Kinda like The Force in Star Wars. It just added to the mystical quality of the movie.
In Chinese wuxia novel, some warriors could walk like dragonflies on the surface of water to show how light the warroirs are by practicing "light kungfu". And also, they could walk on the roof without making any noise just as like cloud which also shows the lightness when praticing "light kungfu". Most of the warriors in wuxia novel don't fly, but there were a couple could do that. Imaging when you were young, read and heard these stories, your imagination just carries you away. Especially when there is a bully in your school or neighborhood or you have a enemy who is steeling your girlfreind. When I was young, I tried to learn kungfu too. But couldn't find a master in my neighborhood. I was back in China then.
I don't like the flying thing either. I hoep the flying will be cut in DVD or video. It could be even better without the flying. But I can live with it. Still, it is one of the best kungfu movie I have ever seen. The story telling is even better ( I don't need to read the subtitle). But I did read some of the subtitle, the feeling is a little bit different.
I struggled with the plot early on, but got used to it.
I don't think the changes to the DVD will be so large as to cut out the flying. That's really popular with a lot of people, so I think it'll stay.
Austruck
01-21-01, 11:53 PM
To be fairer to the movie, TWT, remember that we walked into the movie a few minutes late -- which probably explains our having to struggle a few minutes with the plot.
Other than that, if I can go to a movie with subtitles and forget that I'm reading subtitles after five minutes, it gets my vote.
Good flick, good acting, good effects (I do kinda wonder how they did some of that stuff), good story and underlying story.
I assumed the whole "flying" thing was because the story was told more as some sort of ancient legend than anything else. It certainly had that feel to it -- grandiose themes of good versus evil, vengeance and restitution, love that will not be thwarted, etc.
And I do adore Chow Yun Fat. He made "Anna and the King" worth watching, IMHO.
I saw this flick the other day with my friends. It was pretty good. It took me a while to get use to the flying bit, I like amore realistic feel. But I liked it in the end. Although I didn't particularily like the ending to the movie, how everything turned out. I was kinda disappointed by it because all the reviews were saying it was such a great movie...
DoomsDay
01-26-01, 02:11 AM
I am new here, please to meet all of you.
I went to see this movie with my mom and sis and beside being very impressed with the grandness of the settings and of cause the few fights scenes, I (we) were VERY disappointed with the overall of the movies.
It was all good at the begining and only till the end, we started to realised this is another one of those 'Everyone has tried to help me but I am too weak to help myself' kinda movie that seems to be gaining in popularity with a lot of Asian movies.
I know a lot of Western has not seen the mixture of fighting scenes that pretty much is a crossroad between Bruce Lee and Matrix but I guess since I have and grew up with movies like that, I was there hoping to at least see a good fighting movie with at least a more 'honorable' ending.
Please note : BIG SPOILER BELOW.!!!
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. - Just who was the Tiger and who was the Dragon ??? My sis pointed out to me that the Tiger was the mogolian youth, since his name meant 'Little Tiger' but he had SUCH a minor role in the movie, it was very disturbing if he WAS the tiger in the title of the movie.
The way that Yun Fat was unable to save himself after being poison. Only the BEST warrior is able to 'fly' and within the world of Wu Tan, Yun Fat was the TOP swordman - which just means that he would be able to use what we called 'Dim Shia' - that is to close of the vaules within your veins and slow down the flow of blood to be almost within a hybernation state. In addition, he would have cut the point where the needle pierced his neck and forces the poison out.
That's only two of the many 'Got to kill him so let's not make him save himself even though he was SO POWERFUL' kinda deal.
I won't say more but the whole ending, to me, was very disappointing. Sorry. =o(
-DoomsDay
Don't be sorry, I agree with you.
bigvalbowski
03-07-01, 10:52 AM
Anyone who goes to see CTHD purely for the action will come away disappointed. Personally I had never scenes like this before, but what I was most impressed with was the storyline. The relationships between the two principle couples.
The relationships were contrasting. The elder couple had sacrificed the expression of their love because of loyalty towards their dead friend. It is obvious that both share a great deal of affection towards its each other but loyalty must come before passion. The death of Chow Yun Fat is made sadder by the fact that Yeoh and he were never able to express their feelings until it was too late.
The other relationship between the younger couple is given depth by a beautiful flashback. The desert scene, especially, the flirting chase between them is my favourite scene of the movie. Their relationship is far more passionate than the elder couple but its clear that the younger relationship is also the weaker.
Ang Lee is one of, if not my favourite director. The Ice Storm and Sense & Sensibility were fantastic. The fact that he could set such a beautiful love story with the martial arts scenes confirms his brilliance as a director.
scottms45
03-07-01, 11:50 AM
If anyone wants this movie on DVD right now I can get it for you for 50.00 Let me know.
I was not thrilled with the ending, but I think it was much better than the norm. People who thrive on happy endings are not real film fans.
In this case, I think an incomplete ending--like this one--was the only true way to end it. It kind of summed up the whole film in a nutshell. The more I have thought about this movie in retrospect, the more I like it. Definitely my favourite of the year so far.
Originally posted by DoomsDay
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. - Just who was the Tiger and who was the Dragon ???
I don't know that anyone was -- remember, Li Mu Bai said that the underworld was full of "tigers and dragons" -- I think it's supposed to convey something to the effect of this: Li Mu Bai cannot escape his past as a warrior. He cannot simply retire -- even if he could bring himself to give it up, things would come back to haunt him.
As long as he is the best, there will be those who want to challenge him, kill him, etc.
I stand corrected. Here are some tidbits from IMDB:
"Crouching tiger hidden dragon" is a quote from Chinese mythology. It refers to hiding your strength from others; advice which is followed too well by the characters in the film.
In Chinese, Lo's name is "Little Tiger," and Jen's name is "Little Dragon."
I think the reference to Li Mu Bai not being able to escape his past is still entwined somewhere, given his comment about the underworld. It's obvious he cannot escape it.
As for who is what, and why: Lo is the crouching Tiger -- he attacks his prey in the wild and everything. :) Jen hides her idenity from many others -- so she is the hidden Dragon.
Originally posted by scottms45
If anyone wants this movie on DVD right now I can get it for you for 50.00 Let me know.
Why are you trying to rip people off! You can easily get it 20 bucks less off ebay, and I'm sure people could wait
Yeah, I will wait for a very long time before I buy it for 50 dollars!!
mightymose
06-09-01, 01:12 PM
I have been reading many reviews of this film and I must say that I am confused. People seem to complain about the majority of the film, but then conclude their review by saying this is one of the better films they have ever seen. Personally I believe this is one of the finest movie going experiences I have ever been fortunate enough to have. I am not a huge fan of subtitles, but in this movie it's almost as if they are not there. The story works splendidly on all levels, though I did think that Jen's flashback was a bit drawn out. Now that I think about it, that is my only complaint with the entire film, and it's a small one at that. The action sequences in this film were truly breathtaking. I heard many people complaining in the theater that things were too unrealistic for their likings, but to me the surreal abilities of the combatants was breathtaking. I have heard this film labeled as a love story, an action movie, and a comedy but one category seems to be lacking; fantasy. The action sequences in this film are second to none. The only computer effects were those used to remove the wires from sight. The scene of Jen and Li flying through the trees was simply amazing. The grace and abilities of these actors was phenomenal. I recently rewatched "The Matrix" and compared its wire work to that done in this film. I have always thought the wire effects in "The Matrix" were spectacular, but after seeing this movie they pale in comparision. I can't recall one scene where it looked as if the actors were using their hands to brace themselves on the wire as they do in "The Matrix". This film is quite simply put, beautiful. The movements of the characters, the scenery, and the story combine to form one of the most breathtaking and awe inspiring cinematic experiences of my life.
10/10
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