Rating: 
Summary: Smug and Self-important
Review: With as much praise as this film is getting, any detractors will be accused of 'sour grapes'. But people are making this film out something it isn't -- A serious artistic work. Sure, the productions values are great for this type of film, the acting is sincere, and the soundtrack is beautiful, but the film should have been alot more fun than it actually was. After all, Ang Lee's film takes place in a 'mythical' China. To summarize the complicated story briefly: two warriors, one male (Li Mu Bai, played by Chow Yun Fat, one of the biggest stars in the world) and one female (Yu Shu Lien), have had a long friendship, although they have suppressed their desires for one another out of respect for her dead fiancé. Li is having second thoughts about his life. A young woman (Jen) comes into their lives who has immense talent as a fighter, but is rebellious and troublesome and keeps company with Li's old enemy, Jade Fox. Jen has an old love (Lo), a bandit, who shows up unexpectedly. One battle or trial follows the other. The various combatants fight on rooftops, in treetops and on water. Some of the effects are impressive, much of it is cheezy. Along the way, Li in particular walks around pompously distributing bits of Taoist wisdom. The director Ang Lee describes it thusly: "The internal strength, which in essence is searching for nothingness, the void, to find your strength.... If you can lose all the tension and direct all your energy to one channel, you create tremendous power and wisdom." Oh please....this is the kind of stuff one can find in the average self-help guide. The astonishing thing about this film, set in "feudal China", is the thoroughgoing absence of social commentary or protest. Certainly that was a common feature in Kurosawa's samurai films, for example. Even in the cheezy martial arts film one comes across on late-night television the hero is often defending oppressed villagers or opposing some evil lord or other. Not in Ang Lee's film. The subject matter is borrowed from every trivial, self-absorbed story of the middle class in recent years: a girl struggles with her identity amidst a world of pressures and temptations. The lower classes are kept properly in the background. And then there are reviewers who say that because the women are given equal opportunity (or more) to perform as fighters, that Crouching Tiger makes an "important feminist statement." Yeah, right, as if those weren't a dime a dozen. Females of the upper classes have lots of defenders. After all, there are women studio executives making millions of dollars and stupid movies just like the men. What a step forward for humanity! Who speaks for the poor and the oppressed in contemporary filmmaking? This is the Ang Lee's own self-important description of the film: "Some may have thought it strange that I could just drop what I normally do and make something like a B-movie. And as I was doing it, there was no escape, I had to bring in drama, I had to bring in women, I had to bring beauty and whatever I felt added quality to it. It became an Ang Lee movie." And what precisely is that you may ask? A rather amorphous liberal sensibility, combined with a certain technical skill. I find his work insipid. A devotion to the fate of humanity, which one sticks to under all circumstances, is a precondition in our day for serious artistic work. This is NOT what we find here.
Rating: 
Summary: Can't Wait For the DVD
Review: There were only two good movies of 2000: Traffic and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Traffic was an important film but it was heavy and not what many would call entertaining. Crouching Tiger on the other hand is entertainment incarnate! It stands apart from just about everything else out there. It is a true gem, one that will shine for a long long time. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Great film, just STOP comparing it to The Matrix!!
Review: Up until 4 months ago, i had no idea who Ang Lee was, or the kind of film that was about to be unleashed. All I knew was that the critics had liked it. Having taken their word and seen "Dancer in the Dark" & "Billy Elliot," I saw CTHD, and the film was even better than i had expected. Up until the viewing, everyone kept commenting on the martial arts, but what is even greater is this: the martial arts only serve as a small piece of the entire story puzzle. Our story starts with Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat, very much like Obi-Wan Kenobi), and Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh). Both of these warriors harbor secret feelings for the other, but are in such a trivial point as to not divulge them. Li Mu Bai has decided to give up his sword, the legendary "Green Destiny." Upon delivering it to one of Mu Bai's friends, Shu Lien meets young Jen Yu(the beautiful Zhang Ziyi). About to be married off by her parents, the young girl tells Shu Lien of her longings to live such as the warriors she read of in books, instead of being married off to improve her parent's status. Then, over the course of several days, the "Green Destiny" disappears, and it is found that a rather nimble figure is causing panic throughout the courtyards. Shu Lien confronts the stranger, in one of the first major ground battles, as they fly over walls, do twirls in midair, and engage in foot and handwork unlike anything many of us have ever seen. Eventually, we are then thrust into the story from Jen Yu's point of view, as we learn her governess is the corrupted Jade Fox, who killed Li Mu Bai's master, and has been trying to train Jen in the ways of martial arts (little does Jade Fox know of Jen's power). We then learn of a secret romance shared by Jen and a desert bandit named Lo(Chang Chen), which seems much more free than the constrained feelings of Li Mu Bai & Shu Lien. The entire style of the film is worthy of the Academy's 10 nominations. Ang Lee gives us such impressive camerawork that we believe that this story is more fictional than real (when you first see the characters fly through the air, do not dismiss it as ridiculous. It is simply fantasy). China never looked so beautiful, even in the earthen colors of the landscapes. The editing and cinematography capture the beautiful green hills as the rain sets in, as well as the vastness of the desert along China's Western Border. But what most people will be commenting on will be the sequences that were choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping. Using the tricks of dance and martial arts, these people are more graceful and skilled than anything that most people have ever seen. The choreography is also as good as the music, with the decidedly eastern flair brought upon by Tan Dun. Using more traditional instruments instead of synthesizers and high-pitched brass, the music helps us understand the story in some of the most vague areas of plot. This review was written a week before the Academy Awards. Hopefully, it will receive some wonderful honors towards the picture, and it can show that films do not need to be about major budgets, but can also create beauty out of image and sound, as well as pure emotion.
Rating:
Summary: A great movie with a great cast and epic storytelling
Review: The Wuxia genre are not new to me since I grew up on these types of movie. I've seen "Bride with White Hair", "Chinese Ghost Story", "Swordsman II", too many to name. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon does pay a homage to this older films because it borrows many ideas from these films. What Crouching Tiger did is it balances the script with action and melodrama instead of weighing more on the action. Crouching Tiger is more operatic than these earlier films because of the poetic like dialogues. There was never a moment in the movie that was boring. Everything has its purpose and director Ang Lee did a wonderful job on creating an atmosphere where everything seems magical. Many people said that there were too many flying scenes and it's not real. Of course it's not real. I don't understand why people can accept The Force in Star Wars, but cannot accept flying. These are mythical characters and they are larger than life. This movie emphasizes on many philosophical ideas and if you do not understand, don't criticize it. I personally think this is the best wuxia movie to come out in a long time. Those that I mention at the top are great movies too if you consider watching these types of movies.
Rating:
Summary: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is mesmerizing and poignant
Review: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is Lee Ang's one of the most visionary and laudable efforts since Ice Storm and Sense and Sensibility. The movie boasts an well-ensembled cast with sublime performances especially from the feisty Jen (Zhang Ziyi) and the subtle, mellow Mu Bai (Chow Yuen Fatt). It is an epic of swordsplay in virtuoso and the bitter legendary world where honor collides with passion, obligations and trust. At first glance, it is not difficult to notice its prime attractions - beautiful cinematography from the award-winning Peter Pau and the energetic and sleek martial arts movements supervised by Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix). However, it defies categorisation of the Wuxia fable to reach deep and dissect each character's emotional trauma and restraint. Michelle Yeoh is casted as Yu Shu Lien, a dignified swordswoman whose destiny criss-crossed with the infamous "Green Destiny". There she joins forces with Li to find the sword - only to be obstructed by Jen, who aims for power in the Wuxia world. Lee Ang's adaptation of the fable by Wang Du Lu focuses distinctly on the character's development. Jen is trapped by the betrayal of her mentor and her duties to her family; the dramatic tragedy of unrequited romance between Li and Yu - their fates are intertwined by the sword which is the centrestage of the movie. It is at once a human drama tinged with bittersweet regrets for the warring hearts. Enhanced by the poetry of the cinematography and the enchanting score by Tao Dun, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon can probably roar and spear ahead in the race for Oscar. It is unequivocally the most refreshing piece of work this year.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest film ever made.
Review: Many people label 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' as a martial arts movie. It is not. Director Ang Lee (the man responsible for such sweeping dramatic films as 'Sense and Sensibility' and 'The Ice Storm') has crafted a moving love story set against mythic lore. The numerous fight scenes are not the basis or definition of this film. The exist because they are within the story, not because they are the story. Lee has always paid fine attention to characters and this is no exception. There are two tales of forbidden love (one through profession, the other through status) and the way it's characters not only reflect but compliment each other is extrodinary. It's actors are startlingly excellent. Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh play two warriors who share feelings for each other, as well as a past hinted at though never explained. They are in love but dare not speak of it to each other. Both are compelling screen presenses who chill and fascinate even when they not speaking a word. Zhang Ziyi plays the delicate governor's daughter who may or may not be more then she appears and Chang Chen is her love, a wild desert pirate who once kidnapped her (their first encounter takes place in a long Sergio Leone style flashback sequence that could serve as a whole film itself). The story involves Li Mu-bai (Yun-fat) who wishes to retire from his warrior ways. In his possession is the sword of the Green Destiny, which he gives to an old friend as a gift. The film kick-starts into high-gear when a thief makes off with the sword, with Yu Shu-lien (Yeoh) in hot pursuit. What follows is pure cinema magic, equal to anything Kurosawa has ever put on the screen. And Lee holds it all together crafting each scene into a masterwork. And what about the fight sequences? They are AMAZING. Characters cling to tree tops, scale walls with the greatest of ease, defy gravity as they leap through the air... all without sacrificing the crucial human and realistic element of the film. Even though they are clearly out of the realm of human ability, we accept them because they are not only very convincingly done but also very fluid and masterfully shot (the scene in which Jen, played by Zhang Ziyi takes on a whole slew of fighters at a saloon could very well be the greatest fight scene ever filmed). 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' is an exceptional film that will no doubt be imitated, but it will never be equaled. It is a fantasy film with a human side, a look at pride, love, and honor. And it is the greatest film I have seen in a long, long time. Not only the best film of 2000, but also one of the greatest films ever made.
Rating:
Summary: Great features ahead?
Review: I do not know whether Columbia TriStar will distribute this title in the States when the time comes, but they distributed the Hong Kong version of this, 2000s most original, beautiful, exciting and breathtaking movie. The features found on the Hong Kong disc are plentiful and also very well produced. There is a 15 minute interview with lead actres Michelle Yeoh, an extensive gallery of pictures from the making of the movie, a very informative and fun commentary by director Ang Lee and producer/scribe James Schamus. The menus are animated but it takes slightly too long for them to finish, which can be annoying. Beside the usual trailer, the DVD also features the music video for "A Love Before Time" by Coco Lee, both in Mandarin and in English. There is an English voice track for the movie, which is not recommended, listen to the original instead and use subtitles. So please, here my plea: Keep these features on the American disc, and add some things that are missing, like a making-of featurette and more extensive talent files. All in all, a great disc and a great movie. Best of luck to Ang Lee et al at the Oscars.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable
Review: I'll keep this simple, because there are already a good number of pretty in-depth reviews, especially considering they are user reviews. Not only does the movie tell a great story, but any fan of action sequences will be awed by the fights. The martial arts are amazing, and when you combine a kung-fu style of action sequence with unbelieveable swordplay, you get jaw-dropping battles. The fight between the two women towards the end was particularly amazing as Yeoh used a number of different weapons in the long fight scene. I had to import the DVD from Malaysia because I could wait for the American release, and couldn't afford to see it in the theatres as often as I wanted to watch it. Forget the complaining you may have heard about the subtitles (u can watch the DVD in dubbed English, but it really takes away from the movie) and the flying. . just buy it, and you'll ove it.
Rating:
Summary: Polished Chinese Heroic Fantasy
Review: Leave what you know about China behind and get ready for a China based on Taoist fantasy. Though I have seen many Chinese films (including historical and "art" films), I was knocked over by this Chinese Heroic Fantasy. From a cinematic viewpoint, the film borrows heavily from earlier Chinese movies of this genre. However, CTHD ranks amongst the most polished and beautiful to date. The musical score is among the best for the year and the scenery is breathtaking. After the first few minutes, reading the subtitles becomes so automatic that you almost forget they are there. For Mandarin speakers, however, get set for rather heavily accented speech from most of the major cast members. Considering that many of the persons in the movie are supposed to be mercenaries, the accents may actually add to the movie's charm. The DVD version has added an English sound track to the movie. The English dialog neither matches the English captioning nor is it a direct translation of the Mandarin. It seems to be written to sync with the characters' mouth movements.
Rating:
Summary: Put Jen in an arena with Maximus, let 'em fight for Oscar!
Review: I haven't been completely swept away by a movie like this since I was ten years old. "Crouching Tiger" is amazing. I took my 69 year old father to see it. He insisted on staying through all the credits afterward. His comment was "If China keeps putting out movies this good, forget about Hollywood."
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