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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

List Price: $14.95
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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I will endeavor to like this film
Review: . . . despite the fact that I was squirming in my seat halfway through it. I love Ang Lee's other work--Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense and Sensibility--but I struggled to enjoy this film. The cinematography is lush and powerful, the settings and script elements couldn't be more exotic, and I typically like historical romance AND Hong Kong martial arts blowouts, but I just couldn't connect--it grew tedious. But I will give it a second chance.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One of the best films to come out of China
Review: CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, which took in the US "Best Foreign Language Film", is one of the best films to come out of China. The music is great, the acting as well, the story is pretty good - but the effects are the traditional wire Chinese style and take down the film a lot. For martial arts fans, it's a must, and the DVD is loaded with stuff.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Beautiful
Review: I saw this movie thinking that it was going to be a waste of my time. I was wrong. Instead I ended up buying both the dvd and the soundtrack. This movie is amazing. The cimematography was Oscar winning and I believe that it deserved the best picture Oscar. The music by Yo-Yo Ma is enchanting and calming. Also, to anyone who hates subtitles-the dvd has a 'dubbed' presentation of the movie, so reading the dialogue isn't a problem . I highly reccomend this movie for anyone.also reccomended: Run Lola run, Iron Monkey

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very good film
Review: I first saw this film after buying the DVD and I wasn't disappointed. The thing that I loved most about this film was that it wasn't just another "kung fu" film. The story was wonderful and beautifally acted. I can't understand why anyone wouldn't like this film. I guess "Dude where is my car?" might be your cup of tea. Can't allow our art to make us think now can we?

Ignore the naysayers and purchase this film immediately.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A STUPID MOVIE!- DON'T WAST THE MONEY!
Review: At first when I heard about this movie, I thought It would be good, as some foriegn films can be. But like somebody else said, PEOPLE CAN NOT FLY LIKE THAT! It looked like they where fighting on the moon because they where just casually running up 30 foot vertical walls over and over and over and over! When they got hit, they whould go back floating 2 feet of the ground! The movie is also very slow going, and it is almost impossible to follow. PLEASE DON'T WAST YOUR$! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

P.S. If they would have had a 0.00000001 star selection, I would have picked that! Again, as that other guy said, PEOPLE CAN NOT FLY LIKE THAT! This movie doesn't take pysics masters to know that the stuff on the movie is plainly impossible! Now if they where fighting in space, well then...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent DVD, yet 'Superbit' feature worth it?
Review: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was one of the first DVDs I purchased along with my DVD player. At the time of purchase, the Superbit version was the only type available at the store. I'm still not 100% sold on being able to notice the difference between a Superbit DVD and a non-Superbit one. I think DVD quality is enough as it is. Granted it's much better than VHS, but I think that unless you have a high-end DVD setup, indluding sound and display, you're not going to notice any differences.

Also, one thing I didn't like about this Superbit version is that you don't get any of the added bonuses that are on the normal DVD, such as commentaries, interviews, etc... The only options you have when playing this DVD are what language to see the subtitles in (if any), and type of sound output.

Overall, I'd prefer the non-Superbit version only because of the added features. I think that DVD quality in general is enough, and that Superbit is only for those folks with high-end systems.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Cinematically Beautiful, Larger-Than-Life Epic Drama
Review: Director Ang Lee created, perhaps, the most cinematically beautiful, and dramatic martial arts film ever made with "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". The film weaves a complex web of love, honor, vengeance and justice in feudal China several hundred years ago in which highly skilled, monastically-trained martial arts warriors battle for justice against thieves, robbers, highwaymen and other outlaws. One of these warriors, the famous Li Mu Bai (Yun-Fat Chow, known also for his role as the King of Siam in "Anna and the King"), is the keeper and user of the prized four-century-old sword known as the Green Destiny. Having found no one worthy enough to be his disciple, Li Mu Bai decides to retire and give the Green Destiny to an old friend, Sir Te (Sihung Lung), via his very dear female friend and trained warrior, Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh, also known for her role of Wai Lin in the 1997 James Bond film "Tomorrow Never Dies").

Invited to stay as Sir Te's guest, Yu Shu Lien meets one of Sir Te's other guests: a nobleman's young daughter, Yu Jen (Ziyi Zhang), who is very interested in the lives of warriors; but is betrothed to a nobleman. Initially unknown to Yu Shu Lien, Jen's nanny is an old foe of Li Mu Bai: Jade Fox (Pei-Pei Cheng), who killed Li Mu Bai's master many years earlier. Jen is a troubled young woman. During a crossing of China's western desert, the caravan that Jen is traveling in is attacked by highwaymen. They don't attack the women, but one of them, Lo 'Dark Cloud' (Chen Chang) steals a comb from Jen. She chases after him, fights with him and becomes separated from the caravan. Lo admires her fighting skills (since she has received training from Jade Fox) and is attracted to her. A romance develops between them, but they each eventually realize that Jen must return to her family.

Upon discovering that the Green Destiny is in Sir Te's house, a disguised Jen steals it and begins an odyssey of trying to live a warrior's life; but her naive view of an ideal warrior's life changes as reality catches up to her.

The highly choreographed martial arts scenes in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" are compelling and emotional. Rather than being the focus of the film, they enhance the underlying story. The aggrandized abilities of the warriors to oppose gravity increase the drama and excitement, and add a mythological element to the film. In some ways, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is reminiscent of the 1977 classic "Star Wars", but without any electronic technology.

It is not surprising that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" won four Oscars in 2001 for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Music (Original Score). The hauntingly beautiful cello played by Yo-Yo Ma in the theme music increases the emotional depth of the film. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Song, and Best Costume Design. Ang Lee was nominated for Best Director.

I enjoy watching this film both in its original Mandarin with English subtitles and when dubbed in English. The English dubbing was done very well and does not detract much from the original emotion portrayed by the actors who spoke in Mandarin throughout.

I highly recommend "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" to anyone that enjoys superb acting, tearful drama and gripping action mixed with mythological elements. This is a film that can be enjoyed many times without becoming tiresome.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: enough is enough
Review: Look i love a good martial arts film, but come on. PEOPLE CAN NOT FLY LIKE THAT, this isn't kung pow for petes sake, give me a break

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: What happened to english dub?
Review: I just shelled out the big bucks to enjoy crouching tiger on my new 55" rear project, progressive scan setup and low and behold the premier version of this dvd is only in mandarin chinese. In my neck of the woods we pretty much just speak english so save the money unless you like reading subtitles...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Very well done movie..
Review: I don't think there's another Chinese movie that weaves together fanatasy, drama and romance so perfectly into one simple plot. Though not the best fantasy martial arts movie ever (Swordsmans 2 holds that honor), CTHD is still a remarkably well done movie. The acting is top notch. Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh are on top of their game. And newcomer Zhang Ziyi electrifies the screen with her performance.

Ang Lee hit a cord with this film. He managed to raise the reputation of fantasy martial movies from B-movie status to true cinematic poetry. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is a must have a dvd and a milestone in Chinese cinema.


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