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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

List Price: $14.95
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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Highly Over-rated Chinese Soap Opera in Kung Fu Clothing
Review: I was mildly disappointed in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon after having been lead to believe by the *massive* Hollywood hype that it was an epic kung fu masterpiece. The Academy was out of its collective mind to nominate this picture for so many awards, above many other more deserving films.

The pace of the film was teeth-pullingly slow compared to what I had been made to expect, and while the cinematography and lighting was beautiful overall, there were times when the wires were visible during the aeriel stunts.

The fighting sequences came off as over-choreographed ballet.

As a romance picture, it is only tolerable if you truly have an affinity for the chinese historical setting and stereotypical characters of that genre.

Some far more satisfying martial arts pictures are: Fist of Legend, Drunken Master 1 & 2, Rumble In The Bronx, and almost anything starring the original Bruce Lee.

For films that better blend oriental flavor with romance and action, see almost any Kurosawa film starring Toshiro Mifune. Most notable are the Samurai trilogy, Yojimbo, and Seven Samurai.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Marial Arts Fantasy
Review: Keeping in mind the story is fantasy, it is an excellent one. The martial art techniques mastered by the women are awesome to watch. The director's commentary is light-hearted and humorous at points. Definitely worth owning if you appreciate this genre of films.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Only if this is the WITH subtitles version
Review: I saw this movie in the theatre and saw it on DVD (luckily my video store carries only the true version, not the overdubbed one). This moive sets a standard in Martial Arts movies! There is plenty of character developement, fluid jaw-dropping how did they do that fight sequences and a solid storyline.

To say the least I was impressed with this movie, you can even watch it with people that didn't like 'Black Belt Theatre' when it came on Saturdays many years ago. Amazing considering the fact that this is Chow Yun-Fat's first "Kung Fu Movie"!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: MY FAVORITE FILM
Review: THIS MOVIE BLEW ME AWAY! I HAVE NEVER LOVED A MOVIE SOOO MUCH IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.BEAUTIFUL CINEMATAGRAPHY, GREAT STORY, EXCITING ACTION SEQUNCES, AND SOLID ACTING, ARE JUST A FEW THINGS THAT MAKE IT WORTH THE MONEY.I BELIEVE THAT MOVIES LIKE THIS NEED MORE RECOGNITION, BECAUSE ITS NOT ABOUT WHAT HEART THROB IS PLAYING IN THE FILM, (TITANIC, PEARL HARBOR).BUT THIS FILM HAS TRUE MEANING THAT ALOT OF FILMS LACK OF..GO BUY IT!!!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON
Review: I don't know what all the noise is about, this movie is your typical "Fly-Fu" movie. All that awful wire work takes away from the fight scenes, because you don't need to be a martial artist to fly around on a harness. Give me true blue on the ground fist to fist, foot to foot fighting anyday.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Like Nothing I've Seen Before
Review: The one thing that really stands out about "Crouching Tiger" is the way that it "flows"; that is, the dreamlike quality that simply radiates from it. Beautiful imagery, excellent acting, and spectacular action make this a one-of-a-kind experience.

I found Michelle Yeoh in particular to be marvelous; her performance is the one that really ties the whole film together. Chow Yun-Fat was very good, as were the entire cast. As with any good foreign film, after a time the viewer gets caught up in the plot, and language really becomes a minor issue. Good acting is good acting-period.

Some of the other reviewers seem locked into the Western film tradition, and expect all movies to fit within preconceived formulaic categories. While influences from the West are certainly evident in "Tiger", it is not rife with cliches, as so many recent films are.

I for one have a generally negative view of modern cinema; perhaps one film in twenty really hits me in a positive way. Poor writing and the substitution of special effects for same are all too common today. All this being said, I found "Crouching Tiger" to be simply mesmerizing, and with the all-too-rare plot that requires some thought to follow...terrific!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Crouching Tiger, Missing Scenes!!
Review: I bought Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon on DVD, and watched it last night. I was disappointed with the release. It is dubbed in English, which makes it easier to watch, because you aren't always reading subtitles. However, they deleted at least 15 minutes from the film, and didn't include them on the disk as extra or deleted scenes. One of the deleted scenes was one of the best fight scenes of the whole movie, I don't understand why they did it. The theatrical version was about 2 hours and 20 minutes, with story twists, and fights, that really enriched the movie. I loved it in the theater, and couldn't wait to own it on DVD. I don't know why they'd edit these great scenes out, other than to make more money with a 'director's cut' release in the future.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Epic Film, Beautiful Language
Review: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon swept the world off it's feet with it's beautiful cinematography and an epic story of a legendary sword, unspoken love and revenge. Now this film is the highest grossing Foreign Language film in history. The performances by Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh and Ziyi Zhang are outstanding. Even though Chow Yun-Fat is one of China's most famous action star, this is his very first martial arts film. Most of his other films consited of John Woo gun battles, but finally we get to see this wonder possess a sword in some amazing fights. But the real treasure is Ziyi Zhang, her perfomance as a young daughter of a Governor, dreaming of a different life than hers, a life of adventure. The fighting skills she displays are simply amazing for such a young gal, I'm sure we'll see much of her in the future (just probably not in Hollywood). One of the reasons I felt Crouching Tiger was so wonderful was the beautiful Mandarin dialect that these actors spoke in. Most of them had to learn this dialect (including Yun-Fat) so it was very hard to fight and speak a new language at the same time, but the language has this beautiful sound that is unlike no other. Even though the english dubbing also available on the DVD is done quite well, only the original Mandarin does justice to this film. If you haven't seen it yet, you're missing a great epic.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Imagination needed!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: First off I'd like ot say that this is easily one of the greatest all around films of all time hands down. Secondly Id like to respond to everyone writing this movie a bad review......you are not allowed to watch movies ever again.. In order to enjoy art one must have at least a minimal level of imagination....and if you cant suspend yoru disbeleif for 2 hours then dont bother, go see pearl harbor and Hannible and enjoy your mindless fluff in peace.

Secondly id like to respond to all thos pretentious "martial arts" coniseurs. yes its true that movies in this genre have been made before but to say that there have been superior ones is just awful. Every single Wuxia film and i mean EVRY SINGLE one had some of the worst acting, storyline and effects ever put on screen. With such an emphasis on the fighting, these films have always neglected an sort of dramatic quality, and to say a character driven epic like crouching tiger is inferior is as reiculous as one can be.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Action at its definite best
Review: Originally I had hoped for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to slay the transparent forces of the predictable Gladiator at the Oscars, but, naturally the Academy gave the award to the one that was R-rated and much too fantastically violent for any one with a certain degree of taste. Fortunately for our friends in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, they were able to win at least a couple of awards they deserved. Unfortunately, I felt that the movie offered little more than beautiful scenery, asthetics, and direction. Obviously the action scenes scattered throughout the movie are astounding and deserve a permanent place in the history of entertainment, but I found nothing unique about the plot of the movie, and not much beyond the rather simple rythym of the soundtrack. That aside, I must say that the movie is amazing and earns its right to have been in contention for Best Picture at the Oscars. The position of the camera throughout the movie offers an awe-inspiring view of this almost whimsical world of martial arts that director Ang Lee has invisioned for the tale. The vibrant colors of the cities and wildernesses (even deserts) display that they did not cheapen themselves or the audience with art direction. By all means this is a fantastic movie to purchase, I have not found as much in it as most probably have (I'm not a real action fan), but I can easily suggest that anyone who purchases the DVD is in for a treat.


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