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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Superbit Collection)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Superbit Collection)

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Any more where this came from?
Review: What a great film! And what a great DVD package!

I missed catching Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the cinema and so I am a little late to join this wonderful film's bandwagon. But it is a real masterpiece (not a term I use lightly), using action sequences reminiscent of the Matrix with a story line that seamlessly blends intelligence, tragedy, romance, and breathtaking cinematography. It combines to produce a film that won't easily be forgotten.

The DVD package helps make up for some of what must be lost in not seeing the film on the wide screen. The director's comments played over the film show Ang Lee's enthusiasm for this effort, the 20-minute feature on the making of the film shows the unbelievable amount of work that went into creating a film that appears effortless, and the short interview with Michelle Yeoh -- which is probably the weakest of the special features -- is nonetheless informative and entertaining. It's even worth checking out the various trailers to see how the film was packaged in different markets, though I blame all the PR people involved in the marketing of the film for focusing too much on the action and too little on the film's finer elements.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A wonderful mystical magical tale
Review: Even the movie's simplistic plot is not enough enough to drag this movie into medeocrity. In fact the simple plot, which largely consists of the fight over sword for reasons of heroism, revenge, and pride, gives the movie an interesting 'common, everyday' feel amidst a magical mystical time and place.

In short the movie is about the battle between a prideful confused apprentice searching for something to make her truly happy, a vengeful washed up master aiming to get back at Chow Yun Fet and her own apprentice for becomming better, a noble hero (Michele...), and a would be master torn three ways between his desire to teach young talent (the apprentice), his devotion to truth, righteousness, and heroism, and his secret devotion to a long time love (Michele.) Other characters enter the scene merely to pull the apprentice in a different direction of "happiness." The prime example is a robber she meets in the desert who becomes her lover after they fight over a stolen comb.

The movie is magical. You will feel as though you are caught up in Chinese folklore. The battle scenes are heroic and astonishing as well as tasteful and graceful: a quality other action movies lack.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: ummm wat wat the hell was this???
Review: The front of the cover says one of the best movies ever made of all time" i mean common, this movie was bull, nuthn but people on strings, the fights scenes were ok, but it was so damn boring, damnnn, im not even 12 im 20, and this movie is the "worst movie of all time", they shoulda worked more on the action and drama,i suggest u see the matrix if u wanna see sumethn more better, i give it 0 stars

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This movie is ok if you're about 12
Review: Jumping bean/trampoline cinema that is so popular in Hong Kong.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great Movie
Review: Firstly, I'm a chinese who has had the benefit of growing up in a mixture of Western and Eastern cultures....and frankly speaking, I must say that this is a fabulous movie..

I've always enjoyed reading wuxia xiao shuo (Chinese Martial Arts Novels), and to see it put onto the big screen in a professional manner really give me a kick :D. Unlike other low-cost production Martial Arts movies that have proliferated the Chinese market, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is a high quality, fast paced, emotional tale.

Perhaps what is so intriguing is the fact that the Chinese have been able to develop stories that develop characters in a way that connects the audience with them (as can be seen in many good books), in very much the same way that the Greeks, whom have had a profound influence on Western Literature, have done with Classics such as Oedipus the King. Yet these two cultures have never heard of each other when these story telling techniques were developed!

As a side note, contrary to another reviewer on this page, I believe that Chinese "Kung Fu" (which is actually wrong terminology, since Kung Fu means more of speciality ie: kung fu of a chef is technically correct), or rather WuShu (Martial Arts), is still very much alive. I understand that in China, the Government, since the development of Yang Style Bejing 24 in 1957, has been overpromoting WuShu as a health sport, and hence there is a common misconception that chinese martial arts is for old people. But look around carefully and you will find that the Combar-Oriented Martial Arts are still alive and well...in fact, look no further than famous martial artists such as Chen Zheng Lei, Yang Jun, Chen Zhong Hua, or the late Hong Zheng Fu. These are people who have dedicated their lives not just to the promotion of Martial Arts as a sport, but as a Combat form, a way of life, and a method of cultivating internal discipline. (Although it is true that the practice of internal discipline in martial arts is slowing disappearing, as practitioners slowly, and sadly, lose sight of what martial arts is truly about)

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Want to know what chinese think about this movie?
Review: Personally,I think it's a rather silly film. But I'm not surprised so many Americans would be excit about it, because it's of some genre that has never been on the stage of western world but is very common in china(when you open the TV,there will be a pile of these stuff waiting for you, through channel 1 to channel ...)

I'm now 16 years old,I have asked some classmates and some friends of my age about this film,they don't like it either. partly because of it's unrealistic action(flying on rooftops, through trees, toe on water, put hands on the back for curing, these are really ridiculous). Only children who haven't seen much like this before will probably like it as in my childhood.
children's fantasy about these world just like America's fantasy about chinese "kung fu" which are now more overdrawn by the goverment as a way of preaching chinese culture and spirit (because they have nothing more realistic to show off). But after all, we, youny people, know who we are and what situation we live in. We know that "kung fu" is something only exiting in ancient days in china, and now a day, these so call "kung fu" is just a exercise for old people and stuff for soap opera.

the second reaon we don't like this film is about the Mandarin dialogue.it was very poorly spoken. Fat and Yeoh are not native Mandarin speakers It seems as they are singing in a drama not speaking in a film,that make the most ridiculous "kung fu" ever made, so as the Oscar nomination. But apparently, this dosen't
embarrass Americans much.

As to the star ziyi zhang, we think she just like what Amercans think about Leonardo DiCaprio, who is just a lucky girl without much intelligence and talent as you may think.(she's even not graduat from high school and can't speak English well).

As to movie, America has the best director ,best actors and actress in the world. If you want see "Martial Arts" films , why not choose "The Matrix " instead. and if you want fantasy, "the lord of ring" is good choise.

Don't be fool by any foreign trick. sometimes it's nothing but rubbish.

as this film is definitely a hit in the America stage. In the come day ,Asian kung fu films will be flying on the U.S. sky and the population will be jaded and tired of these as we tired with these. By that time, you will understand what i'm taking about.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Kung fu fantasy for occidentals
Review: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is such a great movie on so many levels. The fight scenes are incredible. Many people might say they are silly but they are ignorant of Chinese mythology and stylization. As my ethnic Chinese wife says, kung fu masters can just do that (re flying, jumping, etc). It takes that whole canon of film and encapsulates it nicely.

My favorate part was the bittersweet inner-play between Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat's characters. It is sad when two people truely love each other but never know it...it is sadder when they do but will never realize it. They are both at the twilight of their careers and too much history had past for anything to change but the realization of their feelings.

The direction by Ang Lee was superb, but given his catalog of movies to date that is simply expected. The number of oscars Crouching Tiger garnered is testament to how good his direction was and how good the movie is.

Don't watch this movie with English dubbing. It frankly is not good dubbing and it really takes away from the experience. Also some of the translations are subtly different than the subtitles of the Mandarin dialogue. While I had no problems with the Mandarin spoken, my Mandarin speaking wife chuckled that it was VERY poorly spoken. Fat and Yeoh are not native Mandarin speakers so that is to be expected I suppose. An intertesting side bar that takes nothing away from the movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Story, Great film
Review: If you're looking for realism, don't watch this movie. It is a mythological story that is given justice on the screen by director Ang Lee. I thought that not only were the fight scenes excellent but just the entire cinematography, the landscapes, the acting, the music, everything had an equal part in making this movie great. It does have "Wire-Fu" but I don't believe that necessarily demotes it to "bad kung fu" movie. The "Wire-Fu" only helps purport the characters in the story, as they are supposed to be people capable of incredible things.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Want a Kung foo film that has class?!?
Review: If you do this is it. A fantastic film. Romance,Action, & a Story. What more can you ask for. A bowl of popcorn you say? Fine but the special features help too! Check out dubbing the movie in English. It helps a great deal. Very Entertaining!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Can you say Wire-Fu?
Review: What I mean by Wire-Fu is the people in the movie flying around on wires while fighting, and I think that is a really bad aspect of the movie. If it didn't have any Wire-Fu and just pure Kung-Fu and Swordplay action this would have gotten 5 stars. Nevertheless, it could have been a great movie.


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