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Summary: Phenomenal picture and Sound! Great story!
Review: I love this movie!
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Summary: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Review: Purchased this used. Noticed no imperfections and was delivered promptly. The movie was very good. Allegory and metaphore in a visual and audio art. Well worth the reduced price of ownership.
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Summary: great epic, with awesome fight sequences
Review: Definately one of my favorite movies. If you's a fan of martial arts, this is a must buy. The story line has everything from tragedy, to love. The fightsequences are amazingly composed, there are none like them in any movie I have ever seen. The plot and the characters are well done. Zhang Ziyi is amazing in this movie her talent with a sword really shows through, as does her talent. This is a classic story line, of epic proportions. It's as wonderful for the eyes as it is the mind
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Summary: dazzling but flawed film
Review: Ang Lee's martial arts drama "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" earned its niche in movie history as the first foreign language film ever to gross over $100 million dollars at the U.S./Canadian box office. It is, of course, a film of other distinctions as well.The factor that sets this film apart from all previous martial arts films is, principally, the fight scenes themselves, which involve the characters defying the laws of gravity by floating in the air, walking along walls and even conducting a sword fight high above the tree tops of a windswept forest. These sequences, which achieve a sort of heightened surrealism, are indeed breathtaking to behold in their originality, boldness and technical perfection. They provide the unforgettable imagery that very few films these days seem able to achieve, giving the audience the all too rare sense that it is seeing something wholly new and visionary. Based on a novel by Du Lu Wang, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" tells a quite fascinating story of a stolen sword and the attempts of two warriors, one a man, the other a woman, to retrieve it. Like most movies set in an Asian past, Lee's film conveys a tone of quiet contemplation, even when great issues of war and peace, life and death, duty and honor are being fought over and discussed. There is a lyrical, poetic beauty to much of this film, even - or, perhaps I should say, especially - in the non-martial arts sequences. As the two warriors, Chow Yun Fat, a fighter grown weary of his past and yearning for the quiet rewards of peace, and Michelle Yeoh, a woman unique to her profession yet feeling deeply her unrequited love for the man she follows, bring a sturdy maturity to their complex roles. They provide the human warmth that, in the first section of the film, in particular, keeps the work rooted in reality. Unfortunately, there is a scene about an hour into the movie, when a young aristocratic woman, destined to be married but yearning for the liberation that would come with being a warrior, has a long romantic flashback, chronicling her strange affair with a handsome young barbarian. Although the scene ends up being crucial to the understanding of the rest of the film, it really isn't on an intellectual par with the main story of the film, coming across instead as something of an embarrassing bodice-ripper in tone and style. Although the film does return to its main plotline eventually, it never completely recovers from the detour it has taken. As with most movies with a midpoint sag, the audience is never really able to completely tune back in. What a pity - for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" clearly has the elements to make a truly great film (and, judging from the reaction of many critics and writers on this site, a large number of people feel it is). Luckily, after the flashback, the film manages to get back on track, as we witness the complex interplay between the unthinking arrogance that comes with youth and the restraining wisdom that comes with age. This is the most powerful theme that runs through this visually gorgeous film. Thus, despite its minor imperfections, any lover of cinema would be well advised to see "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" for the many wonders it contains.
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Summary: Good and Bad
Review: I loved the scenery and the fight scenes, but the story was a little slow. They spend like half an hour on a side story that I didn't think had much to do with the movie. The fight scenes were great, but too few. I thought this movie was suppose to be all fighting, but it wasn't.
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Summary: Overrated
Review: I basically enjoyed this movie, just from the point of view of sitting back and being told a story. But had I seen it as a first-run movie I never would have thought "Academy Award". My wife - who's Chinese - had an even worse reaction. She thought it was a rather pedestrian rehash of many movies that she saw while she was growing up. And she was outright offended by the lame acting and storyline of the "desert chieftain meets the martial arts woman" part of the movie.
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Summary: 5 stars for movie but 4 stars for the DVD so 4 1/2 stars
Review: Okay, the movie is easily one of the best I've seen. With its fight scenes being very good and all. But, I was disapointed with the DVD. Something is either wrong with volume on my TV or its the DVD. I couldn't hear on Dolby Digital sound in Mandarin or English. I had my TV at max volume. But I was constantly turning it down when the music would play, but turning it up to hear the voices. Okay, its nice that its wide screen and all, that way with the subtitles it doesn't appear all over the screen. While to plot of the movie seemed weak, it was pretty good. The fight scenes remind of "The Matrix" and of the Star Wars movies. But you won't be disapointed with the Movie, its a good one.
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Summary: Stunningly moving and beautiful
Review: This is, quite simply, one of the most stunningly beautiful and moving films I have ever seen. Gorgeous scenery from China, thrilling martial arts moves, and a beautiful, thought provoking story all add up to an incredible film. Quite simply, one of the best of all time.
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Summary: Beautiful, but flawed...
Review: It's easy to understand why this movie has "wowed" so many viewers - it's a beautiful film to watch, with outstanding choreography, a riveting percussion-based soundtrack, exceptionally strong female characters, a well-matched cast, and a wonderfully repressed on-screen relationship between Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh. Unfortunately, to the long-time fan of martial arts movies, this film has a number of flaws. Specifically, director Ang Lee all-too-often resorts to martial arts movie cliches, which he admits to (and seems proud of!) in the DVD's commentary track. Some of these cliches are just too overt, like the "warrior who must avenge his master's murder." We've seen this plot line too many times before. Lee used these cliches to appeal to the traditional martial arts audience, rather than trying to raise the bar by creating something entirely new. Instead of challenging his audience, he caters to them. While newcomers to the martial arts movie genre may think they are watching a "masterpiece," in fact this film falls short of that lofty descriptive.
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Summary: Nice to see something other than Hollywood pablum!
Review: I have my own home theater and watched this movie on a 10ft screen. The scenery was outstanding. I thought Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was fantastic and had the feel of a romance, a mystery and an action movie all rolled together. It is a pleasure to watch something other than what Hollywood deams we should be watching. And to have new actors other than the same old ones we see all the time was in itself refreshing, not to mention the main characters being female for a change. The action scenes were very smooth - no obvious wires!!! and the sword fighting enthralling. I look forward to seeing more from this Director.
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