Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful!
Review: Being accustomed to America movies: action, action, little if no plot, and more action, I was blown away by the sheer beauty of this movie. The love story, the scenery and the kick butt fight sequences. This is a great one to own. The DVD features an option to view the film with English dubbed instead of subtitiles. There are other extras such as director commentary and a making of featurette.
Rating: 
Summary: Unrequited love, yippy skippy. . .!
Review: I finally saw this film after months of hype and glowing reviews, awards, etc. It just didn't do it for me. It was so needlessly serious, so slow. I don't think there was one funny moment in the whole film. If there was, I obviously forgot it, so same difference. It was beautiful. . .gorgeous costumes, beautiful scenery, beautiful people. . . .but I honestly was pretty bored. It wasn't serious enough to be a "serious" film, it wasn't entertaining enough and didn't have the caliber of fighting required to be a great KF film. I've seen more light-hearted KF films that contained a deeper message than whatever this one purports to say.
Rating:
Summary: It's quite worrying really.
Review: Oh dear, some people really are worrying. ...no, people don't fly in real life, this is a film. And what a film! pure beauty on a disc. fantastic acting (esp the young girl). fantastic stunts, effects, cinematography, music, story, ... well everything. one of my favorite films. (I actually bought a DVD player for this film because I thought VHS wouldn't do it justice). Everyone with half a brain will enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Chop-sockey film, rent before you buy
Review: I was surprised at this film which I saw on a rented video. The hand-to-hand fight scenes are phony looking; the aerial gymnastics are obviously done with wires (not anywhere near The Matrix in quality). Although, I really did like the sword fights, the choreography on them seemed excellent. Perhaps it's just a culture clash that made the characters motivations and actions seem childish if not plain stupid to me. If you saw it in the theater and liked it, fine then get it, but I would recommend renting it first and then if you like it, buy it from Amazon.
Rating: 
Summary: Not your average Hollywood blockbuster
Review: Coz it wasn't.Remember all those Hollywood western's in the 1950's /1960's ? Then came along A Fist Full of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good the Bad and The Ugly. Hey, great music. Great photography But no real script.Ah, so you were wrong then, and you are wrong now Sigh, when will the viewers in the US ever stop being spoon fed or, alternatively, examining their navals to the nth degree ? I watched this film with my wife. We both enjoyed it for 2 hours without feeling insulted. Unlike most American films.....
Rating:
Summary: Good but......
Review: not perfect. This was the first foriegn film that I had seen in the theater's. While it was amazing and kept my attention (I even forgot that I was reading subtitles after a while) it wasn't one of the most mind-blowing or moving movies I've seen. The effects were awesome, as were all of the fights, but thats about it. The acting was OK, and the production values were good as well. Overall, this doesn't live up to all the hype, and did not deserve all the Academy Awards it got (However, Best Foriegn Language was aptly and rightfuly won) but it is still entertaining and enjoying to watch.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie...
Review: First of all, this is a great movie and is definently worth your time. And you MUST watch the movie with the subtitles, you cannot watch the dubbed version because it will just come off as a silly cartoon. Listen to the movie in what it was meant to be heard in, .... Now, let me clarify a few things: 1-The language spoken in this movie is NOT CHINESE, it is MANDARIN. For all of you who may not know this, the director (Ang Lee) selected Mandarin to be spoken in the film because he felt it was more poetic. 2- The reason this movie has acquired so much acclaim here in the U.S., is because this is the first HK action/tale to breakthrough to ...Americans ....3- And one last important fact: This movie cannot simply be classified as a HK Action movie, it is more of a fairy tale/fantasy to which you must watch as if it was something like Peter Pan, it is a fun movie that you should watch with an open mind. Please remember all of these facts when watching this movie, and I'm sure you will like it...
Rating:
Summary: Weak
Review: Thank goodness for the breath-taking action sequences, cause this film plays like a bad martial arts B film from the 60's otherwise. The acting is plastic throughout and the (ahem!) "plot" if you want to call it that, is so far-fetched and unexplainable...I can't explain it! I tried this film in English and then, in Chinese with English subtitles but- still - it misses, badly. Either I'm just not able to connect in a cross-cultural way to a story that has deep meaning or the critics are crazy! I kept on waiting for Woody Allen or one of the Python boys to walk in and halt the proceedings with a laugh and pratfall. The English dubbing actors voices and performances are dreadful. I swear they sound like two actors from "Godzilla" or "Rodan." The "love story" between the two "heroes" is flimsy and acted with inexcusable wooden gestures and melodramatic delivery. In fact, every "character" in this film is just that - a character. I know this puts me in the minority but - geez - what a stinker!
Rating:
Summary: Don't this great movie "crouch" or stay "hidden" any longer!
Review: This movie is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. This all has to do with the director Ang Lee's ability to create such a moving and visually stunning picture. Also Lee, in a thing never done in a martial arts film before, has the women as the most powerful characters. Now back to the picture aspects of the film, while the picture quality isn't as good as it was on the movie screen I still recommend this movie to anyone. The extra freatures on this DVD make the less than big screen quality enjoyable. One nice feature it has is that you can watch the movie in Chinese or in dubbed over English. Now the dubbed over version kinda makes me think that I'm watching an eposide of iron chef, it is great for kids that don't want to read the subtitles. So please do your self a favor and watch this movie.
Rating:
Summary: This warrior honours CTHD.
Review: The Rooftop chase, the witch attack, the guardhouse duel and the bamboo top duel are only the garnishes and toppings, but to watch the entire movie is like savouring the entire entree. And that is major delicious big time. This movie also covers everything, love,betrayal,loyalty,duels,rebellion...from majestic Beijing to central China to the scorching desert of Xinjiang. From the Mongolians to the Manchurians , Hans and Uighurs..representative of the few major ethnic groups of China. This movie is a virtual feast, buffet. Personally, I find that the scene of the desert romance is very important. Remember in a much earlier scene when Zhang Ziyi mentioned to Michelle Yeoh about her "one true love" and the appearence of Zhang Zhen later on in her bed room? First we don't know "who" her true love is, and second "where" did Zhang Zhen(Lo-dark cloud) suddenly appear from? Thus the desert sequence explained the whole thing, and boy, what an exquisite beautiful explaination that was. One note: These maybe of interest to some, if not all. The architecture of imperial Beijing is of Mongolian architecture. Chinese rooftop design was infuenced from the Mongolians during Mongol rules of the Yuan Dynasty under the rule of Kublai Khan. Old Hollywood made the mistake of calling pigtail "Chinese", The pigtail and the shaved forehead, of the men, is infact very Manchurians. It is during the Qing dynasty "Manchu empire" that the standard pigtail, shaved forehead becomes the rule and must be adopted by all men. But, the Manchus adopted themselves to speaking Mandarin and writing in Chinese Calligraphy as main form of communication. Confusing? It is. Dont ask me why. Ask my ancestors. In the role of the actors. Chow Yuenfatt is ambiguous. We don't know if he is Manchurian or Hans. Zhang Ziyi is Manchurian, from her 1 feet high head gear and her sharp pointed metallic finger covers she wore during her marriage. Michelle Yeoh, policeman Tsai and his daughter are Hans and Zhang Zhen (Dark Cloud) is Uighur. Hope some may find this interesting.
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