Rating: 
Summary: A director who can do no wrong
Review: Ang Lee is, remarkably, at home in any setting--be it Connecticut for The Ice Storm, or New York for The Wedding Banquet, or Britain for Sense and Sensibility--he inhabits the setting as director and delivers to the audience a piece of work that is faithful to itself and to its setting every time.I went to see Crouching Tiger thinking it was going to be one of those dreary martial arts films. At the end, along with the rest of the audience, I was applauding madly. This is an exquisite film, requiring little effort to suspend disbelief. Its fight choreography (accompanied by perfectly appropriate drumming) is breathtaking, as are the cinematography and the special effects. The cast is wonderful, acting their parts with restraint appropriate to the setting; Yun-Fat Chow has a peerless onscreen presence. My only quibble is with the end-title music, which is modern and a little silly and makes one wonder why-after a score performed by top-tier artists (YoYo Ma, for one)-this (astonishingly) academy-award nominating song (which didn't win, mercifully) was tacked on to a thoroughly authentic period piece which is otherwise all but flawless. This is a film very worth viewing.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie Bad DVD
Review: If you saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon you must own the DVD. The movie will prove timeless in it's entertainment value. My rating of four stars is strictly for the movie itself. The quality of the DVD was very disappointing. First of all, except for the soundtrack, the sound in the Mandarin version (5.1 Digital)has been transferred to the DVD at a very low volume. I checked all the settings on my receiver and DVD player and all were set correctly. However, while the soundtrack booms through my speakers, voices and ambient sounds are hard to hear. Therefore, I had to increase the volume to hear voices, but turn it down when the music chimes in. As in the theatrical release, the cinematography is outstanding. The colors are vibrant and sharp. Most disappointing was the Commentary by Ang Lee and James Schamus. They add nothing to the enjoyment of the film. You learn nothing of interest. The commentary by James Schamus was especially annoying, and at times offensive. Offensive to both the viewer and to Ang Lee. All Ang Lee can do is chuckle at Mr. Schamus' bad jokes. In contrast, the 15 minute interview wiith Michelle Yeoh was informative and intelligent. What a bonus it would have been if the DVD was released with commentary by Ang Lee, Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yung Fat. Maybe then we could have learned more about the making of this film.
Rating: 
Summary: This is good? ?
Review: I rented this after all the great reviews it recieved, and i was very surprised at just how horrible this movie is, people say its a visual masterpiece??? i dont think flying around lookin like your attached to a string isnt to impressive, the story itself is completely cheesy and pointless, and the fighting is horrible, its like a chinese peter pan, maybe little kids would like this, seriously its that bad.
Rating:
Summary: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Music Videos
Review: Let me start out by saying that this is one of the most enchanting, enrossing, and mesmerizing films I have ever seen. There are many levels to it, and you can honestly say you discover something new about it every time you see it. This DVD version is wonderful, though perhaps nothing can compare to seeing it on the big screen. The conversation with Michelle Yeoh is enlightining, and as for the making of documentry, well, it's always nice to see a bit of what went on behind the scenes. Also, I must say that, in my opinion, while the Mandarin sounds better to the ear and adds to the overall feeling of the film, I feel the English dubbing is more rich and fluid in its translation than that of the English subtitles. If you watch the English dubbing and the English subtitles at the same time, it is shocking how different they are. My suggestion is to give both a try at least once, and decide which you like better. One last note: while it has been advertised that the music videos for A Love Before Time would be contained on the DVD, they are, in fact, not there. Though if you look on the back of the DVD case where it lists the special features, the music videos are not listed. Perhaps they were slated to be included, advertised that way, and then it turned out there wasn't enough space on the disc to include them. But be forewarned, they are not on the DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Crouching Tristar, Hidden Columbia
Review: Wow. This is a 5 STAR FILM but a 3 STAR release on DVD. Columbia/Tristar did the usual bad job on this DVD. Not only is it lacking in suppliments (like the music video), But the audio is really BAD!!!! The 5.1 mastering on the Chinese track has lots of audio pops and even drops out at times.You'd figure a film with all the award this won would have been treated better. I guess Columbia/Tristar just doesn't care.
Rating:
Summary: I don't think I saw the same movie as the other reviewers
Review: Fight scenes were so unbelievable, they were amusing. Acting was cheesy and the plot was thin. We voted that the comb and the sword were the best actors. Special effects were like a cartoon. The Matrix was choreographed much better with more 'realistic' fight scenes. Waited and waited for this movie to improve--and then it was over--thank goodness! We have a once-viewed DVD for sale. BTW--who was the crouching tiger and where was the dragon hiding?
Rating:
Summary: One of the most stunning movies of all time
Review: Much like the combatants in the film, this movie comes at you from all angles. Its stunning story, cinematography, effects and acting literally left me breathless. I felt, as many other viewers may have felt, that the fight scenes were at first disorienting in that they were stylized in the manner of traditional kung fu films. To me, though, the difference was obvious. The physical actions of the characters seem to advance their characterization as much as their dialogue in a way that (obviously) transcends language and cultural barriers. I've heard fans of "The Matrix" remark that "the fight scenes were so fake." How on earth, could they be any less realistic than the overblown computer-animation fests in The Matrix? The answer: they're just different. My guess is that the only folks who dislike this movie are expecting a good ol' American style action flick. To everyone else, I heartily recommend seeing this film!
Rating: 
Summary: Asian language / English words *Gimme a Break!*
Review: The previews looked really cool, not only was it so far fetched, but I spent my whole evening racking my brains trying to keep up w/reading the english words which were being converted from a foreign language. My 5 year old could not stay interested and finally fell asleep because obviously he can't read. I will demand my $ back! This was a waste of time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of my all-time favorites
Review: I'm surprised when I talk to so many people who haven't seen this movie. The storyline and special effects are absolutely remarkable. The DVD also has some nice extras - including English overdubs for people who don't like subtitles. This is a DVD you don't want to miss.
Rating:
Summary: Boring story, cool FX
Review: The story line of this film is really quite boring and has few surprises. In fact, I had to watch the film twice since I fell asleep halfway through the first time. Visually, this film is incredible. However, I don't see what all the hubub is all about. I see this film as an attempt to make a generic and static story into something greater using master choreography, filming, editing and FX techniques.
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