Hi everyone, I'm back ... at least for the moment ay :)
Hi everyone, I'm back ... at least for the moment ay :)
Member since:18.02.2005
Reviews:39
Members who trust:10
If like me, you are thinking of learning some kind of martial art in the near future, than from this film you can get all the inspiration and motivation you need. Reknown for all the Martial Arts fighting in it, Chinese style, this film is the foreign film that cashed in the most money from the US Box Office ever.
The cast in the film is completely Chinese and thereforeI have never heard of any of them before. However from what I have read on the film, some of the actors are quite well-known in China. Incidentally, although 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' was a complete success in the US and other western countries, it was a complete flop in China. Probably one of the reasons could be because the four main actors all speak four different dialects of Mandarin, which thankfully doesn't really affect Westerners who can see the film translated to English or else with English sub-titles. Personally, I prefer the latter.
What particularly attracted me to the
film was Yuen Wo-Ping, no he's not an actor, he's the martial choreographer who among other films, has worked on the 'The Matrix'. I've also heard good things on the director Ang Lee who also directed Hulk (2003) and Sense and Sensilbility (1995). He's worked on a few other films as well.
The story of the film revolves around 'Green Destiny', a sword that is stolen. Wanting to get the sword back, Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien, both great fighters and both secretly in love with each other try their best to get it back. However things get more complicated when they find out that the thief is their friend and daughter of the Governer, Jen. To add a further twist, the mentor of Jen is Jade Fox, the murderer of Li Mu Bai's Master. Not knowing this Li Mu Bai wants to get Jen to become his disciple. Even though there are many twists, the plot is worked out very well and is beleivable. There is also a touch of humour in the film that makes it even more complete and enjoyable.
Most of the characters in the story are well developed although in my opinion it would have been nice to know a little bit more about the history of Li Mu Bai.
On the other hand, the martial arts in the films are just spectecular and easily the best thing in the whole film. The style of fighting used is Wudan, which as far as I know is like Tai Chi Combat or something like that. The fighting in the film doesn't only take place with hands but a substantial part of it with swords. Li Mu Bai was particularly good at this and his skills are literally breathtaking. He's amazing. My only complaint about the martial arts is that the fighters could do impossible feats such as flying. Now I know these people can jump very high but flying? I don't think so.
The sound effects in the film are very good but what is even better are the visual effects. For example, the high jumping is all very smooth and there are many wonderful landscapes and pictures in the film.
'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', has won countless number of internationally acclaimed awards which I think says a lot about the film. The awards won are:
20th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards - Winner - Best Picture - Winner - Best Director (Ang Lee) - Winner - Best Supporting Actress (Cheng Pei-Pei) - Winner - Best Cinematography (Peter Pau) - Winner - Best Action Design (Yuen Woo-Ping) - Winner - Best Original Film Score (Tan Dun) - Winner - Best Song ("Moonlight Lover", performed by Coco Lee) - Winner - Best Sound Effects (Eugene Gearty)
2000 Academy Awards - Winner - Best Foreign Language Film - Winner - Best Cinematography (Peter Pau) - Winner - Best Art Direction (Timmy Yip) - Winner - Best Original Score (Tan Dun)
2000 Golden Globe Awards - Winner - Best Foreign Language Film - Winner - Best Director (Ang Lee)
2000 Golden Horse Awards - Winner - Best Picture
2000 Toronto Film Critics' Award - Winner - Best Picture
2000 Los Angeles Film Critics' Award - Winner - Best Picture
All in all, I think this was a top film, certainly one of the best I have ever seen and is definately a classic. In fact I have already ordered it (as I had rented it only) from play.com for just 9.99. Finally, its also worth mentioning that there should be a sequel to the film (due to the ending which I didn't particularly like) sometime in the future. Personally, I can't wait and I'm certainly going to be one of the first to be seeing it in the cinemas here in Malta.
Other details about the film:
Certificate: 12 years and over (PG) Duration : approx 2 hours
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Martial Arts - Director: Yimou Zhang - Original Language: Mandarin - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang
Production Year: 1981 - Martial Arts - Director: Kenji Misumi, Robert Houston - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ohki, Akiji Kobayashi, Shin Kishida, Masahiro Tomikawa, Tomisaburo Wakayama
Martial Arts - Director: Prachya Pinkaew - Original Language: English\Vietnamese\Thai\Mandarin - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Tony Jaa, Bongkoj Khongmalai, Petchtai Wongkamlao
Production Year: 1994 - Martial Arts - Director: Wong Jing - Original Language: Cantonese - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Gary Daniels, Chingamy Yau, Jackie Chan, Joey Wong, Kumiko Goto, Richard Norton
This isn't the kind of film that would appeal to me.
rlb3 15.04.2005 16:03
I really like martial arts movies, due to my personal interest in my Ju-jitsu training. I haven't seen this one as yet, but it sounds like it is worth a look! Ruth :o)
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