Director Ang Lee has a great reputation, but having not seen his work before I assumed this would be a bit of a romantic kung fu picture and frankly was not looking forward to it.
I was wrong!
There is plenty of razzle dazzle choreographed fight scenes in this film, don’t get me wrong. But Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is much more than that.
It stars Chow Yun-Fat as Li, a rather disillusioned warrior, honour bound to avenge the murder of his Master and stave off the affections of his friend, Yu (Michelle Yeoh), a skilled fighter in her own right.
When a thief enters their lives, one equipped with the ability of defying gravity (cue amazing special effects!) Li offers to hone Yu’s impetuousness. Instead, she steals his fabled sword, "The Green Destiny," and embarks on a her own journey of self-discovery.
The film is beautifully choreographed, and I'm referring to both the action sequences and the emotional scenes so smoothly directed by Mr Lee. Yet ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ left me, well, really unable to put into words why I liked it so much. It was strange – it had charm – it had sword & sorcery – it had a STORY!
The special effects were out of this world – not ‘over the top’, but just very clever. Like the scene with the duel that takes place in a bamboo forest - atop the trees. All I can say, is forget any kind of pre ordained ideas you have about this type of film. You will enjoy it, despite not quite knowing why. It will excite you and enchant you and most probably confuse you – but you’ll love it.
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Production Year: 2003 - Martial Arts - Director: Paul Hunter - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Seann William Scott, James King, Karel Roden
Production Year: 1972 - Martial Arts - Director: Bruce Lee - Original Language: English\Cantonese\Chinese - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, Chuck Norris, Robert Wall, Jon T. Benn
Production Year: 1991 - Martial Arts - Director: Tsui Hark - Original Language: Cantonese - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Donnie Yen, Jet Lee, Rosamund Kwan, Yuen Biao, Mok Sui Chung
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 - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Bruce Lee, Sho Kosugi, James Ryan, Jim Kelly, Jimmy Wang Yu, Bolo Yeung, Christopher Lee
I was never convinced about this film but I think you've just persuaded me to go see it :-) K xxx
Nameless 30.07.2001 01:12
Nice op but I must say I hated this film. I seem to be the only one though. :o)
lilly 22.01.2001 16:11
Great review. I liked it and couldn't figure out why too. I thought it was a serious film and kept laughing at the strings but once you realise it's all pure fantastical action-packed fun, it's superb. How nice to have a plot centred on warrior women who luvem and leave'em for a change!
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Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragonis so many things: an historical epic on a grand scale, an ... more
Asian martial-arts flick with both great effectsandfantastic fighting (choreographed byThe Matrix's guru Yuen Wo Ping), a story of magic, revenge and power played w...
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![Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon [DVD] [2001]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78543493.jpg "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon [DVD] [2001]")
Jan 22nd, 2001
(Jul 10th, 2001)
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