Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Member since:11.07.2000
Reviews:625
Members who trust:55
Well by now I'm sure you've heard of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The martial arts epic was a favourite amongst critics in 2000 and went on to scoop four oscars as well as several other nominations and major awards.
The story follows two martial arts masters in the 19th century who must battle to regain the stolen Green Destiny sword. But all is not that easy as they come up against an unknown warrior with a hidden agenda and an old foe. This might not sound like much but there is much more beneath the main plot. This is an epic film of love, beauty, honour, discipline and above all elese some kick ass martial arts sequences.
But I'm not here to go into mammoth details about the film, I've done that in the film section where there are many other opinions on the film. Nope I'm here to give you my view on the dvd.
First up let's take a look at the transfer, presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Now I have to be honest I expected more from this transfer, it looks a bit drab in places and not as bold as I remember seeing it in the cinema. From the opening there are noticeable blemishes in the transfer and some grain in places. By no means is it awful, the night scenes are reproduced well and the tree top fight looks stunning. Maybe I'm looking into it too much but it could have been better.
The sound is Dolby Digital 5.1 and it's an enveloping mix. Rears are used well whenever necessary to highlight the action in the martial arts sequences. Jen's one-woman crusade in the restaurant has some good bass moments and Tan Dun's score sounds amazing in the digital realm. Thankfully the film has mandarin and english dubbed soundtracks with the relevant subtitles.
As for the extras well first off the menus are animated with scenes from the film, they are not too flashy and serve their purpose very well.
Firts up is a 'making of' feature entitled 'Unleashing Dragons'. This was originally made for the Bravo channel and does have a promootional feel to it. There is some good footage of the wire acrobatics but mainly this is dominated by interviews. To be honest I was a little disappointed. The feature runs for 20 minutes in total with the last four dedicated to the music. This is tacked onto the bravo feature but repeats some of the interviews you've just seen.
Michelle Yeoh gives a 13 minute interview that is decent for the running time. She talks about the film and how she approached the material as well as conditioning herself for the psychical aspects of the shoot.
The photo gallery isn't in the style of the usual dvd presentation. This is more of a video montage of stills. It runs for 6 minutes and is very run of the mill. I would have preferred it if you could just skip through the stills one by one.
Director Ang Lee and Producer/Writer James Schamus also contribute an audio commentary that is very laid back in style but entertaining. What is refreshing is the way they actually critique their own work on the track.
Finally there are the usual trailers and cast/crew filmographies.
This is a stunning film with a good but not great presentation. The extras are a mixed bunch and presonally I would have liked something more substantial but this is worth it just to watch the martial arts sequences over and over
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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
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...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Amazing martial arts fighting sequences (choreographed by Yuen wo Ping - The Matrix) ... more
stunning special effects action adventure and romance have made Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon the most talked about movie of the year. Martial arts masters Li Mu B...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
In the most-talked about movie of the year, Director Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility) ... more
brings together a breathtaking combination of high-flying action (choreographed by Yeun Wo Ping - The Matrix) and stunning visual effects, woven around a story of humo...
Advantages: Fantastically acted, brilliantly choreographed and directed. Believable and moving romance Disadvantages: The flying scenes are perhaps overdone losing any realistic feel
![Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon [DVD] [2001]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78543493.jpg "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon [DVD] [2001]")
Sep 4th, 2001
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