Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

I think someone on Ciao has already described this film as an ‘epic’. Well I’m going to go right ahead and plagiarise him I’m afraid, as this is the word that sprang straight into my mind as I left the cinema after watching this film of truly gargantuan proportions. And I mean this in several different ways. Firstly, putting aside the obvious fact that this is a pretty long film at well over 2 hours in total (although it felt a lot longer), the ...
...on such a monumental journey that it has distinctly ‘epic’ overtones. I really felt after watching this that I had been through almost a lifetime of experience with the characters of the film. I had experienced love, hate, violence, peace, adventure, death, good and evil. Rarely does a film manage to encompass such a spectrum of emotion and experience without it feeling stretched and over-played, but CTHD does just that, and more. Secondly, CTHD ...

nikeair 01.02.2001 (03.02.2001) · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

So, I have broken my own own rule of buying a DVD before I have seen the film - this will remind me not to do it again! So, on the back of all the hype, I order myself the DVD - I am already impressed with Chow Yun Fat after watching Anna And The King - and looke forward to its arrival. 3 days later and it's here. Isert the disc, press play and the soundtrack defaults to Mandarin! Not a great start I thought. So the plot is basically, Great Chinese ...
...Green Destiny (a very flimsy item considering some of the things it does in the film). Sword gets stolen by a young female in disguise - identity of female discovered very early in the film! Great Chinese warrior does battle with various enemies, old and new to regain his sword. The story is very disjointed although manages to keep hold of the basic plot by the slimmest of threads. The fight scenes are expertly choreographed and the well shot. ...

Possom 10.09.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

Movies regularly require us to suspend belief, all too often in the service of something trivial. Here, the idea that people fly is an emotionally intrinsic device, an extension of who they are and what they believe, in service of something flawlessly executed. The Taiwanese-born director moved to the United States in 1987, and his ability to see the world from each perspective, gives dimension and detail to both his Asian- and Western-themed material. ...
...arts - or kung fu, if you wish - film. Lee is clearly as intrigued by the conventions of the genre, the most popular in the world, as he is in turning them on their head. Here, as with his portrait of modern suburban alienation in "The Ice Storm," sisters in 19th-century Britain in "Sense and Sensibility," and Asian family relationships in "Eat Drink Man Woman," his actual interests are the rigid class, gender and social codes that bind and divide ...

Zahirul 18.06.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is simply the best foreign language film ever made. For a foreign film to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, something special has to have happened. It did. Ang Lee has created a masterpiece by manipulating the presentation of martial arts, so often presented as gritty hard-hitting action, into a free-flowing art form. Previous to this film, the only Ang Lee I had seen was Ride With The Devil, but this film made ...
...century China, called the Green Destiny belongs to a legendary warrior, name of Li Mu Bai, ( Chow Yun Fat). However, Mu Bai has become disillusioned with the warrior lifestyle, and gives it to a powerful governor. Mu Bai’s friend and love interest,Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) takes it for him. However, a brilliant young student of Jade Fox, Mu Bai’s arch-enemy, steals the sword. Her name is Jen (Zhang Ziyi) and the story revolves around ...

Ice_Blaster 10.10.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

...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 ...
...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, ...

utero 04.09.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

Winner of four oscars the DVD sleeve reads. Now, in my experience that has involved the most depressing, suicidal films ever made. But I had a good feeling about this film. Choregraphed by the bloke that did the stunts in The Matrix (Yuen Wo Ping), and starring several actors you probably won't recognise except the other girl from Tomorrow Never Dies. The story centres around a 400-year old sword, 'The Green Destiny Sword', which is stolen after ...
...a respected leader who was a friend of Shu Lien's (Michelle Yeoh) father. Shu Lien is reluctant to take the sword until Li (Chow Yun Fat), explains that he is giving away the Green Destiny because, after years of fighting he wants to follow a new path in life. To recover the sword, they must defeat the extremely skilled and talented Jen (Zhang Ziyi), a young princess who is fighting against an arranged marriage. In the process, Li is drawn towards ...

BenJames 11.07.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

...poetry and meaning. In Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, stars like Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh gracefully zip through the air in this breathtaking Chinese fable about love, loyalty, and destiny. It's tough not to get a kick out of this operatic movie. There's fateful romance, legendary themes of honor and determination, strong heroines, and, oh yeah, that butt-kicking action. The first martial arts sequence hits the screen with a bolt of ...
...chopsocky movie. An ancient sword has been stolen from a respected family, and warrior Yu Shu Lien (Yeoh) pursues and fights a masked female thief. The fight moves, masterfully choreographed by The Matrix's Woo-Ping Yuen, have the standard kung fu push-and-pull, but there's a surge of surprise when the two women suddenly leap through the village, flying rooftop to rooftop. It seems they are disciples of an ancient training that has elevated them ...

zak-2 04.02.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

I was forced to travel to Nottingham to see this film as ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ is not on in Bolton for some strange reason, but it was well worth the two and a half hour car journey. Ang Lee (‘The Ice Storm’) has produced a simply breathtaking film, and although thirty minutes of the film are dedicated to fight sequences, this is a whole lot more than just a martial arts film, and as such it is no surprise that ...
...Yun Fat stars as Li Mu Bai, a dragon warrior who has become tired of fighting and vows to retire. He hands in his legendary, centuries old jade sword, ‘the green destiny’, and asks his inamorata, Shu Lien, played by Michelle Yeoh (Tomorrow Never Dies) to give his sword away as a present. She dutifully completes this task, but it is stolen by a masked warrior who has mysterious martial arts powers. Li Mu Bai is then drawn in to finding ...

Alex1226 31.01.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

All I can say is WOW!!! This film is a piece of art. Before I go any further, I must confess to being a fan of Hong Kong cinema (may favourite action film of all time is Hard Boiled – another Chow Yun Fat success). I have tried to put my opinions of the genre aside and reviewed this film as an independent work. Having said that – WOW! CTHD is one of those films that has something for everyone. Action, Suspense, fantastic settings, romance ...
...(Michelle Yeoh - Charlies Angels) is in love with the warrior, Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat – Anna and the King). But due to the friendship between her late husband and Li, she does not reveal her feelings. Jen (Zhang Ziyi) is arranged to be married despite her feelings for a bandit leader. Add a masked ninja thief, a female villain who seems indestructible, a stolen sword and a revenge plot and you get a delightful mix. The film has several levels ...

Jeffreycbx 29.08.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

...well. All in all, Crouching Tiger isn't a bad film, I just think that I may have understood it more if I had been Chinese. I don't think it translates very well, but if you are into martial arts then this film is worth watching just for the fight scenes, but suspend your disbelief for a while. Extras include a making of feature, commentary, trailers, weblinks, photo gallery and filmographies which add to the value a little. Cheers - Craig ...

cjkace 18.07.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

It was the closeups that enchanted me first, the beautiful faces of Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh. Not flawlessly made up Hollywood faces by any stretch of the imagination, but full of humour and wisdom and experience, speaking volumes of emotion that made the English subtitles completely unnecessary. The body language of these two people, their hand movements, the way their eyes spoke to each other, transcended mere acting. Michelle Yeoh in in ...
...in the world. I had never imagined she could also sink into the skin of a character and let that character shine out through those beautiful eyes. Chow Yun Fat is already known as a heavyweight in the acting stakes, but not so much as a Martial artist. That's more the territory of Jet lee, director Ang Lee's first choice for the role. But there is more to the character of Li Mu Bai than just the warrior. He is a warrior who has crossed the Rubicon, ...

TravelerRose 27.02.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

...and good to watch. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has much in common with similar fight scenes and a similar mystical theme. Two women who are both excellent marital artists see their fates intertwine during the Ching Dynasty in a story that resolves around a mystical sword. One is an aristocrat who follows an evil path with her mentor, giving up her privileges to enjoy a life of crime and passion. The other, after following her honour ...
...as her unfulfilled love cannot be quenched. When a mystical sword is stolen, we see a turn of events unfold that ultimately pitches the two women together in a tumultuous fight. The showdown will eventually lead to a surprising choice for each of the women as the violence reaches a crescendo. The aristocrat, whose life includes being kidnapped as a youngster which ends in a passionate self discovery for the woman, flirts with good and evil as she ...

Simoncook1 30.07.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

...its 115 minute running time. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is directed by Ang Lee who directed Sense and Sensibility before teaming up with James Schamus for the terminally dreary Ice Storm. An interview with Michelle Yeoh hints at a prequel in the offing so maybe a second chance to get other writers involved. She goes on to explain Crouching Tiger represents traditional Chinese reserve and Hidden Tiger representing anger within, so now we know. ...
...DVD includes an excellent photo montage, which shows off the make-up and intricately detailed costumes, a director/writer commentary, movie trailers, a making of featurette and various subtitle and language options. Purists will no-doubt prefer watching the original Mandarin without subtitles but despite some tricky lip-sync moments my kids didn't even notice they were watching a dubbed film. A thoroughly enjoyable movie directed by Ang Lee at the ...

joecon 08.07.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

...for the last showing of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which I had heard was a great film. The only place showing it in Exeter was the small independent cinema which normally is pretty quiet and easy to get into...I got there half an hour earlier than I could have and I was lucky to get a seat, I ended up on the outside of the next to front row!! But, it didn't matter. Within a matter of seconds I was hooked on this film. The story is set around ...
...harsh and in your face, Crouching Tiger is soft, delicate and intricately put together. One of the best scenes in this film comes in a face off between Li Mu Bai and Jen, the thief, in the treetops. Another example was the rooftop chase around Peking. Incredible. The other thing that struck me instantly was how well the soundtrack mixed with the action and flow of the movie. During some of the most moving parts of the film there are cello solos ...

poodu 08.01.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)

Could this film really live up to all the hype? Countless five-star reviews? Breathless "best-film-of-the-year-and-the-year-has-hardly-begun!" type hyperbole? I was doubtful, and, having seen the film twice, I can honesty say that I don't think it's an absolute classic. For a start, those "ground-breaking" fight-scenes. Very impressive choreography, granted, but really no different to what the Hong Kong film industry has been churning out for decades, ...
...the main characters can fly - fine, but it could've been better. As it stands, they look as though they're being hoisted. Then there's the subtitling. Not the most subtle translation. In fact, it's often downright clumsy. Seeing as this is an adaptation of book five in a six book series (or something like that), there is a certain amount of back-story to get across, but couldn't they have managed something better than clunky lines like "I must visit ...

MonkeyboyUK 06.02.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (DVD)