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Review: 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'
You probably won't ever see a better kung-fu movie than Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, or a more original, mournful or beautiful cinematic vision in this movie-crowded season.
Perhaps it's more accurate to call it an artful collaboration -- part martial-arts spirituality, Western epic and Broadway musical -- between Lee, actors Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh, the musician Yo-Yo Ma and mythical combat choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping, who designed the dance-like scenes in The Matrix and sparked a revival of martial arts as spiritual and cinematic ballet.
The story unfolds in China in the time of Confucius, centering on the loss and search for a magical 400-year-old sword called Green Destiny. Its theft sets off a complex interaction between a sword-wielding warrior, his ally and a bandit (who falls in love with a desert thief, another beautifully shot sequence); the latter two happen to be women. So does their common nemesis, a creepy and lethal outcast right out of the witches gathering in "Hamlet" named Jade Fox.
Brilliantly bizarre and sometimes astonishingly beautiful, the movie takes martial arts far beyond the eerily-choreographed levels of The Matrix. From Walker, Texas Ranger to Jackie Chan to Charlie's Angels, martial arts is replacing the fist, .9mm and taser as popular culture's favorite form of combat. In fact, kung fu offers creative moviemakers a lot of possibilities: it has a richer history, and comes from deeper traditions than any of those other weapons.
But no one has yet portrayed it in this way. "Crouching Tiger" is gravity-defying: the fighters soar over rooftops, somersault around rooms, sail through trees and walls, in and out of rivers and lakes.
It's closer to the more spiritual sagas of earlier Hong Kong movies than to the popular and very funny Chan series. It feels very modern, though. It's unusual to see a movie like this featuring women in such strong and distinctly different roles -- but it also honors traditions of loyalty, learning and responsibility. In an era when the cultural gap between teachers and students has probably never been wider, this movie reflects a time and a culture when their bonds were unshakeable. Making money or being popular is the last thing on these warrior's minds, good or evil. They are obsessed with honor, growth and vengeance. In "Crouching Tiger," students love, even venerate their teachers and will sacrifice their own lives for their teachers' approval and honor.
Cellis Yo-Yo Ma's haunting score gives "Crouching Tiger" an even more brooding and enchanting quality. Yet for all its gravity and style, "Crouching Tiger" also has a sense of humor. It takes a skilled and supremely confident filmaker to pull off a quite literally dazzling movie like this.
As a martial artist myself (1st Dan TKD, 2 years of
aikido) I'm always on the lookout for martial-arts
films that don't insult my intelligence. CTHD
joins a depressingly short list that began with
"The Challenge" (1982), and includes both "The
Matrix" and "Shanghai Noon" (which was only stupid
deliberately and as a form of send-up).
Great movie, visually gorgeous, fine performances.
Easily blows away anything else I've seen this
year, and I doubt any movie I've heard or read
about would change that.
>>esr>>
I've seen a few other alternatives listed today. Most of them suck, IMHO. I am a man who has seen more B movies than any other man on earth, and I can give you the lowdown on which movies you should rent this holiday season that has not been embraced by US pop culture. Feel free to take them home for the holidays! Here they are....
;)
"Seven Samauri" (1954): I feel like starting with a classic from the fifties. This foreign flick inspired the story for everything from "The Magnificent Seven" to "A Bug's Life", and set the bar that most dramatic martial arts movies try yo live up to even today. I even believe this is one of the top 10 movies on IMDB's ratings list.
"Hard Boiled" (1993): This is what most of us video junkies would call, at a minimum, "John Woo's greatest movie ever". Take the coreographed gun battles from some of his US movies "MI:2" "Hard Target" and "Face Off", combine them and multiply by 15, then add Chow Yun Fat. A masterpeice that includes a 45 minute shootout in a hospital that probably cost him a fortune to do. If, somehow this is taken, then try his classic breakthrough "A Better Tommorrow". Watch it, then get the DVD.
"Iron Monkey" (1993): If you have the blues and want to see something built like Crouching Tiger, then try Iron Monkey. This is laugh out loud ridiculous but has well produced martial arts stunts. Taking the story of Robin Hood and twisting it into Fist of Legend, this also features good and bad guys that can jump over rooftops and change direction in midair, but it doesn't stop there. Ever wonder why Chinese royalty wears those humongous sleaves? It's a weapon that can shoot out up to 100 feet! Just go rent it
"El Mariachi" (1992): Starting south of the border, this movie is what inspired Quintin Tarentino to create the sequel, "Desperado", here in the USA.
The production isn't nearly as high class, but the story is far better and much less predictable, and it is very enjoyable to watch. BTW, it stars the same dude playing backup guitar during the intro of Desperado. And, no, he didn't really get his hand shot onstage, that's a dream that QT inserted to keep from spoling part of the first movie....
"City Hunter" (1992): Jackie Chan dressed like Chun Li (street fighter II). 'Nuff said? Not yet. This is one of Jackie's worse movies as far as story goes, mainly due to the fact it was based on a Japanese comic book. Look beyond that flaw and you'll see the most innovative fighting and weapon scenes just short of Drunken Master 2 and also, a rarity in Jackie movies, gunbusting! If you've ever seen him spinning people around his body, even in DM2, this is where it began and where it worked best. It's also good for a laugh.
That's enough for now. Enjoy!
I agree. Not only that, sounds like he might be a pedophile too...
The central theme of the movie is not the green Destiny sword, it is the personal search each person is looking to resolve.
The sword is simply the device that allows the characters to search for that which eludes them. Whether it be unrequited love, vengance, or escape from destiny, eachcharacter strives to fight against their own nature to achieve what they truly desire.
I can't go into more details without spoiling the movie. But the movie is about what is truly important in life, love and happiness.
If you've already seen the movie, ask yourself, what does each personm in the film really want? Then look at the obstacles the person puts in their own way on the path there. Puts a whole different spin on the film.
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IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0190332 As of this post, it has 8.7 rating out of 10 with 1415 votes (ranked #137 out of 250 on the top 250 movie list). I consider that very good!
:).
Also, check moviefone.com for more details.
Notes: The movie is in Chinese (Mandarin) so you will have to read the english subtitles if you are watching in U.S. The movie is showing in limited theaters (i.e. not in AMC theaters).
The movie has three Global Globe nominees (2001):
1. Best Director -- Motion Picture
2. Best Original Score - Motion Picture
3. Best Foreign Language Film
From Source.
I still haven't seen it yet, but I am taking my relatives to see it soon
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
Gee, I haven't seen any .375 Magnums. Maybe I need to check the latest Guns&Ammo.
Last I'd heard, they settled on .357 as a bore size.
You've gotta check five times for stupid mistakes, when you call someone else on their stupid mistkaes.
[
Katz is clearly on top of the trends here: he's noticed the surge in popularity of the .9mm gun. Using bullets ten times smaller than the popular 9mm which it replaces, the .9mm is a thousand times less deadly. People who have been shot with .9mm guns say it feels like the biggest fucking mosquito they've ever seen just bit them, hard. You need a good pair of tweezers to get the bullets out.
In a private interview with Katz, he told me that he was impressed by the fact that the .9mm was 2.4 times bigger than that other famous microweapon, the .375 Magnum. When I pointed out to him that .375 was actually an inch measurement, he turned an unusual shade of crimson and mumbled something about NASA and Mars probes before changing the subject.