Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Introduction

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has received some of the most superlative reviews bestowed on any film, ever. And rightly so. Coming over from the Far East with record-breaking totals, now it has got a disappointing limited release in the West, despite setting huge revenue per screen averages everywhere. Hopefully that will change, if the studios realise what a critical and commercial gem they have on their hands.

The story is based around a set of five early 20th century novels by Wang Du Lu. This film is based on the 4th part. The novels are set in the world of Wuxia – a place where amazing fighters also have almost mystical powers of reflexes and buoyancy. This is an age of nobility and beauty, one that is rich in Chinese history and folklore.

I think Crouching Tiger is the best film of this Oscar year, and perhaps also the best Eastern movie ever (yes, perhaps better than The Killer). Its credentials are faultless. The versatile Ang Lee directs, continuing his record of never having made a bad film. Two of the greatest stars of Hong Kong cinema are cast as the leads: the incomparable master of the twin guns Chow Yun Fat, and the much-underrated Michelle Yeoh. Yo-Yo Ma, the famous cellist, plays the key score. And finally, the greatest fight choreographer in the business, Yuen Wo Ping, returns to show everyone what child’s play the kung fu in The Matrix was.

Video

The anamorphic 2.35:1 picture is well transferred and does do justice to the amazing cinematography. However, it is not perfect: the darker scenes are a little less than black, and I spotted a few instances of grain in the brighter scenes. Perhaps something for the forthcoming R1 disc to improve on?

Audio

The 5.1 mix is excellent, accurately positioning the Wudan fighters flying all around and everywhere. The dialogue is clear, and the stunning score sounds great too. I think this film definitely deserves the Oscar for best score; the final cello solo by the legendary Yo-Yo Ma is the most rousing piece of music since The Last of the Mohicans.

Features

The features here are very good indeed, and a significant improvement over the many bare-bones R3 discs. The jewel in the crown is the commentary by writer/producer James Schamus and director Ang Lee. The commentary is relaxed and informative – the pair obviously enjoy each other’s company. A good commentary, but it is prevented from being great by the number of silences between them – too many for my liking. Also, I would have preferred a little more screen-specific chat than general anecdotes – in particular, I would have liked to hear more about the ending and final shot. The best bit of the commentary was definitely when they hinted at a possible sequel, and prequel!

The menus are also very professional, and give you a taster of the film if you haven’t seen it yet, or a reminder of how good it was if you have.
The interview with a different-looking Michelle Yeoh is one of the best I’ve seen: she tells us much about the making of the film, and about how much she liked working with her co-stars and director…not the usual piece of PR fluff.

Also included are two excellent music videos – in fact the same, but one in English and the other in Mandarin. The tune is very catchy, and is reminiscent of that wonderful cello piece. The photo montage is good too, much better than a normal ‘photo gallery’ would be. A pretty poor trailer is included – stretched and wrongly subtitled. The trailer currently showing on UK TV is much better. Finally, there are also cast biographies.

Conclusion

When I went to see this film, I was scared that perhaps the film would not live up to its almost limitless hype. Perhaps the film wasn’t that good, or maybe the critics had never seen wire-fu of any real quality before? I was proved wrong on both counts. The fights scenes are superb, but the film as a whole is even better. Crouching Tiger is not so much a martial arts film, but instead more of a film that has martial arts in it. There is so much that makes this film great: the chemistry between Chow and Yeoh, the fabulous acting, the cinematography (surely amongst the best ever)…and the direction. Ang Lee has created a masterpiece here, one that takes the subject matter of romance and kung fu – always liable to be corny – and turns it into a sweeping epic. Two young actors with great potential were also discovered: Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen play the star-crossed lovers to great effect.

What sets this movie apart from other Hong Kong productions, and in fact most films, is it soul. Crouching Tiger is a film that deals with love, honour, and the also the constrictive taboos of society. It is a film that seems to cross the genres, from drama, to action, to romance. What sets the fight scenes apart from other wire-fu Hong Kong movies are that the fights have depth: the choreography of each reflect the characters of the fighters. I was also pleased that no fast-cut editing tricks were used; instead we are treated to long takes. Whilst Yuen Woo Ping must take credit for the technical side, Ang Lee was the difference in making the fights more than just souped-up brawls. The only complaint I have is that not more fight scenes were created for Chow Yun Fat’s character, who is supposed to be the greatest fighter alive. Of course, Chow Yun Fat has never done martial arts before, so this is excusable. It is interesting to know that Jet Li was first choice for the role, but was busy shooting Romeo Must Die…but in the end I think they made the right choice, as Jet Li may have made some crazy kung fu sequences, but the character would have lost the nobility and dignity that Chow Yun Fat brings to the screen.

In the end, Crouching Tiger is one amazing film. If I were giving out Oscars, I think it would be up for 6 Oscars, with Score, Foreign Film and Director all in the bag. And as for Best Film…there are only a few (Traffic, Requiem for a Dream, Almost Famous) that I haven’t seen yet that might just have a chance to supercede Crouching Tiger as my choice. If it does become the first foreign language film to win Best Picture – or even just gets nominated – then expect a cinema wide release and probably a delay in the R1/R2 DVD whilst more extras are prepped. One thing that this disc does miss are documentaries on how the movie was made. I’m sure we’ll see this on the R1 edition. But meanwhile, this disc is a definite must-buy, especially if it may be difficult to find a cinema near you showing it. This film is made for DVD, but if you can, experience it as it was meant to at the cinema first.