Review of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Introduction

Set in 19th century China, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon follows two martial-arts masters Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) and Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) as they battle against evil forces to regain the stolen Green Destiny sword and defeat long-time foe Jade Fox. To succeed they must overcome an unknown warrior, the supremely skilled Jen (Zhang Ziyi), who is fighting against an arranged marriage. In the process Li is torn between his deep and long-denied feelings for shu, and his wish to tame and teach Jen.

A mixture of history, heroes, old legends and a time when people had the power to float and swoop around effortlessly, Ang Lee directs a sublime and poetic film about hiding one`s strength from others, as well as showing it from time to time...

Winner of 4 Oscars - most notably Best Foreign Picture, and nominated for more (including Best Picture...but it lost out to Gladiator), hype was high for this oriental genre-bender.

So is the film overhyped or underhyped? Read on to find out...

Video

2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen. The visuals are deep and well defined, with a good use of the palette and no compression signs visible. The print is crisp and clear, and therefore the transfer is too.

The helmer prides himself in rich visuals and intelligent directing, and that`s what we get here - a beautifully shot film with sweeping locales and epic set-pieces (think The Matrix set two centuries ago and you`re not far off). Lee understands his characters like the back of his hand, and develops them accordingly, in line with the involving script.

The choreography in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is also worth mentioning. Yuen Wo-Ping - fresh from wonders for yes, that film again: The Matrix - handles the fight scenes here, and blends effortless swordplay with effortless kung-fu, all set against the narrative.

Audio

Dolby Digital 5.1 (English & Mandarin). The surrounds kick into action frequently, complimenting the action on screen well, and the ambience levels are good, with an impressive use of the soundstage. The main audio stream is crisp and clear, so the dialogue is reproduced well. Note: for best viewing conditions, enable the Mandarin soundtrack with English subtitles, as viewing with dubbed English spoils some of the film`s attraction.

The script, penned by James Schamus, is involving and intriguing, and he doesn`t skimp on character detail or emotions. Combining electric set-pieces with development, the script never lets up, and is one of the main reasons as to why Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is so original and compelling.

Tan Dun was given just two weeks to compose the score, yet his work is still excellent - setting the mood of the film perfectly - and this was proven when he went on to win an Oscar for his composing.

Features

The main extra is an audio commentary with director Ang Lee and writer James Schamus, and this is one of the most amusing commentaries around. Highlights include the former doing an impression of a dog, and the latter saying that producing films make people "want to have sex with you": a valid reason certainly.

There is a making-of documentary, featuring soundbites from Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh, as well as behind-the-scenes insight.

The comprehensive interview with Michelle Yeoh is good, as it shows her recollection of the film, and is again worth a watch.

A selection of trailers, a photo gallery, production notes and a weblink cement the disc`s status as one of the better single-disc releases out there.

The menus are animated excellently, in the same beautiful style as the film - a haunting score combined with clips from the feature itself. And they are also easy to navigate of course...

Conclusion

Haunting, poetic, exciting, original - these all combine to make a great cinematic experience. Featuring some wonderful direction, inspired performances and intriguing premise; there is no wonder that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon had a shot at the Best Picture gong. It ending up with four statuettes is still a great achievement (and might just shake the public`s distaste of subtitled/foreign films).

However, and here comes the main flaw with the film, when viewing the film more than two times, some of the magic rubs off, and unfortunately it can no longer be hailed a classic. But, when you consider that most other films aren`t as good as this, this doesn`t matter as much.

The disc itself is strong, and if there was another extra of some form (preferably more featurettes), then this would be a great DVD.

With a few tweaks here and there, this would rank as one of the best films of all time. As it stands, Columbia TriStar have done everything except add a flashing neon light screaming `Buy me!` to the package. Go buy.