Day 148 - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Day 148         Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [2000]

                          

Screenplay                    Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus & Tsai Kuo Jung

Based on                       ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ by Wang Dulu

Director                         Ang Lee

Cinematography            Peter Pau

Music                            Tan Dun

Leads                            Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Sihung Lung, Cheng Pei-pei

Production                     Colombia Pictures Film, Production Asia, Good Machine International, Edko Films, Zoom Hunt Productions, China Film Co-Production Corp., Asian Union Film & Entertainment Ltd.

IMDb                                 7.9/10

Rotten Tomatoes                97%

A legendary movie from the legendary Ang Lee. Full of incredible martial arts and, if that is not enough for you, some of them defy the laws of physics. Set mostly in Peking it is the story of a retired master warrior who gifts his sword to a friend, only for it to be stolen by a mysterious thief. The plot thickens, as it often does, with more fighting than my local pub on a Friday night. It’s all about the stunts isn’t it? You pay to watch this so that you can see two people flying through trees and fighting on the smallest branches above the tree-tops, and yet they aren’t superheroes, they have simply trained in the Wudang Mountains. I wasn’t particularly drawn in by the story and was often left waiting patiently for the next fight scene to come along. Peter Pau principal photographer portrayed pretty pictures perfectly. Try saying that five times fast. There’s not much else to say about this movie other than if you like kung-fu/wuxia films then it’s a must watch and if you don’t then steer clear.

Acting                            3 / 4

Writing                           3 / 4

Cinematography             4 / 4

Music                             3 / 4

HWF rating                3 / 4