Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

I have the DVD version and saw this movie in the theater too. Recently I got the Blu-ray version. The subtitles of the Blu-ray are very suspicious. They are significantly different from the DVD/theater. Why is that? Also, the subtitle translation for Blu-ray seem very "Americanized", as if the studio wanted to make it more accessible, perhaps, to U.S. audiences. But having got used to the DVD subtitles, and not speaking Chinese, I can't say the subtitles for the DVD or Blu-ray are correct or not, or that one is better than the other.

Example: The scene where Jen meets and fights with Li Mu Bai for the first time. Jen executes a move that astonishes Mu Bai, who exclaims "Jade Fox can't be your master. Where did you learn the 'Xuan Piu' move?". Jen's response in the DVD: "I'm just playing around". The blu-ray: "Piece of cake." Now which reply by Jen seems more realistic for that time period, in that part of the world? It seems more likely that Jen would say she's just playing around, or improvising. There are two English translations on Blu ray, and they give the same translation, so there's no hunting for the "better" version on Blu-ray.

Throughout the Blu ray, there are many differences in translation compared to the dvd to make one wonder: which version is more correct, given that something is always "lost in translation" from one language to another? These are glaring differences. What's on the Blu-ray is very different from the DVD, and just feels wrong. Anyone else notice this?

The Ang Lee version of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon left many Asians with a bad taste. The movie version cut alot of the side stories and boiled it down to the bare essentials. Asian audiences felt that 2 hours was not enough to tell the original story. The same can be said of many book to movie adaptations.

This U.S. DVD release of New Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is essentially a condensed Reader's Digest version of the television mini-series that aired in China shortly after the Ang Lee movie came out.

The original series, like alot of Chinese mini-series, tended to explore many aspects of Chinese culture that would be unfathomable to Western tastes. Much of that is cut out.

This series plays out more like a soap opera with continuing plot lines from episode to episode.

It's too bad that Tai Seng edited alot of the story out as some folks may want to see the complete uncut series. But in the interest of Western audiences, it was pared down to a more managable 4 hour show. This DVD release would probably not have sold very well if it was released in the U.S. in its complete uncut edition with more discs and a higher price.

VCDs of the original uncut series are available in China and in Chinese video rental shops but there are no English subtitles or English dubbing.

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is simply a masterpiece. A brilliant film with great performances by its stars, Michelle Yeoh, Chow yun fat, and especially Zhang Ziyi. Director Ang Lee along with his choreographer tell this epic story in a stunning and creative visual way that makes this film one of the greatest ever made. The action scenes in this film are jaw dropping, and are unmatched by any action film ever made. Along with the action, is a great story and great characters that reflect influences from Lord of the Rings, and parallel the Jedi of the Star Wars trilogy, but remain consistent with the eastern culture and philosophy which permeates throughout the story. In fact, the main characters, especially Jen, portrayed by the talented Zhang Ziyi , seem to question that philosophy and culture throughout the film, almost rebelling against it. This is foreshadowed in the beginning of the film when Yun-fat's character describes how his meditation leads him to a place of sorrow instead of enlightenment. In a later scene, Yeoh 's character questions the buddhist teaching of Fat's character in relation to their suppressed love, pointing out the touch of her hand is real,not an illusion, even though it is of this world. However it is also the discipline of this eastern spirituality that gives these knights their power. the main character Jen, abuses this power, along with the power given to her when she posesses the Green Destiny, a magical and powerful sword, owned by the wizard -like, or jedilike, character portrayed by Chow Yun-Fat. The Green Destiny, much like the ring of power in lord of the rings, or the force in Star Wars, becomes a power that threatens to consume Jen. Throughout the film , Jen rebels against the traditions of the easten culture and philosophy. Even during the action scenes, as Chow Yun-Fat's character scolds her, she responds by telling him to stop talking like a monk and fight. Her rebellion is also reflected in her love for a barbarian that lives in the desert. Jen's rebellion is an extreme one, however, that leads to such deep despair, that it leaves the viewer to question if even the true love she found in the desert can save her. This movie has everything one wants in an epic, great story, acting, cinematography, directing, score. This film should win an Oscar for Best Picture... Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is truly a great film.

Read Best Reviews of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Here

What else needs to be said about Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? It is the most amazing action film in years. It is the single most imaginative piece of fiction to come to the moving going audience in a quite a ling time.

But what about the DVD? Well sadly it is the most dismal piece of work to come from Sony DVD center this year. Sony was on a streak of superb discs recently but this hack job put an end to that.

The DVD was clearly rushed to market. The transfer is not very clean at all. The MPEG2 artifacts are terrible. Those of us who are fortunate to have a widescreen TV are going to be the most unfortunate this time. The Native widescreen presentation is oh so dismal of an experience! The colors are clean but the pixel jaggies does enough damage to distract the viewer.

The Audio tracks are not at all well managed. There is no reason what so ever to waste valuable data bandwidth to do a Dolby pro-logic track. I love the fact that the disc comes with both Mandarin & English 5.1 Dolby Digital but the bass is so weak. The audio was not at all enhanced. The commentary track is nothing new, it's above average.

The Extras are well... lacking, the making of documentary is pure PR fluff sadly, and the trailers are not even the original ones that Sony was using to advertise the film. The photomontage is mediocre at best.

So why all these complaints? Sony has a masterpiece on their hands and it's pretty clear they did not give it the proper treatment. In a market place where we will have "Patch Adams: Ultimate Edition", and Bring it on: Super Special Extra Spectacular Widescreen Edition, one would assume the big guys at Sony will release a DVD of monumental standards of their big film of 2000. But NO!

So what they miss? First of all the Video was mediocre and should be redone. The Audio needs a lot of work; they should be enhanced to take advantage of all the speakers. A DTS track is perfect for this film I would say. How about a Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun Fat & Ang Lee commentary track? Most of all a Score Only track would be prudent since the film won best score at the academy awards. I am sure there are deleted scenes they could have put on the disc. How about some real making of docs, discussing the stunt work, the novels, or even the production in a larger scale. There are a wealth of pictures on this film, why not include them in user control slide shows? What happened to the music videos?

Sony rushed this disc to the market to capitalize on the films fame. The product is average at best. This film deserves a superior DVD job. Come on Sony, stop giving us special editions of Center Stage and give us a true Collector's Special Edition of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon! (Like Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on River Kwai, Men In Black, and so on... Hint Hint! )

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Being as I'm Irish and extremely stubborn, I hate to admit when I'm wrong but in two prior reviews I referred to American Psycho as "the best movie of the early 21st century," and of Gladiator's Oscar hopes I proclaimed it would be "a more than worthy recipient." As it turns out I must recant both of these statements because as of the date they were written I had yet to see the Ang Lee masterpiece Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It's a film so exquisite that to compare it to even the best of our American movies would be downright insulting.

Chow Yun-Fat stars as a legendary warrior preparing for retirement, presumably to settle down and start a family with the sister of his slain master Shu Lien (Michelle Yoeh). And though their love for eachother is obvious from on the onset, they can't quite summon the courage to speak of their hidden passion. So Lu Mu Bai (Yun-Fat), unalbe to express himself to Lien, entrusts her with a sacred sword that's to be passed on to a friend, symbolic of his retirement from rouge life. She willingly obliges only to have the sword stolen that very night by a masked intruder. It's then that we're treated to our first of many fight sequences, so breathtakingly fluent in their beauty that they are literally awe inspiring.

Our masked intruder is later revealed to us as being the daughter to the governor, Jen, whose martial arts training has been repressed by her family because of her sex. Despite this she finds training from Jade Fox, a corrupt disciple of Bai's master whose death he's sworn to avenge, as is customary in their culture. So the battle lines are drawn, from which the story unfolds, but Lee doesn't bother labeling his characters as "good guys" and "bad guys." It's almost insulting to even suggest, given how multifaceted they all are.

Even Jade Fox has her reasons for being as she is. The daughter of a sexist society, she was denied training, as was Jen. So she in turn taught herself, secretly observing until her skills were such that she enabled herself to take the life of Bai's master. To her it seemed a fitting demise to a man who saw women as inferior to himself, and all men for that matter.

As the story continues to unfold we come to discover that Jen had an affair with a theif whom she'd met while he and his gang were robbing her. Being as she's such a great warrior, she gives chase to the gang but their leader, Lo, wants her to himself. He leads her out into the desert to spar, and it's through their fighting that they're able to express themselves. As they trade blows their relationship materializes into love, their quarreling an unspoken courtship.

Romance, honor, self-respect, female empowerment. These are universal themes, the power of which can be felt even without subtitles. The actors faces, which are so expressive, combined with the movies score tells the story as well as any of it's dialogue. This is important because the rhythmic flow of their exchanges are so absorbing that I'd catch myself getting lost in the moment and forgetting to read the subtext. But that doesn't diminish my appreciation for a film so engrossing that it seemingly transports you to a time and a place the likes of which you've likely never experienced before.

What I find most amazing about this movie is the fact that it's adapted from an obscure Chinese novel. To think that their heritage is so rich that one of the greatest love stories in the history of literature can nearly be lost forever is simply mind boggling.

It's been a humbling task for me to attempt and write a review to a movie which there are no words to describe, at least none that would do it proper justice. All I can say is that I consider myself lucky to have seen a movie as intensely satisfying as Crouching Tiger come along in my lifetime. Go see this movie!

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