☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) – A. Lee
First rewatch since it was released. At the time, Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh
were making their first crossover films, from Hong Kong to Hollywood. Of course, this film was directed in Taiwan
by Ang Lee who had already broken through with The Ice Storm and Sense and
Sensibility (and would have future success with Brokeback Mountain). This film
won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film (check this). Although epic with beautiful cinematography,
it also manages to capture something of the Shaw Brothers and the classic Hong
Kong kung fu flick. The pacing and
regular fight scenes (albeit with wires) keep Lee’s interest in relationship
drama at bay, although the complicated plot (complete with long flashbacks)
does help to maintain viewer interest. Yeoh is great as always but Chow is too
reserved, somehow losing his natural charisma (that featured so well in his
films for John Woo). Newcomer Zhang ZiYi
holds her own with these two superstars. Worth another look.
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