 Named "Best Picture of the Year" by over 100 critics nationwide! Two master warriors (Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh) are faced with their greatest challenge when the treasured Green Destiny sword isstolen. A young aristocrat (Zhang Ziyi) prepares for an arranged marriage, but soon reveals her superior fighting talents and her deeply romantic past. As each warrior battles for justice, they come face to face with their worst enemy - and the inescapable, enduring power of love. Set against 19th-century China's breathtaking landscape, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is the action-packed, box office smash from acclaimed director Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm) featuring stunning martial arts choreography by Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix). Storyline: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is a timeless story that takes place in QING China when miracles were credible and spirits and gods were present in man's world. It is not unbelievable that zen warriors float through the air, skim the water and battle in trees and on rooftops. Pain, revenge and duty are the stuff that bind us in this world and are the main plot line of the movie, but in the afterlife love and faith linger on. Written by bastetg4 Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, July 26, 2010 -- A sword by itself rules nothing. With the success of 2000's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon came a new trend that saw Western moviegoers embracing the effects-heavy period Eastern Martial Arts "Wuxia" pictures that deliver high-flying action-as-ballet with substantive plots and rich characters. A far cry from both the typical American style run-and-gun mindless Action movies and the John Woo (Hard Boiled, The Killer) and Jackie Chan (The Legend of Drunken Master) flicks that had previously defined Western interest in Eastern cinema, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon dazzled Western audiences not only with its acrobatic grace and visual finesse, but a rich and compelling story that was worthy of the breathtaking visuals and settings, not to mention its wonderfully diverse and engaging characters. The acceptance of Eastern style in the Western world culminated with The Forbidden Kingdom, a picture that tells the story of an American teenager and Wuxia fan pulled through time and forced to fight in ancient China alongside Jet Li and Jackie Chan, that picture containing several elements reminiscent of and seemingly influenced by Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Wudang warrior Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat, The Replacement Killers), overcome by grief and sorrow after the death of his master at the hands of the Jade Fox (Pei-pei Cheng), is ready to leave his violent past behind and finally proclaim his true love for Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh, Memoirs of a Geisha), the holder of his sword, the venerable Green Destiny. With Li Mu Bai's blessing, she entrusts the blade to Sir Te (Sihung Lung), but the weapon is stolen by the Jade Fox's apprentice, Jen (Ziyi Zhang), a confused girl hurtling towards adulthood and a life she may not want and doesn't fully understand. Arranged to be married to a prominent member of the community, Jen instead longs for her true love, an outlaw named Lo (Chen Chang). While concealing her true identity as a Wudang master -- greater even than Jade Fox -- Jen must choose her path, her friends, her enemies, and her love before she and the world around her spiral out of control. Though known and renowned for its visuals and fight choreography -- both of which define Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon on a superficial level -- Director Ang Lee's (Hulk) picture delivers a much more profound and emotionally-satisfying experience that propels the movie to heights that its effects alone cannot achieve. A tale of honor, passion, love, discipline, and the search for meaning in both life and death, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon effortlessly meshes its thematic content with its special effects wizardry while also embracing healthy doses of excitement and humor. The result is a film that dazzles on both ends of the spectrum, achieving a balance where neither the effects nor the emotional core overwhelm the experience but instead compliment one another in a way that elevates Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon to "classic" status. The film's centerpiece theme -- that of Jen's hidden wants, needs, and abilities -- remains mysterious and unfolds with time; thereby, the story progresses at a pace that allows for its characters to become fully developed and the audience wholly immersed in their world. The action, too, merely plays into the story; for as well-staged as it may be, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon weaves it into the story rather than framing the story around the action and special effects, allowing, then, for each action scene to play as all the more meaningful, tense, and exciting. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon succeeds thanks to the many on- and off-screen attributes that support both the story and the special effects. The film is populated with several standout performances, its trio of lead characters played by Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, and Ziyi Zhang in particular effortlessly disappearing into their roles while always demonstrating a command of both the physical and emotional elements of their respective parts. Ang Lee's direction sparkles, too; his camera often remains steady and unobtrusive during expository and dialogue scenes, but it comes alive during the gorgeously choreographed action sequences. The picture feeds on the kinetic energy and Lee's camera moves about as gracefully as the combatants framed within its lens, the result a visual explosion of skill and grace that's yet to be duplicated. The camera also bears witness to exquisite period costumes and sets that spring to life in every scene, never failing to create a seamless and wholly-convincing environment, this achievement earning the film an Academy Award for Art Direction-Set Decoration. The film is also complimented by Peter Pau's (Shoot 'Em Up) Oscar-winning cinematography and Tan Dun's Oscar-winning score, each of which add the final touches to a cinematic masterpiece that defines what superb filmmaking on both sides of the camera is all about. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is a modern classic that's remembered first for its high-flying stunt work, but it's a picture with so much more to offer. A tale of love, uncertainty, maturation, and honor, Ang Lee's film is as thematically gripping as it is visually satisfying. Not to be outdone by the story and effects, the cast is uniformly excellent and the film's sound, editing, costuming, set decorations, and cinematography are all of an exceptional quality. It's no wonder that Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is remembered as a benchmark film, and Sony's second Blu-ray release, like its first, does it right. It features strong picture and sound quality alongside a healthy collection of extras, this new-for-2010 edition sporting an additional commentary track with Cinematographer Peter Pau. The disc may be identified from the old one by the omission of the silver "experience high definition" logo at the bottom of the case and the addition of a "Sony Pictures Classics" banner across the top. The back of the case adds the Pau commentary in the supplemental listings and corrects the misidentified language tracks from the previous release. Highly recommended. Cast Notes: Yun-Fat Chow (Master Li Mu Bai [as Chow Yun Fat]), Michelle Yeoh (Yu Shu Lien), Ziyi Zhang (Jen Yu [Mandarin version] / Jiao Long [English dubbed version] [as Zhang Ziyi]), Chen Chang (Lo 'Dark Cloud' / Luo Xiao Hu), Sihung Lung (Sir Te), Pei-pei Cheng (Jade Fox [as Cheng Pei-Pei]), Fa Zeng Li (Governor Yu), Xian Gao (Bo), Yan Hai (Madame Yu), De Ming Wang (Police Inspector Tsai / Prefect Cai Qiu), Li Li (May [as Li Li]), Su Ying Huang (Auntie Wu), Jin Ting Zhang (De Lu), Rei Yang (Maid), Kai Li (Gou Jun Pei).
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