| Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Traditional | 臥虎藏龍 |
| Simplified | 卧虎藏龙 |
| Mandarin | Wòhǔ Cánglóng |
| Cantonese | Ngo6fu2 Cong4lung4 |
| Directed by | Ang Lee |
| Produced by | Hsu Li-Kong William Kong Ang Lee |
| Screenplay by | Wang Hui-Ling James Schamus Tsai Kuo-Jung |
| Story by | Wang Dulu |
| Starring | Chow Yun-Fat Michelle Yeoh Zhang Ziyi Chang Chen |
| Music by | Tan Dun |
| Cinematography | Peter Pau |
| Editing by | Tim Squyres |
| Distributed by | EDKO Film (HK) Sony Pictures Classics |
| Release date(s) | July 6, 2000 (HK) July 7, 2000 (Taiwan) December 8, 2000 (US) |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Country | Taiwan Hong Kong United States China |
| Language | Mandarin |
| Budget | $17,000,000[1] |
| Gross revenue | $213,525,736[1] |
| Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 臥虎藏龍 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 卧虎藏龙 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a 2000 wuxia film. An American-Chinese-Hong Kong-Taiwanese co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of ethnic Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen. The film was based on the fourth novel in a pentalogy, known in China as the Crane Iron Pentalogy, by wuxia novelist Wang Dulu. The martial arts and action sequences were choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping.
Made on a mere US$17 million budget, with dialogue in Mandarin, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became a surprise international success, grossing $213.5 million. It grossed US$128 million in the United States, becoming the highest-grossing foreign-language film in American history. It has won over 40 awards. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (Taiwan) and three other Academy Awards, and was nominated for six other Academy Awards, including Best Picture.[2] The film also won three BAFTAs and two Golden Globes, one for "Best Foreign Film" as well as additional nominations for ten BAFTAs including "Best Picture".
Contents |
Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) is an accomplished Wudang swordsman. Long ago, his master was murdered by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei), a woman who sought to learn Wudang skills. Mu Bai is also a good friend of Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), a female warrior. Mu Bai and Shu Lien have developed feelings for each other, but have never acknowledged or acted on them. Mu Bai, intending to give up his warrior life, asks Shu Lien to transport his sword, also referred to as the Green Destiny, to the city of Peking, as a gift for their friend Sir Te (Sihung Lung). At Sir Te's estate, Shu Lien meets Jen (Zhang Ziyi), the daughter of Governor Yu (Fa Zeng Li), a visiting Manchu aristocrat. Jen, destined for an arranged marriage and yearning for adventure, seems envious of Shu Lien's warrior lifestyle.
One evening, a masked thief sneaks into Sir Te's estate and steals the sword. Mu Bai and Shu Lien trace the theft to Governor Yu's compound and learn that Fox has been posing as Jen's governess for many years. Mu Bai makes the acquaintance of Inspector Tsai (De Ming Wang), a police investigator from the provinces, and his daughter May (Li Li), who have come to Peking in pursuit of Fox. Fox challenges the pair and Sir Te's servant Master Bo (Xian Gao) to a showdown that night. Following a protracted battle, the group is on the verge of defeat when Mu Bai arrives and outmaneuvers Fox. Before Mu Bai can kill Fox, the masked thief reappears and partners with Fox to fight. Fox resumes the fight and kills Tsai before fleeing with the thief (who is revealed to be Fox's protegée, Jen). After seeing Jen fight Mu Bai, Fox realizes Jen had been secretly studying the Wudang manual and has surpassed her in skill.
At night, a desert bandit named Lo (Chang Chen) breaks into Jen's bedroom and asks her to leave with him. A flashback reveals that in the past, when Governor Yu and his family were traveling in the western deserts, Lo and his bandits had raided Jen's caravan and kidnapped her. However, Lo and Jen soon fell passionately in love. Lo eventually convinced Jen to return to her family, though not before telling her a legend of a man who jumped off a cliff to make his wishes come true. Because the man's heart was pure, he did not die. Lo came to Peking to persuade Jen not to go through with her arranged marriage. However, Jen refuses to leave with him. Later, Lo interrupts Jen's wedding procession, begging her to come away with him. Nearby, Shu Lien and Mu Bai convince Lo to wait for Jen at Wudan Mountain, where he will be safe from Jen's family, who are furious with him.
Jen visits Shu Lien, who tells her that Lo is waiting for her at Wudang Mountain. After an angry dispute, the two women engage in a duel. Wielding the Green Destiny, Jen is able to defend herself and injures Shu Lien. Mu Bai arrives and pursues Jen into a bamboo forest. Following a duel where Mu Bai regains possesion of the Green Destiny, he decides to throw the sword over a waterfall. In pursuit, Jen dives into an adjoining river to retrieve the sword, and is then rescued by Fox. Fox puts Jen into a drugged sleep and places her in a cavern; Mu Bai and Shu Lien discover her there. Fox suddenly reappears and attacks the others with poisoned darts. Mu Bai blocks the needles with his sword and avenges his master's death by mortally wounding Fox, only to realize that one of the darts hit him in the neck. Fox dies, confessing that her goal had been to kill Jen, because she was furious that Jen hid the secrets of Wudan from her.
As Jen runs off to prepare the antidote for the poisoned dart, Mu Bai prepares to die. With his last breaths, he finally confesses his love for Shu Lien, and dies in her arms as Jen returns too late to save him. The Green Destiny is returned back to Sir Te. Jen later goes to Wudang Mountain and spends one last night with Lo. The next morning, Lo finds Jen standing on a balcony overlooking the edge of the mountain. In an echo of the legend that they spoke about in the desert, she asks him to make a wish. He complies, wishing for them to be together, back in the desert. Jen then leaps over the side of the mountain and into the clouds.
The title of the film is a Chinese proverb that refers to the hidden mysteries and qualities underneath a person.[3] The name "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" is a literal translation of the Chinese proverb "卧虎藏龙" which refers to the mysteries that lie below the surface of an otherwise normal-looking individual. Whereas the first part of the film takes place in society restrained by law and order, the second part, including the flashback scene, occurs in the world of individuals and thus the characters seen in the first part of the film are revealed in their true form.[3]
The theme of gender roles and obligations is an important aspect of the plot. In a storyline that begins prior to the timeline of the movie, Jade Fox is denied entry to the Wudan monastery because she is a woman. Intent on learning the secrets of Wudang fighting style, she poisons the master and steals a manual to learn Wudang on her own, which sets in motion the events of the film.
In Cinema Journal, Kenneth Chan notes the restrictions binding the female characters and their freedom and resulting actions. There is Jade Fox, whose bitterness against the limitations male-dominated society has set upon her resulted in her open revolt. Then there is Jen, the young woman at the verge of her wedding is still wavering, battling between her desire to be accepted and respected by her family and society and her wish to be free.[4] Finally, there is Shu-lien. Although she lives the life of a warrior, Shu-lien adheres strictly to the moral codes and traditions of the patriarchal society she lives in. She respects male privilege[5] and consistently suppresses her desire for Li Mubai due to certain societal obligations.[5]
Rong Cai of Duke University asserts that the sword, Green Destiny, is passed along men, and is with the exception of Jen used only by male figures making the sword a phallic symbol of masculinity and male authority.[6] Jen’s desire to use the sword, and her theft of it, thus also represents her wish to attain both the freedom and the power Li Mu-Bai possesses.[7] Jen's suicide at the end of the film signifies the hopelessness of her quest for freedom. She realizes that marriage would confine her, the freedom she attempted killed someone, and her love for Lo would require her to give up the personal freedom she always wanted.[8]
A teacher's desire to have a talented student, the obligations between a student and a master, and tensions in these relationships are central to the characters' motives, conflicts between the characters, and the unfolding of the film's plot. Li Mu Bai is burdened with the responsibility for avenging his master's death, and turns his back on retirement to live up to this obligation. His fascination with the prospect of having Jen as a disciple also motivates his behavior, and that of Jade Fox.
Regarding conflicts in the student-teacher relationship, the potential for exploitation created by the subordinate position of the student and the tensions that exist when a student surpasses or resists a teacher are explored. Jen hides her mastery of martial arts from her teacher, Jade Fox, which leads both to their parting ways and to Jade Fox's attempt on Jen's life. At the same time, Jade Fox's own unorthodox relationship with a Wudan master (who would not teach her, but, he suggests, did take sexual or romantic advantage of her) that she claims brought her to a life of crime. At times, Li Mu Bai and Jen's coversations more than hint at the line between the desire for a teacher-student relationship and a more romantic relationship.[9] Jen responds to these feelings, and her desire to not submit to a teacher, by turning away from Li Mu Bai when she jumps in the lake after the Green Destiny, Li Mu Bai's sword.
Poison is also a significant theme in this movie, both literally and figuratively. In the world of martial arts, poison is considered the act of one who is too cowardly and dishonorable to fight; and indeed, the only character that explicitly fits these characteristics is Jade Fox. The poison is a weapon of her bitterness[10] and quest for vengeance: she poisons the master of Wudang, attempts to poison Jen and succeeds in killing Mu Bai.
However, the poison is not only of the physical sort: Jade Fox’s tutelage of Jen has left Jen spiritually poisoned, which can be seen in the lying, stealing and betrayal Jen commits. Even though she is the one who initially trained Jen, Jen is never seen to use poison herself. This indicates that there is hope yet to reform her and integrate her into society. In further play on this theme by the director, Jade Fox, as she dies, refers to the poison from a young child,"the deceit of an eight year old girl", obviously referring to what she considers her own spiritual poisoning by her young apprentice Jen.
Although its Academy Award was presented to Taiwan, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was in fact an international co-production between companies in four regions: the Chinese company China Film Co-Production Corporation; the American companies Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia, Sony Pictures Classics and Good Machine; the Hong Kong company EDKO Film; and the Taiwanese Zoom Hunt International Productions Company, Ltd; as well as the unspecified United China Vision, and Asia Union Film & Entertainment Ltd., created solely for this film.
The film was made in Beijing, with location shooting in the Anhui, Hebei, Jiangsu and Xinjiang provinces of China. The first phase of shooting was in the Gobi Desert where it would consistently rain. Director Ang Lee noted that "I didn't take one break in eight months, not even for half a day. I was miserable—I just didn't have the extra energy to be happy. Near the end, I could hardly breathe. I thought I was about to have a stroke."[11] The stunt work was mostly performed by the actors themselves and Ang Lee stated in an interview that computers were used "only to remove the safety wires that held the actors". "Most of the time you can see their faces," he added, "That's really them in the trees."[12]
Another compounding issue were the varying accents of the four lead actors: Chow Yun Fat is from Hong Kong and spoke Cantonese natively and Michelle Yeoh is from Malaysia and spoke English. Only Zhang Ziyi spoke with a native Mandarin accent that Ang Lee wanted.[11] Chow Yun Fat said that on "the first day [of shooting] I had to do 28 takes just because of the language. That's never happened before in my life."[11]
Because the film specifically targeted Western audiences rather than the domestic audiences who were already used to Wuxia films, English subtitles were needed. Ang Lee, who was educated in the West, personally edited the subtitles to ensure they were satisfactory for western audiences.[13]
A Taiwanese television series based on the original novel was produced. It was later compiled into a DVD film titled New Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the West in 2004. The DVD film was over an hour and half longer than the original theatrical film.
The film was also adapted into a video game.
Originally written as a novel series by Wang Du Lu starting in the late 1930s, the film is adapted from the storyline of the fourth book in the series.
A comic series was developed from the plot of the film as well.
| "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which is based on an early 20th century novel by Wang Du Lu, unfolds much like a comic book, with the characters and their circumstances being painted using wide brush stokes. Subtlety is not part of Lee's palette; he is going for something grand and melodramatic, and that's what he gets." |
| —James Berardinelli, writing in ReelViews[14] |
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was very well received in the Western world, receiving critical acclaim and numerous awards. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 97% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 143 reviews,[15] while Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 93 out of 100, based on 31 reviews.[16]
Some Chinese-speaking viewers were bothered by the accents of the leading actors. Neither Chow (a native Cantonese speaker) nor Yeoh (who was born and raised in Malaysia) speaks Mandarin as a mother tongue. All four main actors spoke with different accents: Chow speaks with a Cantonese accent;[17] Yeoh with a Malaysian accent; Chang Chen a Taiwanese accent; and Zhang Ziyi a Beijing accent. Yeoh responded to this complaint in a December 28, 2000, interview with Cinescape. She argued that "My character lived outside of Beijing, and so I didn't have to do the Beijing accent". When the interviewer, Craig Reid, remarked that "My mother-in-law has this strange Sichuan-Mandarin accent that's hard for me to understand", Yeoh responded: "Yes, provinces all have their very own strong accents. When we first started the movie, Cheng Pei Pei was going to have her accent, and Chang Zhen was going to have his accent, and this person would have that accent. And in the end nobody could understand what they were saying. Forget about us, even the crew from Beijing thought this was all weird".[18]
The film led to a boost in popularity of Chinese wuxia films in the western world, where they were previously little known, and led to films such as House of Flying Daggers and Hero marketed towards western audiences. The film also provided the breakthrough role for Zhang Ziyi's career, who noted that:
Because of movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Hero and Memoirs of a Geisha, a lot of people in the United States have become interested not only in me but in Chinese and Asian actors in general. Because of these movies, maybe there will be more opportunities for Asian actors".
The film also ranks at No.497 on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.[19]
The character of Lo, or "Dark Cloud," the desert bandit, influenced the development of the protagonist of the Prince of Persia series of video games.[20]
Ranked No.66 in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.[21]
The film premiered in cinemas on December 8, 2000 in limited release within the U.S.. During its opening weekend, the film opened in 15th place grossing $663,205 in business, showing at 16 locations.[1] On January 12, 2001, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon premiered in cinemas in wide release throughout the U.S. grossing $8,647,295 in business, ranking in 6th place. The film, Save the Last Dance came in 1st place during that weekend grossing $23,444,930.[22] The film's revenue dropped by almost 30% in its second week of release, earning $6,080,357. For that particular weekend, the film fell to 8th place screening in 837 theaters. Save the Last Dance, remained unchanged in first place grossing $15,366,047 in box office revenue.[23] During its final week in release, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon opened in a distant 50th place with $37,233 in revenue.[24] The film went on to top out domestically at $128,078,872 in total ticket sales through a 31-week theatrical run. Internationally, the film took in an additional $85,446,864 in box office business for a combined worldwide total of $213,525,736.[1] For 2000 as a whole, the film would cumulatively rank at a worldwide box office performance position of 19.[25]
Gathering widespread critical acclaim at the Toronto and New York film festivals, the film also became a favorite when Academy Awards nominations were announced in 2001. The film was however screened out of competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.[26]
| Award[27][28] | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 73rd Academy Awards[29] | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | |
| Best Picture | Nominated | ||
| Best Director | Ang Lee | Nominated | |
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Tsai Kuo-Jung, Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus | Nominated | |
| Best Original Song | Jorge Calandrelli, Tan Dun, James Schamus | Nominated | |
| Best Costume Design | Tim Yip | Nominated | |
| Best Art Direction | Tim Yip | Won | |
| Best Editing | Tim Squyres | Nominated | |
| Best Original Score | Tan Dun | Won | |
| Best Cinematography | Peter Pau | Won | |
| 2000 American Society of Cinematographers Awards | Best Cinematography | Peter Pau | Nominated |
| 54th British Academy Film Awards[30] | Best Film | Nominated | |
| Best Foreign Language Film | Won | ||
| Best Actress in a Leading Role | Michelle Yeoh | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Zhang Ziyi | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography | Peter Pau | Nominated | |
| Best Makeup and Hair | Nominated | ||
| Best Editing | Tim Squyres | Nominated | |
| Best Costume Design | Tim Yip | Won | |
| Best Director | Ang Lee | Won | |
| Best Music | Tan Dun | Won | |
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Tsai Kuo-Jung, Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus | Nominated | |
| Best Production Design | Tim Yip | Nominated | |
| Best Sound | Nominated | ||
| Best Visual Effects | Nominated | ||
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2000[31] | Best Foreign Film | Won | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2000[32] | Most Promising Actress | Zhang Ziyi | Won |
| Best Original Score | Tan Dun | Won | |
| Best Cinematography | Peter Pau | Won | |
| Best Foreign Film | Won | ||
| 2000 Directors Guild of America Awards[33] | Best Director | Ang Lee | Won |
| 58th Golden Globe Awards[34] | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | |
| Best Director | Ang Lee | Won | |
| Best Original Score | Tan Dun | Nominated | |
| 20th Hong Kong Film Awards[35] | Best Film | Won | |
| Best Director | Ang Lee | Won | |
| Best Screenplay | Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus, Tsai Kuo-Jung | Nominated | |
| Best Actor | Chow Yun-Fat | Nominated | |
| Best Actress | Zhang Ziyi | Nominated | |
| Best Actress | Michelle Yeoh | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actor | Chang Chen | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Cheng Pei-pei | Won | |
| Best Cinematography | Peter Pau | Won | |
| Best Film Editing | Tim Squyres | Nominated | |
| Best Art Direction | Tim Yip | Nominated | |
| Best Costume Make Up Design | Tim Yip | Nominated | |
| Best Action Choreography | Yuen Wo Ping | Won | |
| Best Original Film Score | Tan Dun | Won | |
| Best Original Film Song | Tan Dun, Jorge Calandrelli, Yee Kar-Yeung, Coco Lee | Won | |
| Best Sound Design | Eugene Gearty | Won | |
| Independent Spirit Awards 2000 | Best Picture | Won | |
| Best Director | Ang Lee | Won | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Zhang Ziyi | Won | |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2000[36] | Best Picture | Won | |
| Best Cinematography | Peter Pau | Won | |
| Best Music Score | Tan Dun | Won | |
| Best Production Design | Tim Yip | Won | |
| 2000 National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Awards[37] | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | |
| Top Foreign Films | Won | ||
| 2000 New York Film Critics Circle Awards[38] | Best Cinematography | Peter Pau | Won |
| Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2000[39] | Best Picture | Won | |
| Best Director | Ang Lee | Won | |
| Best Actress | Michelle Yeoh | Won | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Zhang Ziyi | Won | |
| 2000 Toronto International Film Festival | People's Choice Award | Ang Lee | Won |
| Writers Guild of America Awards 2000[40] | Best Adapted Screenplay | Tsai Kuo-Jung, Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus | Nominated |
| 37th Golden Horse Awards – 2000[41] | Best Feature Film | Won | |
| Best Director | Ang Lee | Nominated | |
| Best Leading Actress | Michelle Yeoh | Nominated | |
| Best Leading Actress | Zhang Ziyi | Nominated | |
| Best Screenplay Adaption | Tsai Kuo-Jung, Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography | Peter Pau | Nominated | |
| Best Film Editing | Tim Squyres | Won | |
| Best Art Direction | Tim Yip | Nominated | |
| Best Original Score | Tan Dun | Won | |
| Best Sound Design | Eugene Gearty | Won | |
| Best Action Choreography | Yuen Wo Ping | Won | |
| Best Visual Effects | Leo Lo, Rob Hodgson | Won |
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