Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Directed by	Ang Lee
Produced by	Li-Kong Hsu William Kong Ang Lee see article
Written by	Wang Du Lu (book) Hui-Ling Wang James Schamus Kuo Jung Tsai
Starring	Chow Yun-Fat Michelle Yeoh Zhang Ziyi Chang Chen
Music by	Tan Dun
Cinematography	Peter Pau
Editing by	Tim Squyres
Release date(s)	May 16, 2000 (premiere at Cannes) July 6, 2000 July 7, 2000 September 22, 2000 December 15, 2000 December 22, 2000 December 26, 2000 January 4, 2001 January 5, 2001
Running time	120 min.
Language	Mandarin
Budget	$15,000,000 US (est.)
Gross revenue	Domestic: $128,078,872 WorldWide: $213,525,736

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (traditional Chinese: 臥虎藏龍; simplified Chinese: 卧虎藏龙; pinyin: Wòhǔ Cánglóng) is a Chinese-language film in the wuxia (chivalric and martial arts) style, released in 2000. A China-Hong Kong-Taiwan-United States 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 movie was based on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Style, known in China as the Crane-Iron Position. The martial arts sequences featured Yuen Wo Ping, well known for his work in The Matrix and other films.

Made on a mere US$15 million budget, with dialogue in Mandarin, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became a surprise international success. After its US premiere at the Hawaii International Film Festival, it grossed US$128 million in the United States alone,^[1] 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 1 Plot 2 Themes and Interpretations 3 Production and marketing 4 Reception and aftermath 5 Awards 5.1 Won 5.2 Nominations 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Plot

The film begins during the historic Qing Dynasty in China, in the 43rd year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1778).^[3]. Renowned and accomplished Wudang swordsman Li Mu-bai (Chinese: 李慕白; pinyin: Lǐ Mùbái) (Chow Yun-Fat), intent on leaving his warrior life behind, asks friend and confidant Yu Shu-lien (Chinese: 俞秀蓮; pinyin: Yú Xiùlián) (Michelle Yeoh) to escort his sword, the Green Destiny, to friend Sir Te for safekeeping in Peking, leaving Li Mu-bai time to commemorate the death of his master, murdered long ago by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei), a woman who sought to learn Wudang martial arts.

In Peking, Shu-lien delivers the sword to Sir Te's estate, where she meets Jen (traditional Chinese: 玉嬌龍; simplified Chinese: 玉娇龙; pinyin: Yù Jiāolóng) (Zhang Ziyi), the daughter of Governor Yu, a visiting Manchu aristocrat. Jen, destined for an arranged marriage and yearning for adventure, is fascinated and enchanted by Shu-lien and her warrior lifestyle, and the two quickly form a close bond. Later that evening, a masked thief sneaks onto Sir Te's estate and steals the Green Destiny. The quick, acrobatic thief skillfully avoids the guards while being pursued by Shu-lien across the estate's rooftops and walls. The chase culminates in a frenzied fight through the estate's courtyards before the thief escapes, at which time Shu-lien observes that the thief was trained at Wudang skills.

Mu-bai and Shu-lien trace the theft to Governor Yu's compound and learn that Jade Fox has been posing as Jen's governess for many years to evade the authorities. Jade Fox challenges Inspector Tsai, his daughter May, and Master Bo to a showdown; she easily defeats all 3 of them before Mu-bai arrives and outmaneuvers Jade Fox, but the masked thief reappears and, to Mu-bai's amazement, uses Wudang techniques. After another short confrontation in which Tsai is killed, the thief and Jade Fox escape, and in a confrontation, Jade Fox realizes that Jen (the "thief") has secretly read her Wudang manual and surpassed her in skill. Mu-bai catches the masked Jen attempting to return the Green Destiny, and after defeating her, suggests that she become his apprentice. She refuses and escapes.

The dart that prevented Shu-Lien from capturing Jen came from a man named Lo (Chinese: 羅小虎; pinyin: Luó Xiǎohǔ) (Chang Chen), who returns and asks Jen to leave with him. A flashback reveals that Lo is a desert bandit called Dark Cloud who had raided Jen's caravan and stolen her comb. Jen chased after him to get it back; Lo defeated and kidnapped her. However, they eventually fell in love. Lo convinced Jen to return to her family, though not before telling her a legend of a man who jumped off a cliff but did not die. Instead, his wishes came true.

Lo has come to Beijing to persuade Jen not to go through with her arranged marriage. However, Jen refuses to leave with him. Soon after, she is married in an elaborate ceremony, and the two embark in Crouching-Tiger, Hidden-Dragon-Style together. Mu-bai and Shu-lien find Lo and tell him to wait for Jen at Wudan Mountain. The day after her wedding, Jen runs away. She is at a crossroads: should she be a court official's wife, the lover of a desert bandit, an outlaw under Jade Fox, or a martial artist under Li Mu-bai? Headstrong, she rejects the path of Shu-lien and Mu-bai, and starts a fight in a restaurant.

Jen finds Shu-lien, who tells her that Lo is at Wudang Mountain. Jen is outraged, thinking that Shu-lien is setting her up. Shu-lien is angry at Jen's lack of gratitude, and says that she always knew Jen was the thief, but covered it up for the sake of Jen's family. The two women fight, and it becomes clear that Shu-lien has better technique but Jen has the better sword (the Green Destiny). Mu-bai arrives and pursues Jen into the forest. He again offers to train her and she says that she will accept him as her master if he can take the Green Destiny from her in three moves. To Jen's surprise, Mu-bai snatches the sword from her hand in a single movement. When Jen still refuses to become Mu-bai's pupil, he throws the Green Destiny over a waterfall. Jen chases after the sword, and Mu-bai is too shocked to pursue her.

Jen retrieves the sword and is rescued by Jade Fox. She puts Jen into a drugged sleep and leaves her in a cavern. Mu-bai and Shu-lien find her there. Jade Fox suddenly reappears and attacks the others with poisoned dart. Mu-bai blocks all but one needle with his sword. He avenges his master's death by mortally wounding Jade Fox, only to realize that he has been hit with a poisoned dart. With his last breaths, Mu-bai confesses his love for Shu-lien. Shu-lien, heartbroken and furious, picks up the Green Destiny and walks over to Jen who sits in shock waiting for the punishment she knows she deserves. However, Shu-lien, realizing that Jen has a chance at finding the love that she herself never got to enjoy, spares Jen's life and instructs her always to remain true to herself. She then has the Green Destiny returned to Sir Te and leaves Jen to contemplate her advice.

Jen goes to Wudang Mountain and spends one last night with Lo, who is waiting for her. 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 them to be together, back in the desert, and Jen leaps into the clouds.

[edit] Themes and Interpretations

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Fighting and Submitting to Patriarchy

In Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, resistance to gender inequality is a central theme that sets the plot in motion and drives the story forward. 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.

The three main female characters represent different points on the spectrum of their relation to patriarchy. There is Jade Fox, whose bitterness against the limitations male-dominated society has set upon her resulted in her open revolt, although with cowardly fighting style (her use of poisonous arrows is the primary example for this). 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]. Both Jade Fox and Jen are regarded as women whose desire to be free has led to out-of control actions that threaten the male-dominated hierarchy^[5]. 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^[6] and constantly attempts to persuade Jen to conform to society’s expectations^[7]. Although she, too, has desires that seem impossible to be fulfilled (her love for Li Mu-Bai), she does not challenge the limitations of this desire and so supports the dominant power structure^[8].

Male supremacy in martial arts is secured by excluding women from its highest forms,^[9] and the weapons used represent this exclusion. In some interpretations, the fact that the sword Green Destiny is passed along men, and is with exception of Jen used only by male figures shows that the sword is a phallic symbol of masculinity and male authority^[10]. 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 has^[11]. When she steals it, she not only takes possession of an invaluable sword, but poses a direct threat to the male authority and martial hegemony that is associated with the sword^[12]. Shu-lien reacts to the theft by pursuing Jen and attempting to regain the sword for Li Mu-Bai. While she does so in part because she promises to find the sword, and because it belongs to the man she loves, she is again implicitly reaffirming the status quo of male dominance by retrieving the primary representation of male power for them.

The deaths of the main characters are similarly considered to be affirmations of the patriarchal structures of society. Most clearly, here is the death of Jade Fox, whose cruelty – a reaction to the confines of women in society – are rewarded with death by Li Mu-Bai, the prime representative of patriarchy in this film. Subsequently, Li Mu-Bai himself dies of the poisonous arrow Jade Fox shot at him. However, this does not signify the death of patriarchy by any means: it can almost be considered a sacrifice in order to bring Jen to her senses^[13]. His death fills Jen with regret, as his attempt to save her put him in danger and ultimately killed him. The film ends with Jen’s suicide, which can be seen as an act of repentance^[14] and punishment for the desires that lead her astray^[15]. The suicide also signifies the hopelessness of Jen’s 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^[16].

Poison

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^[17] 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.

Hiding and Revealing

The title Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actually refers to a Chinese proverb which means “talented or dangerous people hidden from view.” In the course of this film, there are many things that are hidden and revealed. Most obviously, the title refers to Jen, who is at first sight an innocent young girl in the house of Yu. She hides her identity as a martial arts fighter. When Li Mu-Bai first encounters her, he seeks to learn who her master is; only later is it revealed that she taught herself the secrets of the Wudang school. This fact was also hidden from her governess, who had taught her the basics of fighting. When it is revealed to Jade Fox, she sees this as a betrayal and attempts to kill Jen. Jade Fox, too, is a dangerous person hidden from view. She conceals herself in the house of Yu to avoid being arrested, and reveals herself only to kill. Finally, there are also Mu-Bai and Shu-lien’s feelings which remained hidden over years, and are only openly admitted when Mu-Bai is dying and they can no longer be fulfilled.

[edit] Production and marketing

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 the People's Republic of China.

Unlike most Chinese films, this one was supported by American distributors and therefore received marketing typical of Western films. It opened first in China and made its US premiere as the opening film of the 2000 Hawaii International Film Festival.^[18]

The movie was also adapted into a video game.

[edit] Reception and aftermath

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Crouching Tiger 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 Crouching Tiger positive reviews, based on 141 reviews,^[19] while Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 93 out of 100, based on 31 reviews.^[20]

Some Chinese-speaking viewers were bothered by the accents of the leading actors. Neither Chow (a native Cantonese speaker) nor Yeoh (an overseas Chinese 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^[21]; 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 Szechuan-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."^{[citation needed]}

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 number 497 on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time, and at number 229 on IMDB's user voted Top 250 Films.^[22][23]

[edit] Awards

[edit] Won

• ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards: Top Box Office Films (Tan Dun)
• Academy Awards:^[2]
  • Best Foreign Language Film (Taiwan)
  • Best Cinematography (Peter Pau)
  • Best Music, Original Score (Tan Dun)
  • Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Timmy Yip [art director])
• Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films ("Saturn Award"): Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film
• Australian Film Institute: Best Foreign Film
• BAFTA Awards:
  • David Lean Award for Direction (Ang Lee)
  • Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music (Tan Dun)
  • Best Costume Design (Timmy Yip)
• Bergen International Film Festival: Audience Award (Ang Lee)
• Bodil Awards: Best Non-American Film
• Bogey Awards (Germany): Bogey Award
• Boston Society of Film Critics: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography (Peter Pau)
• Broadcast Film Critics Association: Best Foreign Language Film
• Chicago Film Critics Association: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography (Peter Pau), Best Original Score (Tan Dun)
• Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association: Best Foreign Film, Best Cinematography (Peter Pau)
• Directors Guild of America: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Ang Lee)
• Film Critics Circle of Australia: Best Foreign Language Film
• Flanders International Film Festival (Belgium): Georges Delerue Prize (Tan Dun)
• Florida Film Critics Circle: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography (Peter Pau)
• Golden Bauhinia Awards (Hong Kong): Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Ziyi Zhang), Golden Bauhinia - Best Director (Ang Lee)
• Golden Globe Awards:
  • Best Foreign Language Film (Taiwan)
  • Best Director - Motion Picture (Ang Lee)
• Golden Horse Film Festival (Taiwan): Best Picture (Ang Lee), Best Action Direction (Woo-ping Yuen), Best Editing (Tim Squyres), Best Sound Effects (Eugene Gearty), Best Visual Effects (Leo Lo and Rob Hodgson)
• Golden Trailer Awards: Best Art and Commerce (for the trailer), Best Romance (for the trailer)
• Grammy Awards:
  • Best Score Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media (Tan Dun)
• Hong Kong Film Awards: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Pei-pei Cheng), Best Director (Ang Lee), Best Cinematography (Peter Pau), Best Original Film Score (Tan Dun), Best Original Film Song (CoCo Lee [performer]), Best Action Choreography (Woo-ping Yuen), Best Sound Design (Eugene Gearty)
• Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards: Special Achievement Award (Woo-ping Yuen)
• Hugo Awards: Best Dramatic Presentation
• Independent Spirit Awards: Best Feature, Best Supporting Female (Ziyi Zhang), Best Director (Ang Lee)
• Kansas City Film Critics Circle: Best Foreign Language Film
• London Film Critics Circle: Best Foreign Language Film
• Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Picture, Best Cinematography (Peter Pau), Best Music Score (Tan Dun), Best Production Design (Timmy Yip)
• MTV Movie Awards: Best Fight (Ziyi Zhang vs. entire bar)
• Motion Picture Sound Editors ("Golden Reel Award"): Best Sound Editing - Dialogue & ADR, Domestic Feature Film
• National Board of Review: Best Foreign Language Film
• New York Film Critics Circle: Best Cinematographer (Peter Pau)
• Online Film Critics Society: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography (Peter Pau)
• Robert Festival (Denmark): Best Non-American Film
• Satellite Awards: Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language
• Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America: Best Script
• Southeastern Film Critics Association: Best Foreign Language Film
• Toronto Film Critics Association: Best Picture, Best Supporting Performance - Female (Ziyi Zhang)
• Toronto International Film Festival: People's Choice Award (Ang Lee)
• Young Artist Awards: Best Young Actress in an International Film (Ziyi Zhang)

[edit] Nominations

• Academy Awards:^[2]
  • Best Picture (Murphy)
  • Best Director (Ang Lee)
  • Best Adapted Screenplay (Hui-Ling Wang, James Schamus and Kuo Jung Tsai)
  • Best Costume Design (Timmy Yip)
  • Best Editing (Tim Squyres)
  • Best Original Song (Jorge Calandrelli, Tan Dun [composers] and James Schamus [lyricist] Coco Lee [performer]) - for the song "A Love Before Time"
• Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films ("Saturn Award"): Best Actor (Yun-Fat Chow), Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Best Supporting Actress (Ziyi Zhang), Best Director (Ang Lee), Best Writing (Hui-Ling Wang, James Schamus and Kuo Jung Tsai), Best Music (Tan Dun and Yo-Yo Ma), Best Costumes (Timmy Yip)
• Amanda Awards (Norway): Best Foreign Feature Film
• American Cinema Editors ("Eddie Award"): Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic (Tim Squyres)
• American Society of Cinematographers: Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases
• Art Directors Guild: Excellence in Production Design Award Feature Film - Period or Fantasy Films
• BAFTA Awards:
  • Best Film
  • Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh)
  • Best Supporting Actress (Ziyi Zhang)
  • Best Screenplay - Adapted (James Schamus, Hui-Ling Wang and Kuo Jung Tsai)
  • Best Cinematography (Peter Pau)
  • Best Editing (Tim Squyres)
  • Best Sound (Drew Kunin, Reilly Steele, Eugene Gearty and Robert Fernandez)
  • Best Production Design (Timmy Yip)
  • Best Make Up/Hair (Yun-Ling Man and Siu-Mui Chau)
  • Best Special Visual Effects (Rob Hodgson, Leo Lo, Jonathan F. Styrlund, Bessie Cheuk and Travis Baumann)
• Blockbuster Entertainment Awards: Favorite Action Team [Internet Only] (Yun-Fat Chow and Michelle Yeoh)
• British Society of Cinematographers: Best Cinematography Award (Peter Pau)
• Broadcast Film Critics Association: Best Picture

[edit] See also

• A Love Before Time (end-credit title song)
• Cinema of China
• Cinema of Hong Kong
• Cinema of Taiwan
• New Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikinews has related news: 2006 Oscars handed out at Kodak Theatre

• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at the Internet Movie Database
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at Allmovie
• A philosophical discussion of the film
• Michelle Yeoh: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
• Chinese Culture behind "Hidden Dragon and Crouching Tiger
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at Rotten Tomatoes
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at Metacritic
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at Box Office Mojo

Awards and achievements
Preceded by All About My Mother  Spain	Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film 2000	Succeeded by No Man's Land  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Preceded by American Beauty Conrad L. Hall	Academy Award for Best Cinematography Peter Pau 2000	Succeeded by The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Andrew Lesnie
Preceded by The Red Violin John Corigliano	Academy Award for Best Original Score Tan Dun 2000	Succeeded by The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Howard Shore
Preceded by All About My Mother  Spain	Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film 2001	Succeeded by No Man's Land  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Preceded by All About My Mother  Spain	BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language 2000	Succeeded by Amores Perros  Mexico

v • d • e Films directed by Ang Lee 1990s Pushing Hands (1992) • The Wedding Banquet (1993) • Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) • Sense and Sensibility (1995) • The Ice Storm (1997) • Ride with the Devil (1999) 2000s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) • Hulk (2003) • Brokeback Mountain (2005) • Lust, Caution (2007) • Taking Woodstock (2009) Shorts Chosen (2002)

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