4k-UHD/Movie Review: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

 

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the martial arts masterpiece of a film from 2000. It was directed by Ang Lee and starred Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Cheng Pei-Pei, Chang Chen, Xian Gao, and Sihung Lung. The story is set in 19th-century Imperial China. Fat and Yeoh play two master warriors named Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien. Bai is a Wudang swordsman. He and Shu Lien head a private security company. The two are in love, but because Shu Lien had been engaged to Li Mu Bai's close friend, they do not act on their feelings. Li Mu Bai is also grieving the murder of his teacher by a mysterious woman named Jade Fox (played by Pei-Pei), and decides to retire, giving his sword, Green Destiny, to Shu Lien to bring to their benefactor, Sir Te. She brings the sword to Sir Te's palace, where he is hosting a Governor and his family in advance of Governor Yu's daughter, Jen (played by Ziyi). The Green Destiny is stolen, which sets off the rest of the film's plot. 

The 4k-set is a two-disc set released in 2016 containing a UHD disc and a regular blu-ray disc, each containing the identical content. The A/V quality is outstanding. Both the audio and video of the UHD disc are at or near reference-quality. Although I will note that some of the audio seemed out of synch with the video upon my first viewing.  I think, however, that was my 4k player's fault, rather than a problem with the disc. 

Most of the bonus content from the prior physical media releases is included in this release, and there is some new bonus material created for the 4k release. There are two commentary tracks on the movie. The first is with director Ang Lee and screenwriter James Schamus. The second is by the cinematographer Peter Pau. Both commentary tracks provide a wealth of information about the film. Pau's is particularly enlightening because he explained how they pulled off all the visual effects on a very limited budget, which meant that the film had very few CGI effects. Then, there is a conversation with Michelle Yeoh and a photo gallery that was carried over from prior releases. New for this release is an introduction to the film by Ang Lee, several deleted scenes, a making-of featurette that includes some footage from the original making-of material included on the original release, and two versions of the music videa for the film's ending credits song, A Love Before Time (one in English and one in Mandarin). The most extensive bonus feature is a three-part retrospective on the movie that includes interviews with Lee, Schamus, and the movie's editor, Tim Squyres. 

The movie was a surprise hit, especially given that it was filmed in China, all of the dialogue was in Mandarin, and it played in US theaters with English Subtitles, had a cast made up of actors who were not extremely famous in the United States. Fat and Yeoh were pretty big international stars, and Pei-Pei was well-known in Hong Kong and China. This was the first major film role for Ziyi, who really had to carry much of the movie, especially during the half-hour-long flashback sequence in the middle of the film. Although she was only 19 when the movie was filmed, she did a wonderful job. Even though she was not billed as the movie's lead, she ended up being the lead. The movie came on the heels of the first Matrix film (and used the same stunt coreographers) and really (along with the first Rush Hour film, which was released a couple of years earlier) revitalized the martial arts movie genre. Unlike Rush Hour, this one incorporated fantasy elements into the story, such as the ability of some characters to "fly" (actually jump and soar, kind of like how Superman initially flew in the comics), which required a lot of wirework by the actors. Interestingly, Fat had never done a similar movie to this in his career, which was pretty extensive before this film, and Ziyi had a dance background, with no formal martial arts training. Yeoh, who had been in many martial arts films before this one, tore her ACL early on in filming, so the filmmakers had to use a lot of tricks to make it look like she was more mobile than she actually was. All the actors did an extremely good job with the action sequences and the dramatic moments. 

Unlike some martial arts films, it has a very good story. It is a bit harder to follow the story because you have to read subtitles while trying to watch what is going on (unless, of course, you understand Mandarin). Even so, the story is not that difficult to follow, even having to rely on subtitles. The only time it gets tough is when the characters are talking during the action sequences, so you have to try to read what they are saying and watch the action. While it does have a lot of fighting and some character deaths, there is not a lot of gore. There is also some sexual content, but no nudity. Ultimately, it is a wonderful movie that is worth watching and is a must-see for anyone who is a practitioner of martial arts and/or a fan of martial arts movies.