Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Information

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. The film also won four BAFTAs and two Golden Globe Awards, one for Best Foreign Film. Along with its awards success, Crouching Tiger continues to be hailed as one of the greatest and most influential foreign language films in the United States, especially coming out of China. It has been praised for its martial arts sequences, story, and cinematography.

Plot

The film is set in the Qing Dynasty during the 43rd year (1779) of the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. 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 they 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 Jade 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 runs away from her husband on the wedding night before the marriage could be consummated. She fights several warriors in an inn and is victorious.

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 destroys each weapon that Shu Lien wields until losing to a broken sword held at her neck. When Shu Lien shows mercy and lowers the sword, Jen injures Shu Lien's arm. Mu Bai arrives and pursues Jen into a bamboo forest. Following a duel where Mu Bai regains possession 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 exits to retrieve an ingredient for the antidote for the poisoned dart, Mu Bai prepares to die. With his last breaths, he finally confesses his love for Shu Lien. He dies in her arms as Jen returns, too late to save him. The Green Destiny is returned 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.

Cast

• Chow Yun-Fat as Li Mu Bai
• Michelle Yeoh as Yu Shu Lien
• Zhang Ziyi as Jen Yu (Mandarin version) / Jiao Long (English dubbed version)
• Chang Chen as Lo "Dark Cloud" / Luo Xiaohu (English dubbed version)
• Cheng Pei-pei as Jade Fox
• Sihung Lung as Sir Te
• Li Fazeng as Governor Yu
• Gao Xi'an as Bo
• Hai Yan as Madam Yu
• Wang Deming as Police inspector Tsai / Prefect Cai Qiu
• Huang Suying as Aunt Wu
• Yang Rui as Maid
• Li Kai as Gou Jun Pei
• Feng Jianhua as Gou Jun Sinung
• Ma Zhongxuan as Mi Biao
• Li Baocheng as Fung Machete Chang
• Yang Yongde as Monk Jing
• Zhang Shaocheng as Nightman

Themes and interpretations

Title

The name "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" is a literal translation of the Chinese proverb "??"??" which refers to the mysteries (or hidden talents, undiscovered talents) that lie beneath 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.

Gender roles

The themes of gender roles and obligations are present throughout the film. In a storyline that begins prior to the timeline of the movie, Jade Fox is denied entry to the Wudang monastery because she is a woman. Intent on learning the secrets of Wudang fighting style, she poisons Li Mu Bai's master and steals a manual to learn Wudang fighting 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. Finally, there is Shu Lien. Although she lives the life of a warrior, she adheres strictly to the moral codes and traditions of the patriarchal society she lives in. She respects male privilege and consistently suppresses her desire for Li Mu Bai due to certain societal obligations. (She was originally engaged to Mu Bai's brother, who, according to Shu Lien's narrative in the beginning of the movie, had died during a fight while trying to save Mu Bai from his opponent. So they felt it would not be honorable to pursue a relationship.)

Rong Cai of Emory University asserts that the sword Green Destiny is passed along to men, and is (with the exception of Jen) used only by male figures, making the sword a phallic symbol of masculinity and male authority. 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. 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.

In The Medieval Hero on Screen: Representations from Beowulf to Buffy, Diana Slampyak claims that Jen is a medieval hero in exile. She illustrates the interplay between Chinese and English cinema tradition but ultimately suggests that Jen, as the "woman warrior" of the film, overthrows the European patriarchal tradition.

Teacher-student relationship

A teacher's desire to have a worthy 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 of 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 she claims would not teach her, but did take sexual advantage of her) brought her to a life of crime. At times, Li Mu Bai and Jen's conversations more than hint that the desire for a teacher-student relationship could turn into a romantic relationship. 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.

Poison

Poison is also a significant theme in the film. 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. and quest for vengeance: she poisons the master of Wudang, attempts to poison Jen and succeeds in killing Mu Bai using a poisoned needle.

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.

Production

Filming

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." 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."

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. 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."

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.

Soundtrack

The score was composed by Tan Dun, originally performed by Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai National Orchestra, and Shanghai Percussion Ensemble. It also features many solo passages for cello played by Yo-Yo Ma. The "last track" (A Love Before Time) features Coco Lee. The music for the entire film was produced in two weeks.

Marketing

Video game

The film was also adapted into a video game.

Novels

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, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Comics

A comic series was developed from the plot of the film as well.

Television

A Taiwanese television series based on the original novel was produced. It was later compiled into a DVD, New Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for the West in 2004. The DVD film was over an hour and half longer than the original theatrical film.

Reception

Critical response

"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 strokes. 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

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, while Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 93 out of 100, based on 31 reviews.

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; 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".

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:

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.

The film is ranked at No. 497 on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time and at No. 66 in the magazine's 100 Best Films of World Cinema, published in 2010.

Box office

The film premiered in cinemas on December 8, 2000 in limited release within the US. During its opening weekend, the film opened in 15th place grossing $663,205 in business, showing at 16 locations. On January 12, 2001, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon premiered in cinemas in wide release throughout the US 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. 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. During its final week in release, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon opened in a distant 50th place with $37,233 in revenue. 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. For 2000 as a whole, the film would cumulatively rank at a worldwide box office performance position of 19.

Accolades

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.

Award	Category	Nominee	Result
73rd Academy Awards	Best Foreign Language Film
	Best Picture
	Best Director	Ang Lee
	Best Adapted Screenplay	Tsai Kuo-Jung, Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus
	Best Original Song	Jorge Calandrelli, Tan Dun, James Schamus
	Best Costume Design	Tim Yip
	Best Art Direction	Tim Yip
	Best Film Editing	Tim Squyres
	Best Original Score	Tan Dun
	Best Cinematography	Peter Pau
2000 American Society of Cinematographers Awards	Best Cinematography	Peter Pau
54th British Academy Film Awards	Best Film
	Best Foreign Language Film
	Best Actress in a Leading Role	Michelle Yeoh
	Best Supporting Actress	Zhang Ziyi
	Best Cinematography	Peter Pau
	Best Makeup and Hair
	Best Editing	Tim Squyres
	Best Costume Design	Tim Yip
	Best Director	Ang Lee
	Best Music	Tan Dun
	Best Adapted Screenplay	Tsai Kuo-Jung, Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus
	Best Production Design	Tim Yip
	Best Sound
	Best Visual Effects
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2000	Best Foreign Film
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2000	Most Promising Actress	Zhang Ziyi
	Best Original Score	Tan Dun
	Best Cinematography	Peter Pau
	Best Foreign Film
2000 Directors Guild of America Awards	Best Director	Ang Lee
58th Golden Globe Awards	Best Foreign Language Film
	Best Director	Ang Lee
	Best Original Score	Tan Dun
20th Hong Kong Film Awards	Best Film
	Best Director	Ang Lee
	Best Screenplay	Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus, Tsai Kuo-Jung
	Best Actor	Chow Yun-Fat
	Best Actress	Zhang Ziyi
	Best Actress	Michelle Yeoh
	Best Supporting Actor	Chang Chen
	Best Supporting Actress	Cheng Pei-pei
	Best Cinematography	Peter Pau
	Best Film Editing	Tim Squyres
	Best Art Direction	Tim Yip
	Best Costume Make Up Design	Tim Yip
	Best Action Choreography	Yuen Wo Ping
	Best Original Film Score	Tan Dun
	Best Original Film Song	Tan Dun, Jorge Calandrelli, Yee Kar-Yeung, Coco Lee
	Best Sound Design	Eugene Gearty
Independent Spirit Awards 2000	Best Picture
	Best Director	Ang Lee
	Best Supporting Actress	Zhang Ziyi
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2000	Best Picture
	Best Cinematography	Peter Pau
	Best Music Score	Tan Dun
	Best Production Design	Tim Yip
National Board of Review Awards 2000	Best Foreign Language Film
	Top Foreign Films
2000 New York Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Cinematography	Peter Pau
Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2000	Best Picture
	Best Director	Ang Lee
	Best Actress	Michelle Yeoh
	Best Supporting Actress	Zhang Ziyi
2000 Toronto International Film Festival	People's Choice Award	Ang Lee
Writers Guild of America Awards 2000	Best Adapted Screenplay	Tsai Kuo-Jung, Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus
37th Golden Horse Awards " 2000	Best Feature Film
	Best Director	Ang Lee
	Best Leading Actress	Michelle Yeoh
	Best Leading Actress	Zhang Ziyi
	Best Screenplay Adaption	Tsai Kuo-Jung, Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus
	Best Cinematography	Peter Pau
	Best Film Editing	Tim Squyres
	Best Art Direction	Tim Yip
	Best Original Score	Tan Dun
	Best Sound Design	Eugene Gearty
	Best Action Choreography	Yuen Wo Ping
	Best Visual Effects	Leo Lo, Rob Hodgson

Sequel

In January 2013, it was reported that a sequel to the movie would begin shooting in May, with Harvey Weinstein producing. It is to have fight choreography by Yuen Woo Ping and a script by John Fusco, which will be based on the fifth and final book of the Crane-Iron Series, Iron Knight, Silver Vase.

See also

• Wang Dulu