'' () is a
Wuxia ("
Martial Arts and chivalry")
Film released in
2000 . It is a
China -
Hong Kong -
Taiwan -
USA co-production. It was directed by
Ang Lee and features an international Chinese ethnic cast of
Chow Yun-Fat ,
Michelle Yeoh ,
Zhang Ziyi and
Chang Chen . It was choreographed by
Yuen Wo Ping and based on the fourth novel in a
Pentalogy , known in China as the Crane-Iron Pentalogy, by
Wang Dulu .
Made on a mere $15 million budget, with dialogue in
Mandarin , ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' became an international success. It grossed $128 million in the
United States alone, where foreign-language films are very rarely embraced by the public. The critically-acclaimed movie was nominated for numerous awards around the world including the
Academy Awards '
Best Picture . It won four Academy Awards, including
Best Foreign Language Film . The score by composer
Tan Dun also received much acclaim. ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' received the
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in
2001 .
It was filmed in
Beijing as well as the
Anhui ,
Hebei ,
Jiangsu and
Xinjiang Provinces of
China .
Although a fiction, the story is set in the
Qing Dynasty in
China , likely during the reign of the
Kangxi Emperor (circa 1680). Support for this is found in the props, the hair and clothing styles, the appearance of a
Telescope and the fact that the desert raiders still expected government officials to be Han Chinese, as opposed to Manchu.
The story follows two experienced ). Both are in love but feel they cannot act on their feelings because of Shu Lien's marital commitment years ago. Shu Lien was bethrothed to Mu Bai's "Brother in Oath". Although he is dead, the two's relationship are still constrained by commonplace propriety.
Meanwhile Jen (玉嬌龍; pinyin: Yù Jiāolóng) (played by
Zhang Ziyi ), a
Manchu aristocrat's daughter, yearns for
Adventure , not life as a court wife. Jen is a secret apprentice to the evil warrior woman Jade Fox (played by veteran
Cheng Pei-pei ), whom Mu Bai has sworn to kill for murdering his master.
At the start of the film Mu Bai leaves his legendary sword Green Destiny to Sir Te for safekeeping. The sword, however, is stolen by Jen. To retrieve it Mu Bai fights with Jen on several occasions, but he refuses to kill her because he sees her potential and wants to train her as his apprentice. Jen also fights with Shu Lien, who spares her out of feelings of love and friendship.
Jen, headstrong in her powers and emboldened by her forbidden love to the desert bandit Lo (played by
Chang Chen ), consequently does not accept Mu Bai as master nor Shu Lien as a friend. She faces the dilemma of choosing between Lo's love, a mundane life as a court official's wife, an outlaw existence with Jade Fox, or Li Mu Bai as a teacher.
The title ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (臥虎藏龍) is attributed to a Chinese saying which teaches one to conceal one's strengths from others in order to preserve the element of surprise. It also references two of the characters: Jen's Mandarin name (Jiāo lóng) means "pampered
Dragon ", and Lo's (Xiào Hǔ) means "little
Tiger ".
The
Fantasy aspect of the film comes into play whenever the three protagonists fight. They possess seemingly
Magical powers, literally vaulting across roofs, running up walls, and moving with superhuman ease. These powers are explained in the movie only by the protagonists' training and secret knowledge of the ''
Wudang '' school of martial arts. This aspect of the film, which is characteristic in the ''wuxia'' film genre, also lends itself to frequent
Parody .
The film is an adaptation of the fourth novel in a ''; ''
Precious Sword, Golden Hairpin ''; ''
Sword's Force, Pearl's Shine ''; ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''; and ''
Iron Knight, Silver Vase ''.
The pentalogy has been adapted into a series of
Graphic Novel s:
''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' represented Taiwan to compete the Best Foreign Language Film in the Academy Award and won the title albeit it is an "international co-production" by Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and USA. It was produced by the following film companies:
Asia Union Film & Entertainment Ltd. ,
China Film Co-Production Corporation ,
Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia,
EDKO Film Ltd. ,
Good Machine ,
Sony Pictures Classics ,
United China Vision ,
Zoom Hunt International Productions Company, Ltd .
Unlike most Chinese films, this one was supported by
Sony Pictures and therefore received marketing typical of Western films.
Despite its international fame, the movie was not as well received in China and Hong Kong as the rest of the world. It was perceived by many as another ''wuxia'' movie among countless in the past four decades. Lee's unique directing style in handling subtle emotions was well-perceived by the western world but not appreciated by some Chinese, since it was thought not to fit well into the traditional wuxia style. Also, there was the accent issue, which bothers some native Chinese speakers. Although neither Chow (a native Cantonese speaker) nor Yeoh (an overseas Chinese born and raised in
Malaysia ) speaks Mandarin as a
Native Language , Lee insisted that the actors and actresses should speak themselves, and not have their voices dubbed. Members of the Mandarin-speaking audience complained that they had to read the Chinese subtitles because the actors' accents were hard to understand. In addition, the accents of the actors did not always match the roles in the story, which disturbed Chinese audience's perception since they know well about the intricate differences of dialects and cultural setting.
- ASCAP Film And Television Music Awards : Top Box Office Films (Dun Tan)
-
- ---Best Foreign Language Film (Taiwan)
- ---Best Cinematography (Peter Pau)
- ---Best Music, Original Score (Dun Tan)
- ---Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Timmy Yip director )
- Academy Of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films ("Saturn Award"): Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film
- Australian Film Institute : Best Foreign Film
-
- ---Best Film not in the English Language
- ---David Lean Award for Direction (Ang Lee)
- ---Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music (Dun Tan)
- ---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 (Dun Tan)
- 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 (Dun Tan)
- 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 (Dun Tan)
- Hong Kong Film Awards : Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Pei-pei Cheng), Best Director (Ang Lee), Best Cinematography (Peter Pau), Best Original Film Score (Dun Tan), Best Original Film Song (CoCo Lee {Link without Title} ), Best Action Choreography (Woo-ping Yuen), Best Sound Design (Eugene Gearty)
- Hong Kong Film Critics Society : 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 (Dun Tan), 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)
- ''' Academy Awards :
- ---Best Picture
- ---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, Dun Tan and James Schamus [lyricist ) - 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 (Dun Tan 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 Only (Yun-Fat Chow and Michelle Yeoh)
- British Society Of Cinematographers : Best Cinematography Award (Peter Pau)
- Broadcast Film Critics Association : Best Picture
