CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON-SPECIAL EDITION (DVD/WS 2.35/ENG-FR-BOTH) DVD

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee took a break from making Western period dramas to fashion this wild and woolly martial arts spectacular featuring special effects and action sequences courtesy of the choreographer of The Matrix (1999), Yuen Woo Ping. In the early 19th century, martial arts master Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) is about to retire and enter a life of meditation, though he quietly longs to avenge the death of his master, who was killed by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei). He gives his sword, a fabled 400-year-old weapon known as Green Destiny, to his friend, fellow martial arts wizard and secret love Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), so that she may deliver it to Sir Te (Sihung Lung). Upon arrival in Peking, Yu happens upon Jen (Zhang Ziyi), a vivacious, willful politician's daughter. That night, a mysterious masked thief swipes Green Destiny, with Yu in hot pursuit -- resulting in the first of several martial arts action set pieces during the film. Li arrives in Beijing and eventually discovers that Jen is not only the masked thief but is also in cahoots with the evil Jade. In spite of this, Li sees great talent in Jen as a fighter and offers to school her in the finer points of martial arts and selflessness, an offer that Jen promptly rebukes. This film was first screened to much acclaim at the 2000 Cannes, Toronto, and New York film festivals and became a favorite when Academy Awards nominations were announced in 2001: Tiger snagged ten nods and later secured four wins for Best Cinematography, Score, Art Direction, and Foreign Language Film. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Cast Chow Yun-Fat as Li Mu Bai Michelle Yeoh as Yui Hsui Lien Zhang Ziyi as Jen Chang Chen as Lo Sihung Lung as Sir Te Cheng Pei-Pei as Jade Fox

Crew Tim Yip - Costume Designer Ang Lee - Director Tim Squyres - Editor David Linde - Executive Producer James Schamus - Executive Producer Yuen Woo Ping - Fights Choreographer Tan Dun - Composer (Music Score) Jorge Calandrelli - Songwriter James Schamus - Songwriter Tim Yip - Production Designer Peter Pau - Cinematographer Ang Lee - Producer Hsu Li-kong - Producer Bill Kong - Producer Eugene Gearty - Sound Editor Wang Hui-Ling - Screenwriter James Schamus - Screenwriter Tsai Kuo-Jung - Screenwriter

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Billed as Sense and Sensibility with kung fu, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of the wildest and most entertaining films to come down the pike in a long, long time. Ang Lee manages to spin stunning martial arts set pieces around a compelling and believable coming-of-age story. From Seven Samurai to the The Terminator, the key to a really good action movie is not the size of the gun or the variety of objects exploded, but the depth of characters; in Crouching Tiger, the players are given the same fine shading that Lee lent to The Ice Storm and other intimate character pieces. International superstars Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh give perhaps the best performances of their careers as a couple bonded by the perils of war and an intense, yet unfulfilled, love. Despite the magnitude of their star power, Chow and Yeoh are all but upstaged by Zhang Ziyi as the impetuous Jen Yu. Gorgeous, graceful, and possessing a near-lethal high kick, she dominates the film. In one show-stopping sequence, this lithe young lass cleans the floor with a room full of thick-necked guys toting blunt weapons. In another she almost takes out a band of Mongol marauders in a wild Gobi Desert melee. There she meets and eventually falls in love with bandit king Lo (Chang Chen). Lee deftly structures much of the film like a Shakespearean omantic comedy -- the fiery passion of Jen and Lo are contrasted with the quieter, deeper love of Li and Shu Lien. The fervid romance of the young couple makes the sense of loss and repression in the older duo all the more poignant. The action is startlingly fresh: Drawn from conventions in popular Chinese Wuxia kung fu literature, the heroes are such masters of martial arts that they literally, and quite believably, fly. The first confrontation between Yeoh and Zhang -- a dizzying chase over the tiled roofs of a rich man's estate, in which the two adversaries literally bounce off the walls and sail over buildings -- simply has to be seen to be believed. Romantic, haunting, and sublimely entertaining, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon should not be missed. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
 

Ang Lee: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Director (nominated) Ang Lee: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Director (winner) Ang Lee: Directors Guild of America, Best Director (winner) Ang Lee: Golden Globe, Best Director (winner) Ang Lee: Independent Spirit Awards, Best Director (winner) Ang Lee: Toronto Film Critics Association, Best Director [Runner-up] (winner) James Schamus: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) James Schamus: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Song (nominated) James Schamus: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) James Schamus: Writers Guild of America, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Jorge Calandrelli: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Song (nominated) Michelle Yeoh: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Actress (nominated) Michelle Yeoh: Toronto Film Critics Association, Best Actress - Runner-up (winner) Peter Pau: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Cinematography (winner) Peter Pau: American Society of Cinematographers, Best Cinematography (nominated) Peter Pau: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Cinematography (nominated) Peter Pau: Chicago Film Critics Association, Best Cinematography (winner) Peter Pau: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Cinematography (winner) Peter Pau: New York Film Critics Circle, Best Cinematography (winner) Tan Dun: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Score (winner) Tan Dun: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Song (nominated) Tan Dun: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Music (winner) Tan Dun: Chicago Film Critics Association, Best Original Score (winner) Tan Dun: Golden Globe, Best Original Score (nominated) Tan Dun: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Music Score (winner) Tim Squyres: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Editing (nominated) Tim Squyres: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Editing (nominated) Tim Yip: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Art Direction (winner) Tim Yip: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Costume Design (nominated) Tim Yip: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Costume Design (winner) Tim Yip: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Production Design (nominated) Tim Yip: Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Production Design (winner) Tsai Kuo-Jung: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Tsai Kuo-Jung: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Tsai Kuo-Jung: Writers Guild of America, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Wang Hui-Ling: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Wang Hui-Ling: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Wang Hui-Ling: Writers Guild of America, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Zhang Ziyi: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Supporting Actress (nominated) Zhang Ziyi: Chicago Film Critics Association, Most Promising Actress (winner) Zhang Ziyi: Independent Spirit Awards, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Zhang Ziyi: Toronto Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress (winner)

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Foreign Language Film (winner) Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Picture (nominated) British Academy of Film and Television, Best Foreign Language Film (winner) British Academy of Film and Television, Best Makeup and Hair (nominated) British Academy of Film and Television, Best Picture (nominated) British Academy of Film and Television, Best Sound (nominated) British Academy of Film and Television, Best Visual Effects (nominated) Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Foreign Film (winner) Chicago Film Critics Association, Best Foreign Film (winner) Golden Globe, Best Foreign Language Film (winner) Hong Kong Film Awards, Best Picture (winner) Independent Spirit Awards, Best Picture (winner) Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Best Picture (winner) National Board of Review, Best Foreign Film (winner) Telluride Film Festival, Film Presented (nominated) Toronto Film Critics Association, Best Picture (winner) Toronto International Film Festival, People's Choice Award (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: Mandarin, English, French Subtitle Options: English, French Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DDS: Dolby Digital Surround Additional Features: Digitally mastered audio & anamorphic video Ang Lee and James Schamus commentary Bravo making-of special: "Unleashing the Dragon" Conversation with Michelle Yeoh featurette Photo montage Link to website Filmographies Animated menus Production notes Scene selections DVD Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1: Cinemascope MPAA Rating: PG13 DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 120 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 0. Scene Selections 1. Start [:52] 2. Li Mu Bai [5:27] 3. Sir Te [2:01] 4. Jen [3:24] 5. Governor Yu [3:37] 6. Sword thief [2:36] 7. To catch a thief [4:03] 8. Flyers [1:47] 9. Calligraphy [5:36] 10. Police Inspector Tsai [1:08] 11. What Shu discovered [2:30] 12. Yellow Hill: Midnight [2:32] 13. Li vs. Jade Fox [1:31] 14. Jade Fox's disciple [5:55] 15. "Give yourself up." [3:06] 16. Home late [2:55] 17. "The sword is back." [3:00] 18. Dark Cloud [1:33] 19. "Come with me!" [19:40] 20. Young Master Long [3:08] 21. Seeking a lesson [3:41] 22. Invincible Sword Goddess [3:12] 23. Sisterly advice [2:27] 24. Jen vs. Shu [1:51] 25. Li vs. Jen [2:15] 26. "And so you die!" [5:20] 27. One breath left [8:36] 28. Wudan Mountain [3:43]