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 Han 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. A sequel is coming in August 28, 2015.
Made on a US$17Â million budget, with dialogue in Mandarin, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became a surprise international success, grossing $213.5Â million. It grossed US$128Â 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, direction, musical score 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 Beijing, 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 (Li Fazeng), 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 (Wang Deming), 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 (Gao Xi'an) 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 combative skills.
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 Lo had stolen her comb. She chased after him, following him to his desert cave seemingly in a quest to get her comb back. However, the pair 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 Mount Wudang, 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. Disguised in male clothing, she is accosted at an inn by a large group of warriors; armed with the Green Destiny and her own superior combat skills, she emerges victorious.
Jen visits Shu Lien, who tells her that Lo is waiting for her at Mount Wudang. 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 had hid the secrets of Wudang's far superior fighting techniques 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 romantic affections 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 Mount Wudang 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 and wishes for them to be together again; back in the desert. Jen then suddenly leaps over the side of the mountain.
Cast
- Chow Yun-fat as Li Mu Bai (C: æŽæ…•ç™½, P: LÇ Mùbái)
- Michelle Yeoh as Yu Shu Lien (T: 俞秀è"®, S: 俞秀莲, P: Yú Xiùlián)
- Zhang Ziyi as Jen Yu (English subtitled version) / Yu Jiaolong (English dubbed version) (T: 玉嬌é¾, S: 玉娇龙, P: Yù JiÄolóng)
- Chang Chen as Lo "Dark Cloud" (English subtitled version) / Luo Xiaohu (English dubbed version) (T: ç¾…å°è™Ž, S: ç½—å°è™Ž, P: Luó XiÇŽohÇ")
- Cheng Pei-pei as Jade Fox (C: 碧眼ç‹ç‹¸, P: BìyÇŽn Húli)
- Sihung Lung as Sir Te (T: è²å‹'爺, C: è´å‹'爷, P: Bèi-lèyé)
- 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 idiom "臥虎è—é¾" which describes a place or situation that is full of danger. It is from a poem of the ancient Chinese poet Yu Xin's (513-581) that reads "暗石ç–'è—è™Žï¼Œç›¤æ ¹ä¼¼è‡¥é¾", which means "behind the rock in the dark probably hides a tiger, and the coiling giant root resembles a crouching dragon." The last character in Xiaohu and Jiaolong's names mean "Tiger" and "Dragon" respectively.
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 Wudang 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. Li Mu Bai himself warns that without guidance, Jen could become a "poison dragon".
Production
The film was 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.
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 miserableâ€"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
The film was adapted into a video game, a comics series. A 34-episode Taiwanese television series based on the original novel was produced. It was released in 2004 as New Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for the US and Canadian release.
Reception
Critical response
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 150 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:
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 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.
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.
On March 18, 2013, actor Donnie Yen confirmed rumors that he had been offered a role in the new film. Around the same time, there were also conflicting reports on whether Michelle Yeoh has been approached to reprise her role of Yu Shu Lien.
On May 16, 2013 it was officially announced that the sequel had been officially greenlit. The film was retitled Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - The Green Destiny (it was initially announced as Iron Knight, Silver Vase - the same title from its source material). Donnie Yen was confirmed to star as Silent Wolf while Michelle Yeoh was confirmed to be reprising her role as Yu Shu Lien.
On August 20, 2013, it was reported that Ziyi Zhang is in talks to reprise her role as Jen Yu. But Zhang's agent Ji Lingling told the media that was not true and said: "Zhang would reprise her role only if the director was Ang Lee."
On June 10, 2014, it was announced that Nicholas Tse was offered the role of "Iron Knight" (the son of Jen Yu and Lo) while Xia Zitong was confirmed to star as "Silver Vase".
While it was initially announced that production on the film will begin June 2014 and will shoot in New Zealand and China, shooting was later bumped to August 2014.
On June 16, 2014, it was announced that the film will be a co-production between Pegasus Media, China Film Group Corporation, and the Weinstein Company, with the film expected to be released in 2016.
On July 30, 2014, actor Harry Shum, Jr. is cast in the role of Tie-Fang.
In September 2014, it was announced that this sequel will be released simultaneously on Netflix and select IMAX theatres on August 28, 2015.
On September 30, 2014, three major theater companies, Regal Entertainment Group, Cinemark Theatres and AMC Theatres announced that they would not carry the film in any of their cinemas.
References
The theme of Janet Jackson's song "China Love" was related to the film by MTV News, in which Jackson sings of the daughter of an emperor in love with a warrior, unable to sustain relations when forced to marry into royalty.
The Indian film Magadheera copies its beginning scene from this film.
There is an episode of Jimmy Neutron called "Crouching Jimmy, Hidden Sheen" which parodies the film.
The names of the pterosaur genus Kryptodrakon and the ceratopsian genus Yinlong (both meaning hidden dragon) allude to the film.
See also
- Wang Dulu
References
- Footnotes
External links
- Official website
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at the Internet Movie Database
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at AllMovie
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at Box Office Mojo
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at Rotten Tomatoes
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at Metacritic