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Guest Zoom Rabbit

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Guest Zoom Rabbit

I went to go see Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the theater today...and it rocked! I command everyone to go see it. Now. Just turn off the computer and go. biggrin.gif

 

Bear in mind that I absolutely HATE martial arts flicks from China with subtitles and silly plots. This movie, though, is so well done that the subtitles go away, and you seem to watch it in Chinese. The story is a beautiful story about warrior monks and mystics that any Star Wars fan should enjoy. Admiral, you have no choice but to see this movie. As-one.gif

 

There is MORE news, even more wonderful news, which I learned while watching the trailers before the movie. They have finally worked out the CGI logistics to film JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and put it on the screen in live action. What I saw in the trailer looked very good...the first movie (Fellowship of the Ring) is coming out this Christmas, with the next two coming out each consecutive year.

 

This is a wonderful time to be a fan of sword and sorcery flicks. biggrin.gif

 

 

 

 

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'Oh, no--you did not shoot that green s**t at me!'

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Really? I didn't like the movie at all. The plot was hard to follow at times(all Chineese ppl look the same [JUST KIDDING!!!]) and there was only one or two good fight scenes.

 

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Was I supposed to eat the heads too? 'Cause I took nooo prisioners!

 

Once again, evil is defeated through the use of decorative agricultural technology!

 

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Guest Zoom Rabbit

Well, you do have to bring an attention span with you... rolleyes.gif

 

The eastern cultural stuff may be confusing to some...like when Li Mu Bai fought that Yu chick so long to get his sword back, only to throw it into the river as soon as he had it.

 

Odd, huh? No...zen. The Buddhist teachings of nonattatchment are behind that bit, as I will illustrate with one of my favorite zen stories (paraphrased, of course.)

 

Two Buddhist monks who practiced zen encountered each other at an inn one evening. 'I have wonderful news,' said the elder monk. 'After a lifetime of study and contemplation, I have finally become enlightened.'

 

'That is truly wonderful!' exclaimed the second monk.

 

The elder monk took an old scroll from his sack. An ancient tome (in the days before printing,) it was a lengthy mass of parchment, brimming with tediously hand-scrawled notations. 'This scroll has been passed down through generations of masters, to mine, then me. I have no more need for learning...and this ancient wisdom can now serve you best, my friend.' Smiling, he handed the scroll reverently to the second monk.

 

'Thank you,' smiled back the monk, who immediately thrust the scroll into the fireplace where they were seated.

 

The elder monk cried out, and grabbed for the burning scroll. "Ah! What are you doing?'

 

The second monk grabbed his hands and said, 'What are you doing?'

 

wink.gif This is the lesson Li Mu Bai was trying to teach the Yu chickie...unfortunately, she didn't 'get it' and dove after the sword.

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Originally posted by Zoom Rabbit:

There is MORE news, even more wonderful news, which I learned while watching the trailers before the movie. They have finally worked out the CGI logistics to film JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and put it on the screen in live action. What I saw in the trailer looked very good...the first movie (Fellowship of the Ring) is coming out this Christmas, with the next two coming out each consecutive year.

 

You didn't know that?

 

I heard about it coupla years ago (shortly after I first heard about the Dungeons & Dragons movie.

 

<small>'Course, I missed D&D.</small> frown.gif

 

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"Do fish-people eat fish, or would that be like humans eating monkeys?"

"Humans do eat monkeys. In fact humans eat other humans. . . Y'know, as a species, we are really quite unpleasant."

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Guest SlasherX

 

Reviews and Quotes

Have a fun time reading all of them, LOL

 

"CTHD reminds us--simply, powerfully, indelibly--what we go to the movies for. A delightful one-of-a-kind martial arts romance where astounding fight sequences alternate with passionate yet idealistic love duets, "Crouching Tiger" is a fusion film from top to bottom. With impeccable production and costume design by Tim Yip and sweeping cinematography by Peter Pau (who also did John Woo's "The Killer"), it's also a strikingly beautiful world, featuring elaborate costumes and picturesque vistas selected from all across mainland China. An irresistible action extravaganza! A spectacular panoply of fight sequences and acrobatic action that make this the Asian martial-arts film the West, all unknowing, has been waiting for! Eye-catching! An electrifying battle. Breathtaking! "Crouching Tiger's" blend of the magical, the mythical and the romantic fills a need in us we might not even realize we had." -Kenneth Turan, LOS ANGELES TIMES

 

"A mix of THE MATRIX and martial arts. A tale of love and revenge in ancient China that also contains some of the most audacious action sequences ever committed to film." -John Anderson, NEWSDAY

 

"**** highest rating! THE MATRIX is kids stuff compared to Ang Lee¹s rapturous CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, the first art house kung fu movie with true office potential. CROUCHING TIGER is handsome, passionate, and fun. It¹s everything we go to the movies for. Ang Lee¹s sensuously gorgeous epic. A gravity-defying masterwork, whose fight sequences were choreographed by Yuen Wo-Ping of THE MATRIX. A lush period martial arts flick featuring breathtaking fight scenes and a star crossed romance. Poised to be bigger than THE MATRIX. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is handsome, passionate and fun. It¹s everything we go to the movies for. This is also a rare martial arts movie to embrace the female perspective." -Jami Bernard, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

 

"An exhilarating kung fu movie!" ­HARPER¹S BAZAAR "Full of fantastic balletic martial arts scenes choreographed by the guy who did THE MATRIX" -ESQUIRE "A powerful film, a terrific movie! A thrilling action drama that roars and soars! It¹s contemplative and it kicks ass!"

-Richard Corliss, TIME MAGAZINE (Asia)

 

"If a star was born in Cannes, it was Zhang Ziyi, the 20 year old in Ang Lee¹s sensation, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. This was the most buoyant film at Cannes, and not just Zhang, Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-Fat spend so much time flying on invisible wires in Lee¹s fantabulous martial arts ballets. The first action scene, with Yeoh chasing Zhang up walls and across roofs, earned spontaneous applause. CROUCHING TIGER made the most searing, soaring impression. For two hours, we were all on wires. Cannes has emotional lift-off. And Zhang emerged as an imposing actress, a radiant presence. We¹d call her the young star of Cannes 2000. Ang Lee pays glorious tribute to both Chinese action films and Western-style love stories. A mature crowd pleaser, with brisk pacing and a lingering melancholy. There are fierce sword fights and ancient enmities, gravity defying battles on rooftops and treetops, rapturous smooches in the Gobi Desert-genuine old fashioned movie magic all around"

-Richard Corliss, TIME MAGAZINE

 

"The uncontested hit of the Cannes Film Festival was Ang Lee¹s foreign entry CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. With gravity-defying roof hops, sinewy swordplay and enough acrobatic kicks to make Jet Li proud, the high velocity fable, starring Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh, was proof that the melodrama maestro of THE ICE STORM has reinvented himself as the international scene¹s hottest action director."

-Stephen Garrett, TIME OUT NEW YORK

 

"A soulful action film by the master of comedy of manners! Brimming with physical grace and was held together by an ethereal calm as its battlers soared through the air. Chow Yun Fat strides onto the screen proud, erect and easy; he¹s Cary Grant with a ponytail. His witty reserve is used beautifully here, and the picture is more fun than it has a right to be. Mr. Lee¹s takes the action form, which often attacks the screen with energy and movement, and creates a placid surface that offers a new perspective and a spirituality not normally found in these pictures. It could be SENSE AND SENSIBILITY with a body count. CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON glides through the trees like its characters; it¹s an epic that breaks the laws of gravity."

-Elvis Mitchell, THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

"I can safely guarantee that one movie alone Ang Lee¹s CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON- will rescue your faith in the medium and deliver you, in metaphorical terms, to the promised land. Ang Lee has fused the sensibilities of his two cultures in making what many critics are calling one of the finest action films of all time. Foreign language films have been nominated for best picture in the past; some critics are betting this will be the first to win." -Jack Matthews, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

 

"**** (highest rating) I hope that everyone who sees Ang Lee¹s rousing martial arts saga bursts into applause as we all did, critics and non-critics alike, for the sheer, soaring joy with which it invigorates a mighty Hong Kong genre. Epic storytelling! Fantastically independent of the laws of physics. Women leap from wall to wall, propelled like Fred Astaire. The fights in Crouching Tiger are breathtaking! Soaring and romantic, wild and serene, feminist and gutsy, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is one of the best movies of the year!" -Lisa Schwartzbaum, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

 

"But the singular sensation was CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, Ang Lee¹s smart and soaring TITANIC meets THE MATRIX martial-arts romance that had audiences exploding in applause. Gravity defying fight scenes are matched by the grace of a stellar cast, including Asian superstars Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-Fat, and newcomers Chang Chen and the astounding Zhang Ziyi, who accomplish as much with a heart melting glance as with a thrilling leap through the air."

­ELLE, Jennifer Weisel

 

"Cannes¹ most satisfying film! With some of the most spectacular airborne kung fu scenes in history, the movie soars for two hours and the audience soars with it!"

-Mary Corliss, FILM COMMENT

 

"The masterpiece of the Cannes Film Festival! Ang Lee¹s CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is a marvel! A stunning period martial arts film!" -Noah Cowan, FILMMAKER MAGAZINE

 

"Add ballet¹s grace and the kinetic movement of the martial arts to Lee¹s trademark sensitivity, and you get CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON." - Howard Feinstein, Time Out New York

 

"A truly unique martial-arts film- a spellbinder that brings a poet¹s eye to stunts of Matrix-level intensity! Let Lee and MATRIX fight-choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping dazzle your eyes. Lee raises kickass action to the level art. Zhang Ziyi is a sensational newcomer."

-Peter Travers, ROLLLING STONE

 

"This martial arts epic is packed with fight scenes that make THE MATRIX look like a game of rock, paper, scissors. High flying femme fatale ZHANG ZIYI steals the show." -NEWSWEEK

 

"One of the most visually stunning of martial arts movies and a tongue-in-cheek historical epic saturated with beauty and wit. A gorgeous action movie. A unique and sumptuous martial arts adventure." -Michael Wilmington, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

 

"Gives the old style romantic Hollywood epic a much needed shot in the arm. A martial arts GONE WITH THE WINDŠAudiences love CROUCHING TIGER" -Mark Horowitz, NEW YORK MAGAZINE

 

"It¹s breathtaking"

-Chris Hewitt, PIONEER PRESS

 

"Lee¹s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was my favorite, a slam-bang action movie with lovely medieval trappings plus the sly humor and emotional depth" -Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times

 

"One of the most moving, exhilarating films of 2000! This one does what movies are supposed to do: It takes you someplace else. One of the year¹s best films! (earlier article)"

-Leah Rozen, PEOPLE MAGAZINE

 

"The marvelous martial arts fantasy by director Ang Lee! Jaw-Dropping Fight sequences!"

-Rene Rodgriguez, THE MIAMI HERALD

 

"CROUCHING TIGER is a marvel of moviemaking that should appeal to art-house aficionados as well as the fans of the effects-laden, choreographed super-fights of THE MATRIX. Easily one of the most sublime moviegoing experiences of the year, Ang Lee¹s love letter to the Hong Kong kung fu fantasies grew up on is a costume epic. It could win the art house crowd, THE MATRIX audience and Academy Award noms."

-Stephen Rea, THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

 

"Ang Lee has created an amazing, free-wheeling, ferociously feminist, martial arts action-adventure love story. Cinematographer Peter Pau creates a visual surrealist feast amid the awe-inspiring landscapes of ancient China, but it¹s the miraculous acrobatic by Yuen Wo-Ping that makes this film quite sensational as buoyant, gravity-defying warriors, wielding swords, scamper across rooftops, pirouette in the air, and float through swaying treetops of a bamboo forest. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is a dazzling, thrilling action packed 10- creating a fantasy world I would want to visit again and again!" -Susan Granger, SSG Syndicate

 

"You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who didn¹t swoon for CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. Director Ang Lee¹s sumptuous martial-arts marvel is entertainment of the highest order, taking its story from a turn-of-the-century serialized novel about a stoic warrior (Chow Yun-Fat), his magical sword, his fighting equal and soul mate (Michelle Yeoh) and a mysterious princess."

-Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

 

"However, the one to beat may be Ang Lee¹s CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. The astonishing martial-arts epic starring Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi won the People¹s Choice Award, voted on by festival audiences, as AMERICAN BEAUTY did last year. Lee¹s stunning masterpiece, an early 19th century Chinese love story whose fight sequences were choreographed by THE MATRIX¹s Yuen Wo-Ping, also earned enthusiastic bursts of applause from usually reticent film critics at the press and industry screenings."

-Dave Larsen, Dayton Daily News

 

"A romantic adventure set during China¹s Qing Dynasty, CROUCHING TIGER stars Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-Fat as a legendary warrior whose retirement plans are upset by the appearance of an old enemy with whom he has a score to settle and an impetuous diletante determined to challenge his might. The film, which also dazzled audiences at May¹s Cannes Film Festival, plays like a Chinese equivalent to the "Superman" filmsŠ.Also playing to positive word-of-mouth were Ang Lee¹s brilliant martial arts action-fantasy "CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, which we like to think of as ŒThe Tao of Lee¹Š."

-Jack Mathews, Daily News

 

"If this wondrous, Mandarin-language, martial-arts fable can translate its festival appeal to multiplexes‹and Oscar voters‹when it opens in December, that will make for a great story; foreign-language films with a sense of visual poetry could use the boost. But, CROUCHING TIGER is to be appreciated for existing in its own timeless world, not for how it comments on our present one."

-Mark Caro, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

 

"At Toronto¹s landmark 25th anniversary film festival, the first People¹s Choice award of the new millennium went to the gorgeous action movie, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is a unique and sumptuous martial arts adventure by Taiwanese-American filmmaker Ang Lee that stars Hong Kong cult actors Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh."

-Michael Wilmington, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

 

"The most universally beloved of this festival¹s entries so far is Ang Lee¹s CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, a wondrous, lyrical, Chinese-language martial-arts period film in which Zhang Ziyi, Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh do their sword fighting and karate on invisible wires that make them fly through the air even more dramatically than the characters in THE MATRIX."

-Mark Caro, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

 

"CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, one of the gala premieres, is another startling genre exploration by the always unpredictable Ang Lee; it is one of the most visually stunning of martial arts movies and a tongue-in-cheek historical epic saturated with beauty and wit."

-Michael Wilmington, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

 

"Ang Lee¹s dazzling martial arts romance has been building a following since it wowed Œem at Cannes and the Toronto Film Festival. Mind boggling action sequences!"

-Lou Lumenick, THE NEW YORK POST

 

"**** Rare is a film such incontestable quality and effervescent potency that the viewer immediately wants to watch it again. Lee imbues the martial artists with spectacular athletic abilities that seem a blend of Superman and Gene Kelly."

-Scott Feschuk, THE NATIONAL POST

 

"**** Visually gorgeous, balletic martial arts film"

-Liam Lacey, THE GLOBE AND MAIL

 

"***** A walking dream of truly operatic dimensions. Visually spectacular and morally complex, this is a classic. Not to be missed."

-EYE WEEKLY

 

"Ang Lee¹s ravishing epic! A prestige exploitation film with the kick of the best martial arts imports and the sweep of David Lean¹s LAWRENCE OF ARABIA" "Expect CTHD to be nominated for a passel of Oscars starting with Tim Yip¹s production design and costumes for Peking¹s Forbidden City and including Tan Dun¹s amazing folk and classical music, which includes a cello solo by Yo-Yo Ma."

"I¹d add an Oscar nod for Hong Kong action star Yoeh." "Šthe smartest and smartest looking action movie of the year."

-Glenn Lovell, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

 

"An elegant martial arts fable that has left audiences breathless where ever it has been played.Lee weaves a beautiful cinematic tapestry in a movie that offers some of the year¹s most gorgeous and exciting filmmaking. An exquisite and sometimes sensual costume drama, CT is enlivened by the increasingly renowned choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping, who did The Matrix"

-Robert Denerstein, THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEW

 

"One of the year¹s best films!"

-Leah Rozen, PEOPLE

 

"A lavish martial arts extravaganza. The film is guaranteed to please all ages. There are enough toys and whirling weapons in this fanciful tale of noble knights, romantic lady warriors, flying villians, desert tribes and balletic-battles in the billowing branches of bamboo forests to make it the STAR WARS of kung fu!"

-THE NEW YORK OBSERVER

 

"There is something worth cheering about. The work of daredevil cinematic artistry. Here is the kind of filmmaking magic that we¹ve been missing for years. Breathless storytelling, ravishing romance and martial arts miracles to sweep us into adventures beyond our imaging. It¹s great, gorgeous fun. Both actors (Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat) bring startling intimacy to a relationship that has been thwarted by a rigid sense of honor. Yeoh, radiating strength and graceful beauty, is a knockout. If there is a more visually stunning scene on film this year, I haven¹t seen it. Chow reveals astonishing depths. But the revelation is Yeoh. Yeoh scores an acting triumph in a heroic role that she instills with power and true romantic yearning. Ang Lee, a world class director working at the top of his elegant form, has done something thrilling. For all the leaping action, it¹s the film¹s spirit that soars."

-Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

 

"Zhang Ziyi is the new Chuck Norris, only with ballet skills and prettier and able to kick Chuck¹s creaky old ass. Impossibly beautiful martial arts fable that combines the storytelling of Kurosawa with the action effects of THE MATRIX"

-ESQUIRE

 

"CROUCHING TIGER is nevertheless a gloriously big epic, starring the Hong Kong action stars Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh in a visionary adventure where the characters seem set free from the force of gravity."

-Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

 

"Lyrical and lush with Ang Lee¹s sure, smooth hand at the controls, the film is an epic superior to anything Hollywood has produced in the last twenty years. And the fight scenes! Impeccably staged and shot, they don¹t so much redefine martial arts choreography as refine it, honing the poetry of the fighting like a blade. Every major set piece immediately joins the list of classic martial arts movie battles."

-Ain¹t It Cool News.com

 

"See this movie as soon as you can. Do whatever it takes to get into the encore screening. I loved this film. It is all that anyone could ever want from a movie." -Harry Knowles, Ain¹t It Cool News.com

 

"Ang Lee, has established himself as one of the most enterprising autuers of the new millennium. It is a triumph. A lavish martial arts historical epic! Filled with surprises! The actions scenes replace standard movie violence with balletic combat that¹s consistently wondrous to behold. Elegant cinematography and a soaring score, CTHD envelops you in its exotic universe. Michelle Yeoh brings tremendous dignity and poise to her portrayal of the seasoned older woman. Jen Yu, a startingly original creation played to perfection by beautiful new Zhang ZiyiŠBreathlessly paced and packed with strong characters and performances, this picture is first and foremost a rousing yarn. Lee confirms his versatility and also brings off one of the year¹s most gratifying moments." -Stephen Farber, MOVIELINE

 

"Ang Lee¹s martial arts epic starring Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh, is more fun than a barrel of Bruce Lee movies."

-John Anderson, NEWSDAY

 

"Filmed with the studied caress of a Vincente Minnelli or a Stanley DonenŠ Zhang Ziyi is sensational. Michelle Yeoh gives such a marvelously subtle performance- even her fighting betrays inner conflict and rue."

-Bruce Handy, VANITY FAIR

 

"THE BEST FILM OF THE YEAR! Spectacular! The movie works on so many levels it makes your head spin. It¹s a mythic action film with a feverishly romantic heart!"

-Dennis Dermody, PAPER MAGAZINE

 

"I don¹t think I¹ve seen a more beautiful and exciting film all year. A spectacular fusion of exotic romance, light comedy, deep philosophy and blazing fight scenes that leave the viewer breathlessŠranks as one of the most thrilling films of the year!"

-Richard Roeper, EBERT & ROEPER AND THE MOVIES

 

"TWO THUMBS UP! Absolutely visually exhilarating! Astonishing! It¹s just great!"

-Roger Ebert, EBERT AND ROEPER AND THE MOVIES

 

"TWO THUMBS UP! Absolutely visually exhilarating! Astonishing! It¹s just great!" -Roger Ebert, EBERT AND ROEPER AND THE MOVIES

 

"A rousing action film and an epic love story CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDDEN DRAGON is one bursting-at-the-seams holiday gift, beautifully wrapped by the ever surprising Ang Lee. An entertainment that has the power to sweep us magically off our feet."

-David Ansen, NEWSWEEK

 

"This is a one-of-a-kind film guaranteed to mesmerize! You haven¹t seen anything quite like it."

-Matt Zoller Seitz, THE NEW YORK PRESS

 

"A masterpiece! CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON takes off with one hell of a flying leap. Really, really, really stunning action sequences.

 

CROUCHING TIGER is the most fun you¹ll have at the movies this year. It¹s wondrous the way this movie cooks on so many levels at once. Jaw-droppingly exhilarating! The thing you¹ll want to do is see the movie again right away." -Glenn Kenny, Premiere

 

"It's rare to find a film that satifies our craving for pop while giving us the transcendance of poetry. Ang Lee has taken a great leap into the beyond." -Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

 

"One of the most soulful martial arts films ever made. Certainly it is the most feminist. CROUCHING TIGER is a rare cinematic experience, both thrilling and strangely restful."

-Ella Taylor, ATLANTIC MONTHLY

 

"**** highest rating! Wondrous and thrilling, soulful and spiritual, Ang Lee¹s CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON leaps off the screen as the year¹s most unique film. You¹ve never seen a movie like CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON before. It¹s hard to imagine a better movie- in English or any other language- this year!"

-Marshall Fine, THE JOURNAL NEWS

 

"Easily one of the most sublime moviegoing experiences of the year."

-Stephen Rea, THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

 

"CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON will make you fall in love with film all over again. This is instantly one of the greatest adventure movies ever made, but it¹s also a touching and tender story of love forbidden and denied, of loyalty and honor. It¹s Merchant Ivory meets THE MATRIX. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is easily one of the best films I¹ve seen this year! Don¹t deny yourself this experience on a big screen."

-Mary Ann Johanson, THE FLICK FILOSOPHER

 

"**** highest rating! Calling CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON a religious experience may be overstating the case a bit, but Ang Lee¹s rhapsodically romantic martial arts enthraller certainly redeems a slew of sins in this lackluster movie year! CROUCHING TIGER has crept into this feeble movie year and given it teeth."

-Mike Clark, USA TODAY

 

"**** You have never seen a movie like CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON because there has never been a movie like it. If you liked THE MATRIX, you will love CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and it you liked THE ICE STORM you;ll love the martial arts epic too. Stunning! A sensation! Poetic meeting of East and West. The kind of work that restores your faith in the ability of filmmakers to surprise even the most jaded moviegoer. A realm of astonishing virtuosity."

-Jonathan Foreman, NEW YORK POST

 

"Miracles can happen, and one is suddenly at hand in the improbable form of a martial arts romance that was shot in China and directed by Ang Lee. If only for a couple of hours, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON feels like movie paradise regained. This is a drama to savor, a spectacle to revel in, a romance to inhale, between gasps."

-Joe Morgenstern, WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

"After all, it was Confucius who said, "One picture is worth a thousand words." But he never met Ang Lee. These pictures are worth easy a million. That film will win a slew of Oscar nominations for its haunting score played by Yo-Yo Ma; for its visual effects choreographed by the guy who did the fight sequences in The Matrix; and, yes, Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film and it may just win both. But "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" isn¹t just one of the movies of the year, it¹s one of the best movies period! If someone asked me to list the hundred greatest movies ever made, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" would be on that list. It is that good!"

-Joel Siegal, GOOD MORNING AMERICA

 

"Ang Lee¹s gorgeous Hong Kong-style action fantasy. The spectacular dueling sequences find the combatants sailing over rooftops and hanging from tops of treesŠreaches a new level of sophistication."

-Stephen Holden, NEW YORK TIMES

 

"This movie is not just the best of its kind, it seems on the verge of creating a new kind."

-Anthony Lane, NEW YORKER

 

"Ang Lee¹s CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is a martial-arts epic the way A MIDSUMMER¹S NIGHT DREAM is a sex farce and SWAN LAKE is a hunting anecdote. A swirling display of acrobatic action as well as a fairy tale informed by grown-up wisdom. It crystallizes his almost Renoir-like gift for humane understanding even as he shows off his skills in stylized visual poetry you¹d never think he had. The ease and skill with which Lee modulates from drollery to high drama and plainly incredible derring-do, treating them all with equal conviction and keeping them in harmony the whole time, may be the peak of CROUCHING TIGER artistry. What¹s on the screen is also simply a case of superior craftsmanship and emotional finesse. An almost perfect distillation of the classic something-for-everybody moving picture: got laughs, got action, got romance, the works. The fact that all these elements appear in close to their ideal form is Lee¹s triumph."

-Tom Carson, ESQUIRE

 

"CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is burning bright in the scramble to find the best film of the year."

­Harry Haun, MSNBC.COM

 

"****! HIGHEST RATING! Sophisticated romantic entertainment on an enlightened filmic plane. The dazzling duels give dance like expression to recognizable passions and illusions. Voluptuous color, tingling music, unworldly weaponry and lovingly observed human faces weave a dreamlike sensory spell. Like first rate art or sleight of hand, it refines and quickens the viewer¹s eye."

-Bob Campbell, NEWARK STAR LEDGER

 

"****! HIGHEST RATING! Like STAR WARS when it was new, TIGER is both comfortably familiar yet unlike anything you¹ve seen before."

-Andrew Johnston, US WEEKLY

 

"One of the year¹s most soul stirring entertainment."

-Jan Stuart, NEWSDAY

 

"**** highest rating! as original as it is invigorating. It's the year's best movie! A supreme achievement! The fighting comes fast and furious!"

-Glenn Whipp, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

 

"An elegant, graceful and darned exciting entertainment. one of the most enjoyable movies of the year."

-Henry Sheehan, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

 

4 STARS!!! "The fiesty Jen, with her elaborate hair and resplendently decorative and colorful finery, is what George Lucas should have had in mind for Natalie Portman¹s Queen Amadala in "Phantom Menace." "CTHDŠit aims to be spiritual kin to Karosawa¹s reflective Japanese samurai movies as much as Jackie Chan¹s frenetic pop pulp." "When CTHD is over, one wants to see it again to get lost in the dreaminess of its most visionary and rousing action sequencesŠ"

- Steven Rosen, DENVER POST

 

"When "Crouching Tiger" is over, one wants to see if again"

-Steven Rosen, DENVER POST

 

4 STARS!!!

- Harper Barnes, POST DISPATCH

 

"Ang Lee¹s magnificent "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is going to be hard to beat; it¹s certainly the best picture I¹ve seen this year. The movie is sheer magic."

-Harper Barnes, POST DISPATCH

 

"Lee weaves a beautiful cinematic tapestry in a movie that offers some of the year¹s most gorgeous and exciting filmmaking. Its last shoot may leave you gasping."

-Robert Denerstein, ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

 

"4 stars (highest rating)! Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is an astonishing movie. CTHD is an astonishing movie, a genre-crossing spectacle that is part Western, part fairy and part martial-arts film set in an ancient China. Even non-fans of martial arts movies will want to cheer the fight scenes, which are sheer visual poetry."

-Eric Harrison, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

 

"4 STARS!! (highest rating!) It is magnificent entertainment from Ang Lee" -David Elliot, SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE

 

" Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, move over. Once upon a time in China there were fighters so zen-pure in their martial arts they could fly. They could make swords sing. They could make swords sing. They could crack linebacker grade noggin with a flick of the wrist and flip sumo wrestlers through roofs. And these were the chicksŠsublime, pleasures of Ang Lee¹s dreamy enchantment of a movie"

-Stephen Hunter, WASHINGTON POST

 

"Like the warriors who effortlessly saunter up the sides of buildings, flit across rooftops and even skim across lakes, "CTHD" is magnificently nonchalant about its magic. Lee has created the year¹s most visually wondrous movieŠ" -Desson Howe, WASHINGTON POST

 

"Not many moviegoers will want to wake up form such a dream"

- SEATTLE TIMES

 

"****(highest rating)! In fact, it¹s the pace-setting-women¹s-empowerment film of the new millennium. The women can do anything the men can do and there are more of them. CTHD teaches motion pictures a few new things about motion. Watching it is a non-stop high. CTHD is a magical dream of a martial arts epic. It surpasses any you¹ve ever seen."

Jay Carr, BOSTON GLOBE

 

"You¹ve never seen anything like this in your whole life. "Matrix," shmatrix. Imagine Fred Astaire¹s gravity defying dance from "Royal Wedding" (1951). Now take it to the 10th power and you have some idea of the spectacular action on display in Ang Lee¹s CTHD. It may be the greatest nondancing dance film ever made."

James Verniere, BOSTON HERALD

 

"4 Stars! Highest rating!"

Gary Thompson, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS

 

"4 stars! Highest rating! It is with gravity and levity and incomparable grace that Ang Lee¹s CTHD ­ by light years the best movie of 2000. CTHD melds the legend of Mulan with the tales of King Arthur and Robin HoodŠit is a martial arts fantasy with warrior women and chivalric knights and brazen banditsŠit is a heart-in-your-throat action romance that exists in a universe where the laws of gravity have been suspended and supplanted by the outlaws of desire."

Carrie Rickey, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

 

"**** highest rating! CTHD ­ the class act of action movies. It is also the movie of the year, hands town and feet flying. It could cross over right into the Academy Awards, and not just in the foreign language category."

Bob Graham, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

 

"Once in a great while, a movie engages us so thoroughly that we slip the surly bonds of earth and experience a rare moment of transcendence. CTHD is such a movie. CTHD demands to be felt. Most importantly, it makes us want to move - to be a part of the action, like no movie has ever done before."

Charles Ealy, DALLAS MORNING NEWS

 

"If you¹re looking for a fairy tale about real female empowerment, blow off "Charlie¹s Angels" and check out this vision of long-ago China. What is arguably the best and most satisfying martial arts film ever."

Robert Butler, THE KANSAS CITY STAR

 

"The movie¹s greatest thrill, then, is its honest unforced child¹s vision; it seems simple and innocent, very much in the vein of Spielberg¹s great early work, as in "ET" and "Jaws". Movie¹s headiest delight: the fight choreography and wire work of Yu-wen Wo-Ping (Famous for the Matrix). It is by this magic that the performers scamper through the air, like Pans and Wendys, like fairies and superheros, like the pre-pubescents of "ET. A whole lot goes on. Clang clang clang went the sword, fight ding ding ding went the duel, zing zing zing went my heartstrings, when the long blades came out and begin to whisper and sizzle through the air. It¹s largely a lost movie joy now, but any old goats who loves it when Flynn and Rathbone squared off in "Captain Blood" or when Chuck Heston and Sophia Loren¹s champion went at it in "El Cid," will truly adore this rippling wonderful movieŠby the way, Steve Spielberg, George Lucas, move overŠnot to put too fine a point on it, the destiny of CTHD is very green."

-Stephen Hunter, THE WASHINGTON POST/STYLE

 

"4 stars (highest rating)No foreign language film has ever won the Oscar for best picture, but that may change in March, Ang Lee¹s magnificent CTHD s going to be hard to beat; it¹s certainly the best picture I¹ve seen this year. This is a martial arts film, but that description is a little like calling "Hamlet" an Elizabethan revenge dramaŠit is a feminist fairy taleŠan epic romanceŠan extraordinary display of acrobatic skill by male and female actorsŠa thrilling action flick, and a cinematographic and choreographic masterpiece"

Harper Barnes, ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH

 

"CTHD is so beautiful, so elegantly made, that the excitement of it seems gildedŠIt is magnificent entertainment from Ang LeeŠCTHD is like an animated calligraphic scroll and Taoist painting. You can feel physically empowered, yet your spirit is seduced by something more subtleŠBut surely Lee and the superlative photographer, Peter Pau, crucially shaped such scenes as Ziyi and Fat swaying on the lofty masts of bamboo trees, seeming to butterfly through the air like a reborn Astaire and Rogers."

David Elliott, THE SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE

 

"No foreighn-language film has ever won the Oscar for best picture, but that may cchange in March. Ang Lee¹s magnificent "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is going to be hard to beat; it¹s certainly the best picture I¹ve seen this year"

-Harper Barnes, POST DISPATCH

 

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" floats like a butterfly and stings like nothing Lee has done before"

- Duane Dudek, JOURNAL SENTINEL - Milwaukee

 

"But at the center of "crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" are the best action sequences sine "The Matrix"

- Paul Doro, MILWAUKEE.COM

 

"The year¹s most impressive technical achievement. Crouching Tiger" is the movie of the moment"

-Teddy Durgin, DAYTIPS.Com

 

"The movie offers astonishing visual rewards, not just in Lee¹s impeccable use of settings but in some of the most amazing action scenes ever filmed. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is the rare film that borrows liberally from an entire genre and ends up creating something utterly original."

- Ron Weiskind, PITTSBURGH POST GAXETTE

 

"4 Stars"

- Ed Held, ST. BERNARD VOICE

 

"4 STARS"!!! " Magical." "Mystical." "Lyrical." " It is poetry in motion, a dreamwork."

- Joe Baltake, SACREMENTO BEE

 

"Crouching Tiger more than lives up to the hype" "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon seems destined to dethrone Life is Beatuful as the highest grossing foreign language film by the time its run is completed"

- René Rodriguez, Miami Herald

 

"5 STARS" "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon may be the movie you¹ve been waiting your whole life to see."

- Soren Andersen, THE TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE

 

Director Ang Lee¹s film is everything its glowing advance notices promise; a glorious kung-fu fantasy, a subtle art film and a gentle but intense romance."

- Gene Armstrong, ARIZONA DAILY STAR

 

"5 Stars !!" " It would be easy to categorize Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as one of the best martial arts movies ever made and leave it at that. But that¹s really not fair, because it so much more." " The martial arts scenes are breathtaking"

- Bill Muller, ARIZONA REPUBLIC

 

"4 STARS!!" " Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a marvel of a movie" " With crouching tiger, Hidden dragon, Mr. Lee has secured his place among the best filmmakers of his generation and given the world a haunting, tragic fairy tale for the ages."

- Margaret A. McGurk, CINCINNATI EQUIRER

 

"4 STARS!!" " Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sends you away thrilled, dazzled, and refreshed."

- susan Stark, DETROIT NEWS

 

"***** highest rating! The most original movie of the year and the most beautiful! A film about women battling to expand their choices in lifeŠall try in their own ways to be accepted as warrior within a society that seeks to deny them equal status with men."

-Jay Boyar, THE ORLANDO SENTINEL

 

"Crouching Tiger" becomes the best film in years"

- Stephen McINtire, CITY VIEW

 

"Most exhilarating Film". "4 STARS"!!!! "Crouching Tiger is exquisite"

- Scott Schuldt, DAILY OKLAHOMA

 

"4 STARS"!!!

- Dennis King, TULSA WORLD

 

"5 STARS". "Breathtaking"!!! "It¹s the most original movie of the year 2000 and perhaps, the most beautiful". "Best filmed "dance" in years."

-Jay Boyar, ORLANDO SENTIENEL

 

"5 STARS"

- Lisa Stokes and Michael Hoover, ORLANDO WEEKLY

 

"Fabulous, magical moviemaking". "One of the greatest martial arts films of all time and one of the best films of 2000."

- Mark Burger, WINSTON SALEM JOURNAL

 

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Guest Zoom Rabbit

Well, if ever I'd wondered if they had a post-length filter installed here like at JK.Net...my questions have now been dramatically answered. eek.gif

 

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