Product Description

The winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Foreign-Language Film, Art Direction, Cinematography, and Original Music.

To coincide with the Sony Pictures Classics release--this elegantly illustrated moviebook captures the beauty, spirit, and extraordinary talents behind what TimeAsia heralded as an "instant classic...a rule-bending master-piece that weds martial arts with sense and sensibility." The latest film from Sense and Sensibility director is an epic love story and a thrilling action drama set against the breathtaking landscapes of ancient China, filmed entirely on location. Based on a five-volume Chinese novel by Wang Du Lu, the project was scripted by Wang Hui Ling (Eat Drink Man Woman), James Schamus (The Ice Storm), and Tsai Kuo Jung. Marking Ang Lee's first Chinese-language feature since 1994, the film is punctuated by beautifully choreographed fight scenes and dazzling stunts masterminded by Yuen Wo-Ping, who worked on The Matrix. The actors include the two most popular Asian actors in the world, Chow Yun Fat (Anna and the King, The Replacement Killers) and Michelle Yeoh (Supercop, Tomorrow Never Dies). The Newmarket book includes the screenplay, stunning full-color photographs before and behind the cameras, interviews and notes with filmmakers, features on the history and tradition of martial arts storytelling and filmmaking, and articles by Time's Richard Corliss and world renowned film scholar David Bordwell.

"A breathtaking epic love story set in mythical China, where saber wielding Taoist masters--most of them women--save the day."--Lee Yanowitch, Reuters

"A sweeping romantic epic with a strong feminist backbone [with] a generous offering of seriously kick-ass action sequences that make The Matrix seem downright quaint by comparison."--Michael Rechtshaften, Hollywood Reporter

[The film is] "a blending, not a collision, of Eastern physical grace and Western intensity of performance, of Hong Kong kung fu directness and British attention to behavioral nuance."--Richard Corliss, TimeAsia cover story (7/10/00)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is produced by Sony Pictures Classics, Good Machine International, and Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1208377 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

Customer Reviews

not the movie, but close enough
for anyone completely paralyzed by this film, this collection is a must companion to invest in. the screenplay at your fingertips (translated such that all elements of classic picture book mythology are traceable), along with ang lee as its editor... deeply roots these stories for its reader. as well, it discusses the parallelled challenges the performers in this film ultimately accepted and without a doubt, should be heralded for. the only question i cannot answer for you, and neither does the book, is how many times do you need to see this film, this pictorial novel, to understand its influence on world cinema & global beliefs even though it was created so recently, at the end of the 20th century.

enjoy.

A World of Tigers and Dragons...
Ang Lee's film, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is an absolute masterpiece; it's one of the best films I've ever seen, and I'm not easily impressed. This book, which includes the entire screenplay, is a worthy- if somewhat slight- companion to it.

The book contains a number of beautiful color photographs, and commentary from Ang Lee, co-writer James Schamus, critic Richard Corliss (his Time magazine review, actually) and some background on the wuxia pian film genre the film's story is rooted in. If you're in love with the movie, you'll definitely want this book; having the entire screenplay is worth the price.

What keeps it from achieving the five-star status the film surely will attain is that it really needs a bit more. I would've loved a more in-depth look at the film's production. The book has one sidebar on the beautiful costumes, and glosses over certain production problems (weather, digital wire-removal difficulties); at one point, Ang Lee writes how he doubts he'll ever be fully healthy again, but there's no explanation other than he worked extremely hard on this project.

Still, it's marvelous to be able to read Jen Yu's (Zhang Ziyi) entire restaurant speech (from a particularly thrilling sequence where she battles about two dozen men) and Li Mu Bai's (Chow Yun Fat) touching valediction, delivered to Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh). The book's design work mirrors the film's antique look and is a nice match for its production design.

While the film junkie (and "Crouching Tiger" fan) in me would love to read more about how they made this magical movie, I still recommend you check out "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: A Portrait of Ang Lee's Epic Film." But only after you've watched the film.

Good enough to be owned
I have to say I expected more from this book. I wasn't so much interested in the screenplay as in the background, technical and otherwise. A whole section, not just a capsule, on the wire work would have been nice for example. On the plus side, now that I know the screenplay by heart, I can go see the movie again without reading the subtitles, and with the full impact of the images. Furthermore, the book does boast some really nice color pictures (more, a lot more, of the stunning Zhang Zizi would have been appreciated). Not without faults, but if you love the movie, it is definitively a must-have, along with the CD.