Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, DVD Review

Before I start this review I just want to say that I am generally not a big “Martial Arts” film fan or indeed expert. In fact out of my whole collection this is the only film of this type that I own, unless you count The Matrix. The only reason I ordered the disk is because I was intrigued by the level of enthusiasm it was creating on just about every review website I looked at.

At the time of writing this, the film is available on Region 3 format only. I personally got the disk from Movietyme.com for £20. This was one reason why I got the disk instead of watching it on the Cinema. You see my other half hates watching a film with subtitles and the DVD comes with an English dubbed track.

Plot Outline

When the sword of the famous warrior Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) is stolen by a mysterious masked assailant, the warrior and his accomplice Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) investigate the disappearance. While on the trail of the thief they also find out that an old adversary is back on the scene. What follows is a story of love, honour and revenge.

Video / Audio

This Columbia Tristar DVD release comes with a 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen print. The picture quality is excellent and more than does justice to the stunning visuals. There’s a high level of definition and detail and the picture is sharp but not overly so. I did notice some specks and spots throughout the film, which I was quite surprised at considering its age.

This review is based on the English dubbed soundtrack. You may prefer to watch the film with the original Mandarin track with (or without) subtitles. Both tracks come in a Dolby Digital 5.1 format. At first the dubbing is fairly evident, but I did stop noticing it once I got absorbed into the plot. The film is fairly dialogue heavy so the surround speakers don’t get utilised too much. During the fight scenes the surround speakers get plenty of utilisation though. For me though, the best thing on the audio side has to be the very moving and atmospheric musical score.

Extras

The Commentary Track is by Director Ang Lee and Writer (James Schamus). It is an English commentary track and has Chinese subtitles. The commentary is OK but definitely not the best I’ve sat through. It does reveal plenty of background information about the film, but the style is fairly monotone and it’s difficult to keep your concentration.

There’s a Conversation with Michelle Yeoh. This again is in English and is about 13-14 minutes long. There’s also a Music Video for “A Love Before Time”, it’s actually a choice of two videos with one in English and the other in Mandarin. There’s a six minute long animated Photo Gallery with accompanying music track. I actually found this an unusual approach and more interesting than the usual photo sections.

There’s some Cast & Crew Bios, these only feature the very main cast and Director. Finally there’s a rather ridiculous American Theatrical Trailer that does absolutely nothing to capture the feel of the film.

Overall

As I stated at the start I am definitely not a “Martial Arts” film expert. I’ve seen plenty of Bruce Lee type films of course as just about anyone probably has. Nothing I’d seen before had prepared me for how good this film was however. I expected a basic fight film, but the storyline is rich and engrossing with sub plots taking place at many different levels.

The choreography of the fighting scenes themselves are really something to behold. The first time there’s any action I thought “How on earth can they top that?” but low and behold every consecutive scene was more impressive than the last.

When I watched the first fight scene and saw how they could leap across rooftops and run up walls, I thought it would be too far fetched for me. For some reason though the film has such a mystical fairy tale feel to it that I just found myself accepting it and it didn’t distract from the overall experience.

One of the things that really grabbed me with this film though, was the stunning cinematography. Some of the locations used are breathtaking and the lighting, costume etc, all combine to make a work of art. Coupled with the excellent musical score this really makes for a moving viewing experience.

I do have one complaint about the film however. Without giving too much away (hopefully) there’s a sequence around the middle of a film where a character remembers a love affair in the desert. I did find that this particular scene went on for far too long and I was itching for the story to move on. I can also imagine that some people are going to find the film too slow paced for them. Basically if you are looking for an all out action movie then you are looking in the wrong place with this one.

On reflection I think it’s probably unfair to label Crouching Tiger as a “Martial Arts film” as it really is so much more. I think I would have enjoyed it equally as much if the fight scenes weren’t even there. Such a great film coupled with an excellent DVD has to get a mark of 5 out of 5 from me.

Film:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Overall: