Jared McMillan // Film Critic
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON
Rated PG-13, 102 min.
Director: Ang Lee
Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Chang Chen, Sihung Lung, Pei-Pei Cheng, Li Li and Suying Huang
Twenty-three years ago, Ang Lee’s masterpiece CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON exploded onto the scene to become a cultural phenomenon.
Starring Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh, the story of how and what we sacrifice to stay true to ourselves drew audiences in with its martial arts packaging, became the highest-grossing foreign film of all time, was nominated for 10 Academy Awards (winning four, including best international feature and cinematography), and made Ang Lee a directorial force to be reckoned with.
Starting Feb. 17 in select theaters, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON will be re-released with a new 4K restoration for new audiences to enjoy on the biggest screens possible. Fans can enjoy the experience with an up-to-date presentation that makes the film seem new again.
Li Mu Bai (Yun-Fat) has decided to retire. After decades of becoming renowned for his Wudan fighting and years of chasing the ghost that killed his master, he decides to hand his sword over and acquiesces to a life of peace. To ensure his sword, the Green Destiny, is protected he asks his friend Shu Lien (Yeoh) to take it to Peking (now known as Beijing). While there, Shu Lien befriends Jen (Zhang Ziyi), the Governor’s daughter, who is about to be married off but has other plans. The Green Destiny gets stolen, presumably by the outlaw Jade Fox, the ghost of Mu Bai’s revenge.
While this sounds like a rudimentary plot for a martial arts movie, what makes CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON so special is that there is a universal theme that moves through the film, and a reflection of how love is sacrificed. Mu Bai and Shu Lien have a deep love for each other but have never acted on it out of respect for Shu Lien’s dead fiancée. Jen has a passionate affair with Lo (Chang Chen) but ultimately shuns it for her own ambition. Also, the film uses its Wuxia fighting sequences to enhance its characters, as if they’re communicating, almost like a song-and-dance sequence would enhance the characters’ emotions in a musical. It was a game-changer for American audiences and how we viewed a martial arts movie.
The beautiful emotion that flows throughout is only matched by the beauty coming through the screen, and this new 4K presentation breathes new life into CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. There have been prior 4K UHD releases in 2016 and a steelbook in 2020, but it looked more like a translation of the original print than a full makeover. As a result, it still had some graininess, especially in wider shots. However, the newest iteration gives it an update that makes Peter Pau’s Oscar-winning cinematography feel new again, thanks to the Dolby Vision transfer. The fight between Shu Lien and the masked thief stealing the Green Destiny, Jen chasing Lo through the desert, and the bamboo forest sequence — all reborn with clarity suited for this timeless masterpiece.
4K restorations aren’t necessarily needed for most films from the past. But technological upgrades help keep necessary films at the forefront. Movies like CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and TITANIC, which also has a restoration playing in theaters, had a significant cultural impact that needs to keep up with technology to maintain a historical place in film study. Sure, companies like Criterion, Arrow, and Scream Factory are constantly releasing 4K restorations for Blu-ray. Still, it’s always great to see these films that made splashes during their original theatrical releases receive 4K polishes and establish themselves as part of pop culture today.
Grade: A
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON’s 4K Restoration is now playing in select theaters.
