Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Superbit Collection)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Superbit Collection)

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DVD Reviews of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Superbit Collection)

DVD Review: CTHD Superbit Review
Summary: 4 Stars

The difference will not blow your socks off. The picture is a little better defined, and a little crisper. You'll see a few more details in low-light situations. The DTS sound is also a little better.

SUPERBIT TITLES are produced by a team of Sony Pictures Digital video, sound and mastering technicians and engineers. Superbit DVDs are encoded at twice their normal bit rate which improves video resolution and gives you a choice of both Dolby 5.1 and DTS audio. They are fully compatible with DVD players already in use. There is no room on the disc for any extras.

However, the print used for this film is exactly the same print used for the other version. There's still some dirt on the print and there's still some grain. In fact it's a little more clearly defined and accentuated. It's minor.. but here's a disc that is put out to please the pickiest amongst us and they have started the process with a print that is not as good as it possibly could be.

I have extensively reviewed the film elsewhere. To Recap:

The most successful foreign film of all time is an action packed martial-arts fantasy that is also an epic romance. It won't satisfy the baser instincts of chop socky fans since there's little gore, breaking of bones or thud-thudding sound effects, but for most filmgoers it's a pretty impressive film.

This is an Asian martial arts film with a bigger budget, production values, better actors, better direction, and one of the best choreographers in the business to propel it over anything in its class. It also means it's a more artistic film and not as over-the-top or as frenetically paced as films it resembles often are.

This is a film about emotions, romantic emotions. Like so many martial arts films there's a long romantic sequence in the film-- but unlike most martial arts films... I found myself caring about the romance and the characters. The acting and script were way above average. I never felt like I was in some kind of endurance test (fighting to stay awake) waiting for the next action sequence to begin. In fact there's enough production value in this film we get some truly epic film moments a beautiful desert sequence, and several breathtaking establishing wide shots which sometimes includes hundreds of extras (or so it seems).

The martial arts scenes of characters leaping in the air, running across roof-tops, dancing over water, fighting from tree top to tree top are not silly... but mesmerizing and beautiful. They
are fantasy ballets celebrating the beauty of form and movement utilizing some of the best choreography you'll ever see.

The film is about love, betrayal, and honor (of course). It revolves around the destiny of mercenary swordsman and the Green Destiny sword. We have charismatic performances from Chow Yun Fat, and Michelle Yeoh, and relative new-comer Zhang Ziyi.

The fight choreographer is Yuen Woo-Ping (who is best known for his work in The Matrix). Here his always-superior wire enhanced acrobatic choreography is utterly stunning because computers have erased ever trace of the wires and director Ang Lee has filmed the movements at various speeds and with wide angles with the help and eye of cinematographer Peter Pau. * * * *

The chase scenes up walls, across rooftops, and even over water , shot in a graceful slow motion are magical to watch. There are fight scenes as well which are stages with a grace rarely
seen in martial arts film. One fight scene in particular ,full of various traditional weaponry is one of the best-staged and exciting fights you'll see on film.

Martial arts fight fans won't get blood and gore, and there's only a few moments of humor in action sequences so it won't compare to the Keatonesque comedy of Jackie Chan either. It is also not the old type of chop-socky highlighting the hand to hand combat of a Bruce Lee.

The music and sound effects of the film are wonderfully conceived. At times we hear only wood blocks drumming, wind chimes, water trickles, the snap of clothing during chase or fight scenes,wind moving through tree tops, through bamboo, the scraping of metal sword against metal sword or bamboo or wood. Sounds of the elements which sometimes are joined by the slow
strokes of a violin or other string instrument being played with deep longing emotions.

The rather spiritual ending of the film can be interpreted in several ways. All of them valid. Some may be disappointed by it however.

Director Lee takes the time to show us glimpses of Chinese culture and the strong sense of morality and fair play the characters maintain despite their activities. We get some spirituality from the film, which winds up playing out very much like a Greek tragedy.

--Christopher Jarmick,is the author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder a critically acclaimed, steamy suspense thriller.

Description of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Superbit Collection)

The filming required an immense effort from all involved. Chow and Yeoh had to learn to speak Mandarin, which Lee insisted on using instead of Cantonese to achieve a more classic, lyrical feel. The astonishing battles between Jen (Zhang) and Yu Shu Lien (Yeoh) on the rooftops and Jen and Li Mu Bai (Chow) atop the branches of bamboo trees required weeks of excruciating wire and harness work (which in turn required meticulous "digital wire removal"). But the result is a seamless blend of action, romance, and social commentary in a populist film that, like its young star Zhang, soars with balletic grace and dignity. --Eugene Wei