Made on a mere US$15 million budget, with dialogue in , ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' became a surprise international success. It grossed US$128 million in the United States alone, becoming the highest-grossing foreign-language film in American history. It has won over 40 awards. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and three other Academy Awards, and was nominated for six other Academy Awards, including . The film also won three ''BAFTAs'' and two ''Golden Globes'', one for "Best Foreign Film" as well as additional nominations for ten ''BAFTAs'' including "Best Picture".
Plot
The fictional story is set in the historic Qing Dynasty in . The date of the story is during the 43rd year of Emperor Qianlong's reign .
The story follows two martial arts warriors, Li Mu-bai and Yu Shu-lien . The two characters are attracted to each other but have abstained from a relationship. Mu-bai, an accomplished swordsman, asks Shu-lien to take his valuable sword, the Green Destiny, to his friend Sir Te for safekeeping in Beijing. In the meantime, Mu-bai intends to commemorate the death of his master, who was murdered long ago by Jade Fox , a woman who sought to learn Wudan. Also searching for Jade Fox is Tsai an undercover police inspector.
In Beijing, Shu-lien delivers the sword and meets Jen , the daughter of Governor Yu, a Manchu aristocrat. Jen is destined for an arranged marriage, yet yearns for adventure; she becomes fascinated with the warrior Shu-lien.
One night, a masked thief sneaks onto Sir Te's estate and steals the Green Destiny. Tsai, Shu-lien, and others pursue the thief across rooftops, walls, and other obstacles. Shu-lien discovers that the thief is well-versed in the Wudan school of martial arts. The fight is broken off when a mysterious figure shoots a dart at Shu-lien, which she catches just in time.
Mu-bai and Shu-lien trace the theft to Governor Yu's compound and learn that Jade Fox has been posing as Jen's governess for many years to evade the authorities. Jade Fox challenges Inspector Tsai to a showdown, in which Tsai is killed. Mu-bai arrives and easily defeats Jade Fox, but the masked thief reappears and uses Wudan techniques to prevent him from killing her. The thief and Jade Fox escape, and in a confrontation, Jade Fox realizes that Jen has secretly read her Wudan manual and surpassed her in skill. Mu-bai catches the masked Jen attempting to return the Green Destiny, and after defeating her, suggests that she become his apprentice. She refuses and escapes.
The dart that prevented Shu-Lien from capturing Jen came from a man named Lo , who returns and asks Jen to leave with him. A flashback reveals that Lo is a desert bandit called Dark Cloud who had raided Jen's caravan and stolen her comb. Jen chased after him to get it back; Lo defeated and kidnapped her. However, they eventually fell in love. Lo convinced Jen to return to her family, though not before telling her a legend of a man who jumped off a cliff but did not die. Instead, his wishes came true.
Lo has come to Beijing to persuade Jen not to go through with her arranged marriage. However, Jen refuses to leave with him. Soon after, she is married in an elaborate ceremony. Mu-bai and Shu-lien find Lo and tell him to wait for Jen at Wudan Mountain. The day after her wedding, Jen runs away. She is at a crossroads: should she be a court official's wife, the lover of a desert bandit, an outlaw under Jade Fox, or a martial artist under Li Mu-bai? Headstrong, she rejects the path of Shu-lien and Mu-bai, and starts a fight in a restaurant.
Jen finds Shu-lien, who tells her that Lo is at Wudan Mountain. Jen is outraged, thinking that Shu-lien is setting her up. Shu-lien is angry at Jen's lack of gratitude, and says that she always knew Jen was the thief, but covered it up for the sake of Jen's family. The two women fight, and it becomes clear that Shu-lien has better technique but Jen has the better sword . Mu-bai arrives and pursues Jen into the forest. He again offers to train her and she says that she will accept him as her master if he can take the Green Destiny from her in three moves. To Jen's surprise, Mu-bai snatches the sword from her hand in a single movement. When Jen still refuses to become Mu-bai's pupil, he throws the Green Destiny over a waterfall. Jen chases after the sword, and Mu-bai is too shocked to pursue her.
Jen retrieves the sword and is rescued by Jade Fox. She puts Jen into a drugged sleep and leaves her in a cavern. Mu-bai and Shu-lien find her there. Jade Fox suddenly reappears and attacks the others with poisoned needles. Mu-bai blocks all but one needle with his sword. He avenges his master's death by mortally wounding Jade Fox, only to realize that he has been hit with a poisoned needle. With his last breaths, Mu-bai confesses his love for Shu-lien. Shu-lien is heartbroken at his death, and furious with Jen for spoiling her chance at happiness. However, Shu-lien spares Jen's life and instructs her always to remain true to herself.
Jen goes to Wudan Mountain and spends one last night with Lo, who is waiting for her. The next morning, Lo finds Jen standing on a balcony overlooking the edge of the mountain. In an echo of the legend that they spoke about in the desert, she asks him to make a wish. He complies, wishing them to be together, back in the desert, and Jen leaps into the clouds.
Although the movie does not reveal whether Jen dies, the next novel in the Crane Iron Pentalogy, ''Iron Knight, Silver Vase'', begins with Jen and Lo as a couple who have one son.
Production and marketing
Although its Academy Award was presented to Taiwan, ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' was in fact an international co-production between companies in four regions: the company China Film Co-Production Corporation; the companies , Sony Pictures Classics and Good Machine; the Hong Kong company EDKO Film; and the Taiwanese Zoom Hunt International Productions Company, Ltd; as well as the unspecified United China Vision, and Asia Union Film & Entertainment Ltd., created solely for this film.
The film was made in Beijing, with location shooting in the Anhui, Hebei, Jiangsu and Xinjiang of the People's Republic of China.
Unlike most Chinese films, this one was supported by American distributors and therefore received marketing typical of Western films.
The movie was also adapted into a video game.
Reception and Aftermath
''Crouching Tiger'' was very well received in the Western world, receiving critical acclaim and numerous awards. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 97% of critics gave ''Crouching Tiger'' positive reviews, based on 141 reviews, with the consensus that "the story is compelling, the acting is stellar, and the direction is fantastic. Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh provide the action of ''The Matrix'' plus the romance of ''''." Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 93 out of 100, based on 31 reviews.
However, it was less well received in China and Hong Kong, where it was perceived as just another of the countless wuxia films released over the past four decades. Additionally, some Chinese-speaking viewers were bothered by the accents of the leading actors. Neither Chow nor Yeoh speaks as a mother tongue. All four main actors spoke with different accents: Chow speaks with a Cantonese accent; Yeoh with a Malaysian accent; Chang Chen a Taiwanese accent; and Zhang Ziyi a Beijing accent. Yeoh responded to this complaint in a December 28, 2000 interview with ''Cinescape''. She argued that "My character lived outside of Beijing, and so I didn’t have to do the Beijing accent." When the interviewer, Craig Reid, remarked that "My mother-in-law has this strange Szechuan-Mandarin accent that’s hard for me to understand," Yeoh responded: "Yes, provinces all have their very own strong accents. When we first started the movie, Cheng Pei Pei was going to have her accent, and Chang Zhen was going to have his accent, and this person would have that accent. And in the end nobody could understand what they were saying. Forget about us, even the crew from Beijing thought this was all weird."
The film led to a boost in popularity of Chinese wuxia films in the western world, where they were previously little known, and led to films such as ''House of Flying Daggers'' and '''' marketed towards western audiences. On the aftermath of the movie in America, the film was a major turning point Zhang Ziyi's career, and resulted as somewhat of a rediscovery for her:
Awards
Won
*ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards: Top Box Office Films
*Academy Awards:
**Best Foreign Language Film
**Best Cinematography
**Best Music, Original Score
**Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
* : Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film
*Australian Film Institute: Best Foreign Film
*BAFTA Awards:
**David Lean Award for Direction
**Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music
**Best Costume Design
*Bergen International Film Festival: Audience Award
*Bodil Awards: Best Non-American Film
*Bogey Awards : Bogey Award
*Boston Society of Film Critics: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography
*Broadcast Film Critics Association: Best Foreign Language Film
*Chicago Film Critics Association: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography , Best Original Score
*Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association: Best Foreign Film, Best Cinematography
*Directors Guild of America: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures
*Film Critics Circle of Australia: Best Foreign Language Film
*Flanders International Film Festival : Georges Delerue Prize
*Florida Film Critics Circle: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography
*Golden Bauhinia Awards : Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress , Golden Bauhinia - Best Director
*'''Golden Globe Awards:
**Best Foreign Language Film
**Best Director - Motion Picture
*Golden Horse Film Festival : Best Picture , Best Action Direction , Best Editing , Best Sound Effects , Best Visual Effects
*Golden Trailer Awards: Best Art and Commerce , Best Romance
*'''Grammy Awards:
**Best Score For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
*Hong Kong Film Awards: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress , Best Director , Best Cinematography , Best Original Film Score , Best Original Film Song , Best Action Choreography , Best Sound Design
*Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards: Special Achievement Award
*Hugo Awards: Best Dramatic Presentation
*Independent Spirit Awards: Best Feature, Best Supporting Female , Best Director
*Kansas City Film Critics Circle: Best Foreign Language Film
*London Film Critics Circle: Best Foreign Language Film
*Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Picture, Best Cinematography , Best Music Score , Best Production Design
*MTV Movie Awards: Best Fight
*Motion Picture Sound Editors : Best Sound Editing - Dialogue & ADR, Domestic Feature Film
*National Board of Review: Best Foreign Language Film
*New York Film Critics Circle: Best Cinematographer
*Online Film Critics Society: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography
*Robert Festival : Best Non-American Film
*: Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language
*Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America: Best Script
*Southeastern Film Critics Association: Best Foreign Language Film
*Toronto Film Critics Association: Best Picture, Best Supporting Performance - Female
*Toronto International Film Festival: People's Choice Award
*Young Artist Awards: Best Young Actress in an International Film
Nominations
*'''Academy Awards:
**Best Picture
**Best Director
**Best Adapted Screenplay
**Best Costume Design
**Best Editing
**Best Original Song - for the song "A Love Before Time"
* : Best Actor , Best Actress , Best Supporting Actress , Best Director , Best Writing , Best Music , Best Costumes
*Amanda Awards : Best Foreign Feature Film
*American Cinema Editors : Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic
*American Society of Cinematographers: Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases
*Art Directors Guild: Excellence in Production Design Award Feature Film - Period or Fantasy Films
*'''BAFTA Awards:
**Best Film
**Best Actress
**Best Supporting Actress
**Best Screenplay - Adapted
**Best Cinematography
**Best Editing
**Best Sound
**Best Production Design
**Best Make Up/Hair
**Best Special Visual Effects
*Blockbuster Entertainment Awards: Favorite Action Team
*British Society of Cinematographers: Best Cinematography Award
*Broadcast Film Critics Association: Best Picture
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