Tiger and Dragon

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Movie
German title Tiger and Dragon
Original title 臥虎藏龍
Wòhǔ Cánglóng
Country of production Taiwan , Hong Kong , USA , China
original language Standard Chinese
Publishing year 2000
length 115 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Ang Lee
script Wang Hui Ling ,
James Schamus ,
Kuo Jung Tsai
production Ang Lee,
William Kong ,
Hsu Li-Kong
music Tan Dun
camera Peter Pau
cut Tim Squyres
occupation
chronology

Successor  →
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny

Location of Feitsui Gu at Huang Shan :
Location of a key scene in the film

Tiger and Dragon , also: Tiger & Dragon ( Chinese  臥虎藏龍  /  卧虎藏龙 , Pinyin Wòhǔ Cánglóng , Jyutping Ngo 6 fu 2 Cong 4 lung 4 , English Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon  - literally: Crouching tiger, hidden Dragon ”) is an award-winning Sino-Taiwanese wuxia film directed by Ang Lee . The wuxia drama from 2000 has received numerous awards. The plot is based on the fourth part of the five-part novel Kranich und Eisen by author Wang Dulu .

action

Location Hongcun, opening shot of the film

The action takes place at the time of the Qing Dynasty , during the 43rd year of the reign of the Qianlong emperor, i.e. the year 1779.

The famous sword master Li Mu Bai ( 李慕白 , Lǐ Mùbái ) comes back to a city after a meditation from Wudang Mountain and meets his girlfriend Yu Xiu Lian ( 俞秀蓮 , Yú Xiùlián ), who is happy to see him again after a long time. In the course of the discreet tea conversation, he tells her that he had to end his meditation early. It is true that he found a state of deep immersion in a sea of ​​light that his master never reported to him. However, he was not enlightened because he did not feel the overwhelming feeling of happiness, only sadness. He could not continue the meditation because there were still important things to do.

Yu Xiu Lian, herself a great fighter and, like Li Mu Bai, is familiar with the mysterious Wudang martial art, has again taken on an escort order for a silk shipment to Beijing. He asks her to take his legendary and valuable Green Sword of the Underworld there and give it to his friend, the High Councilor Tie. She is amazed and asks him why he wants to hand over this valuable sword as a worthy bearer. He explains to her that too many died as a result and that you can't see all the blood sticking to it in its glow. Now he wants to visit the grave of his master Meng, who was murdered by Jadefuchs many years ago and has still not been avenged.

Yu Xiu Lian made his way into the city without incident and initially delivered the silk to the merchant. He praised her martial arts and the successful takeover of the escort service from her father - no robber would dare to attack her. A little later she gives the sword to the councilor. He has known Yu Xiu Lian for a long time and speaks to her about her feelings for Li Mu Bai, to which she reacts evasively. Yu Xiu Lian and Li Mu Bai have been keeping their feelings for one another a secret for years, following etiquette.

On the first night, however, the sword is stolen from Ties by a hooded thief. The theft does not go unnoticed, and Yu Xiu Lian tries to prevent the thief from escaping. The thief turns out to be a respectable opponent even for a master like Yu Xiu Lian. Yu Xiu Lian recognizes the fighting style taught in Wudang, but the thief has to escape because she is distracted by a dart aimed at her from an ambush.

The next day, the Chief Security Officer of the High Council meets the secret police officer Cai Jiu, who is accompanied by his daughter and who has been persecuting the criminal Jadefuchs ( 碧眼狐狸 , Bì Yǎn Húli ) for a long time. All three want to arrest Jadefuchs and discuss how to proceed over dinner. An incident occurs: A dart is shot at the secret police, but he caught it in time (with chopsticks). A message is wrapped around the arrow: Jadefuchs invites the policeman to a duel at midnight on the yellow hill.

Weapons are used quickly at the meeting point, and Jadefuchs is on the verge of defeating their three opponents because of their superior fighting technique, until Li Mu Bai intervenes and fights them back. The opportunity for revenge seems to have come, but now the hooded thief intervenes on the side of Jadefuchs, the green sword of the underworld in her hand. Li Mu Bai realizes in the thief's fighting style that she has already surpassed her master Jade Fox and that she is using techniques that she must have learned from another teacher. While fighting with her, he requests the name of her master and says she still needs a teacher. Jadefuchs kills the police officer and is able to flee with the thief shortly afterwards.

In fact, the thief turns out to be the beautiful governor's daughter Yu Jiao Long ( 玉嬌 龍 , Yù Jiāolóng ), who wants to escape the constraints of her class and dreams of a life as a free fighter, which she so admires with Li Mu Bai and Yu Xiu Lian. Through the diplomatic intervention of Yu Xiu Lian, Yu Jiao Long first wants to bring back the stolen sword. On return, however, she is surprised by Li Mu Bai, whereupon she tries to flee with the sword. However, the sword can be grasped by Li Mu Bai. With this sword and a branch lying around, he wins the subsequent fight with her and explains to her that a fighter, a fighting school and the green sword of the underworld are nothing, but that everything is determined by the attitude. He offers her to become her teacher, which she contemptuously refuses. Back at home, she speaks to Jadefuchs. Jade Fox wants to flee and take Yu Jiao Long with him; but the latter refuses to come along. In the subsequent dialogue it is revealed that Yu Jiao Long's martial arts have long surpassed those of her previous teacher and governess Jadefuchs. This becomes clear through the fight that develops between her and Jadefuchs in the course of this dialogue when Jadefuchs is defeated.

Yu Jiao Long's former lover Luo Xiao Hu ( 羅小虎 , Luó Xiǎohǔ ), "Black Cloud", whom she met after his gang attacked their caravan in the desert, followed her to Beijing , knowing full well that a reward was coming up his head is exposed. There he monitors her steps and tries in vain to persuade her to return with him to Xinjiang Province .

But Yu Jiao Long flees on her wedding day with the Green Sword, which was stolen again, in order to lead a life as a free fighter.

In search of the sword and Yu Jiao Long, who would like to teach Li Mu Bai the martial arts, Li Mu Bai and Yu Xiu Lian finally reveal their feelings that they have had for each other for a long time but did not dare to express because Yu Xiu Lian master Meng before his death, through which he saved the life of his student and blood brother Li Mu Bai, had been promised.

After Yu Jiao Long ransacked a tea house in a fight with local fighters and lied twice over the course of defeating Li Mu Bai, she sought refuge with Yu Xiu Lian. Yu Jiao Long is crying on Yu Xiu Lian's shoulder, but is ungrateful and starts a fight. Li Mu Bai appears and also fights against them. She offers Li Mu Bai to be his student if he can take her sword from her in just three steps, which he does with ease. However, she does not keep her word, which is why Li Mu Bai throws the sword down a waterfall as punishment; Yu Jiao Long jumps after it, catches it and is rescued by the suddenly appearing Jade Fox, Li Mu Bai's old enemy, only to be stunned with poisoned incense by Jade Fox out of disappointment about the progress Yu Jiao Long has kept secret from her in martial arts.

In a cave there is a decisive battle in the course of which Jade Fox dies, but Li Mu Bai is hit with a poisoned needle. While Li Mu Bai is getting weaker and weaker, Yu Jiao Long, now refined, tries to get the antidote. Yu Xiu Lian advises Li Mu Bai to save his dwindling strength and not speak. He sits cross-legged in a seemingly relaxed, meditating position. He slowly lifts his head and looks at Yu Xiu Lian, who is watching him fearfully. He begins to speak in a weak voice. Yu Xiu Lian asks him again to take it easy and keep quiet. Li Mu Bai, however, speaks of approaching death, he only has one breath left. Yu Xiu Lian implores him to meditate and to use his last breath in order to achieve enlightenment, above all not to “waste” it on her. But Li Mu Bai admits to having wasted his whole life and says: "I tell you with my last breath: I have always loved you with all my heart." With these words, he sinks to the ground, dead.

Yu Jiao Long blames himself for Li Mu Bai's death. The renewal of her relationship with Luo Xiao Hu also seems hopeless. Returning to Xinjiang with him seems to be possible only by jumping from a mountain, steeped in legend. If you firmly believe in it, according to the legend Luo Xiao Hu told her about in the desert, you will survive the jump and your wish will come true. Yu Jiao Long jumps.

background

  • The film title Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , ( 臥虎藏龍 , Wòhǔ Cánglóng ) quotes a Chinese proverb which describes the fact that "potential" talents (dragons) are hidden among the "slumbering" people (tigers). The title refers to the characters Jiao Long and her lover Luo Xiao Hu, whose names contain the terms "dragon" (Long) and "tiger" (Hu). They are young, wild, headstrong and self-centered characters in contrast to the level-headed and selfless role models Li Mu Bai and Yu Xiu Lian. Today, the phrase "crouching tiger, hidden dragon" is used to refer to the mysteries of life that hide beneath the surface of everyday existence. The title "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" also describes the structure of the film. The first part is about social ideals, justice, duty and appropriate behavior. The second part leads deeper into the individual worlds and interpersonal relationships.
  • The cost of producing the film has been estimated at between $ 15 million and $ 17 million. The film grossed around US $ 213 million in cinemas around the world, including around US $ 128 million in the US.
  • It was released in theaters in the USA on December 22, 2000, and in Germany on January 11, 2001.
  • In 2016, the sequel Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny was released . The female lead again played Michelle Yeoh .
  • Yuen Woo-Ping , who was already involved in the Matrix film series, is responsible for the choreography of the martial arts fights .

reception

English speaking area

In the United States, the film received positive reviews almost without exception. Rotten Tomatoes evaluated 150 reviews, of which they classified 146 as more positive (fresh) and only four as more negative (rotten) . This results in a share of 97% for the positive reviews with an average rating of 8.6 out of 10 points. Metacritic determined an overall rating of 93 out of 100 points from 31 individual reviews , and not a single review was rated as negative or mixed.

German-speaking area

“A spectacular action film by Ang Lee, made in the tradition of classic swordsman films. Half philosophical discourse in the style of King Hu, half stunt extravagance with references to old Jackie Chan films, inspire not only the unique fight sequences, but also the moving story that drives Chow Yun-fat and Michelle Yeoh to top performance. "

“A fascinating martial arts film that condenses into a romantic adventure film of timeless beauty and at the same time weighs the traditions against a carefree, modern attitude to life. A film of tremendous ease, which, like all great fairy tales, also deals with people's sense of responsibility. "

“[...] that sweeps the viewer away like no other film has swept them away for a long time. Director Ang Lee has interwoven two love stories and a murder story and shows: Man can fly, but he cannot love. "

- The Star , 2001-03

“Pictures of impressive beauty and grace - a triumph over gravity. But not everything is a spectacle. Ang Lee contrasts with contemplative scenes and delicate gestures, focusing on the eternal conflict between mind and feeling. It shows the pressure of social constraints on the individual, the crumbling of traditions and the last human values. "

- Cristina Moles Kaupp ( Spiegel Online )

Awards (selection)

Oscars :
Won

  • Best foreign language film
  • Best Score: Tan Dun
  • Best camera: Peter Pau
  • Best equipment: Timmy Yip

Nominated

  • Best Film: William Kong, Hsu Li-Kong, Ang Lee
  • Best director: Ang Lee
  • Best Adapted Screenplay: John Schamus, Wang Hiu-Ling, Kuo Jung Tsai
  • Best editing: Tim Squyres
  • Best song: Dun Tan , James Schamus , Jorge Calandrelli - A Love Before Time - 月光愛人  /  月光爱人 , Yuèguāng àirén  - "Beloved in the moonlight" - sung by Coco Lee with Yo-Yo Ma on the cello
  • Best costume: Timmy Yip

Golden Globe :
Won

  • Best director: Ang Lee
  • Best foreign language film

Nominated

  • Best Score: Dun Tan

Independent Spirit Awards :
Won

  • Best Film (Budget over $ 500,000)
  • Best director: Ang Lee
  • Best Supporting Actress: Zhang Ziyi

Hong Kong Film Awards :
Won

  • Best movie

In 2016, Tiger and Dragon ranked 35th in a BBC poll of the 100 most important films of the 21st century .

literature

  • Ang Lee, James Schamus: Tiger and Dragon. Burgschmiet-Verlag, 144 pages, Nuremberg 2001, ISBN 978-3-933731-59-3 .
  • Kenneth Chan: Remade in Hollywood: The Global Chinese Presence in Transnational Cinemas . Hongkong University Press, 2009, pp. 75–93 ( excerpt (Google) )
  • Cristina Klein: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon": A Diasporic Reading . Cinema Journal, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Sommer, 2004), pp. 18–42 ( online copy ) ( JSTOR 3661154 )
  • William Leung: Crouching Sensibility, Hidden Sense . Film Criticism, Vol. 26, No. 1, Fall 2001 ( Questia )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b proverb "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"; wòhǔ cánglóng - (臥虎藏龍 / 卧虎藏龙). In: www.zdic.net. Retrieved November 10, 2017 (Chinese).
  2. a b proverb "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"; wòhǔ cánglóng - (臥虎藏龍 / 卧虎藏龙). In: dict.revised.moe.edu.tw. Retrieved November 10, 2017 (Chinese (Taiwan)).
  3. Tiger and Dragon at Rotten Tomatoes (accessed March 29, 2015)
  4. Tiger and Dragon at Metacritic (accessed March 29, 2015)
  5. ^ Tiger and Dragon. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  6. Cristina Moles Kaupp: "Tiger and Dragon": Triumph over gravity . Spiegel Online, January 8, 2001