Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

To coincide with the Sony Pictures Classics release--this elegantly illustrated moviebook captures the beauty, spirit, and extraordinary talents behind what TimeAsia heralded as an instant classic...a rule-bending master-piece that weds martial arts with sense and sensibility. The latest film from Sense and Sensibility director is an epic love story and a thrilling action drama set against the breathtaking landscapes of ancient China, filmed entirely on location. Based on a five-volume Chinese novel by Wang Du Lu, the project was scripted by Wang Hui Ling (Eat Drink Man Woman), James Schamus (The Ice Storm), and Tsai Kuo Jung. Marking Ang Lee's first Chinese-language feature since 1994, the film is punctuated by beautifully choreographed fight scenes and dazzling stunts masterminded by Yuen Wo-Ping, who worked on The Matrix. The actors include the two most popular Asian actors in the world, Chow Yun Fat (Anna and the King, The Replacement Killers) and Michelle Yeoh (Supercop, Tomorrow Never Dies). The Newmarket book includes the screenplay, stunning full-color photographs before and behind the cameras, interviews and notes with filmmakers, features on the history and tradition of martial arts storytelling and filmmaking, and articles by Time's Richard Corliss and world renowned film scholar David Bordwell. A breathtaking epic love story set in mythical China, where saber wielding Taoist masters--most of them women--save the day.--Lee Yanowitch, Reuters A sweeping romantic epic with a strong feminist backbone [with] a generous offering of seriously kick-ass action sequences that make The Matrix seem downright quaint by comparison.--Michael Rechtshaften, Hollywood Reporter [The film is] a blending, not a collision, of Eastern physical grace and Western intensity of performance, of Hong Kong kung fu directness and British attention to behavioral nuance.--Richard Corliss, TimeAsia cover story (7/10/00) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is produced by Sony Pictures Classics, Good Machine International, and Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia. About the Author: Ang Lee's other films as director/producer include Ride with the Devil, The Ice Storm, Sense and Sensibility, Eat Drink Man Woman, The Wedding Banquet, and Pushing Hands. Born in Taiwan in 1954, he moved to the US in 1978 and lives in the New York area.