@@kylekonop4801 Yeah I read somewhere that some of these companies could run through different dynasties for hundreds of years. They are recognized by the government and they could make deliveries for both the government and individuals. The deliverables could not only be goods but also be people.
...it's a bit of a long shot, but maybe the Knights Templar? At least, on paper, they were supposed to act as security for pilgrims to Jerusalem et al, even if they did other, not so nice things. Edit: of course, this was MUCH earlier than the time period of this film.
same, I was thinking he was a history major or something. Made me aware of my ignorance of my own country's historic details. Also, that "Even zombies kiss." made me laugh and smile.
yeah I agree, they are both so entertaining and full of insight and it is refreshing to see young people care this much about these things. I love these videos.
The "yin and yang haircut" was actually a form of subjugation and oppression by the Manchu reigning Qing Dynasty... In 1645 the Jurchen mongols from Manchuria conquered The Chinese Ming empire and established the Qing Dynasty, shortly after the conquest ended the Jurchens became known as the Manchu since they were originally from Manchuria, and they introduced the Hair Mandate as a way to subjugate the majority Han population and to bring an end to the Cultural identity of the Han led Ming Dynasty who according to Confucianism standards did not cut their hair, instead tying it up into a top knot... Any male Han Chinese that refused to shave their forehead and tie the remaining hair into a pigtail or queue could face execution, public humiliation or torture, and in some cases exile... They would not be considered citizens of Qing China... Hence why in the many uprisings that took place in the later Qing Dynasty namely in the mid to late 1800s and early 1900s such as the Xinghai revolution, Han Chinese would often cut off their queue hairstyles as an act of Rebellion against the Qing government... Even the "tang suit" or Qipao outfits you see in Kung Fu movies was actually from Manchu culture as well as the "kung Fu slippers"... In all Dynasties preceding the Qing Dynasty, Chinese people had completely different clothing styles like top knot hairstyles, tunics and robes tied up with sashes and Hanfu boots
Many theaters in the US refused to show it when it was released. I think they assumed people didn't want to watch a Mandarin language movie with English subtitles. Eventually, it won four Academy Awards and each showing was sold out in my city for about six months.
I was in New York City when this came out and I don't recall any overt refusal within the US to screen this film. There certainly wasn't any news that a general refusal was in effect. Though I'm sure the less international areas of the US might have chosen not to screen it (or to do so in a limited way) due to American's reluctance to watch movies not in English:)
I laughed so hard when Jesse said "she took so long she even had time to change her clothes!". (before bringing the antidote) I watched this movie 3 times and didn't even notice that...
Although it is in the Qing dynasty, there is an anachronism. The streets of Beijing are laid with stone. When the Manchus took the city, they removed the stones so that their horses, which didn't have horseshoes, could be more comfortable. The streets would have been mud and/or dirt.
1:13 I'm positive that no other reactor to this movie will have a similar connection. 🥰 and i really like the personal stories you include in your reactions ✅
FANTASTIC absolutely top tier analysis, I loved this video so much, you really made my appreciation for this movie grow tenfold. Please do more movie reaction/analysis in this style! Loved it so so much.
19:36 Li: "I couldn't finish it when I was a kid... but now I think it's good". Well, of course you like it now, Li... You watched it with Jessie! (Everything is nicer when shared with Jessie. 😇)
It's lovely to watch this movie with a couple of Chinese people, Jessie. I always loved it (OK, I always loved Michelle Yeoh in it, if I'm going to be honest). You two point out a lot that I lacked the cultural knowledge to understand.
There are certain (few) movies that have the creative artistic talent that are on a completely different level. I watched "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" at the theater when it was released. The romantic aspect is hardly ever mentioned about this movie. I was crying every bit as much as when I watched "The Notebook". That's how much "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" effected me. Any and all anecdotes and minutiae are greatly appreciated. Every item of information both of you shared and discussed/debated, I considered vital details of the movie. But of course, Ang Lee would have had to stretch it out to 5 hours to explain the details you pointed out. Thank you so much, Chinese with Jessie.
I thought this an excellent and concise analysis of the film. So glad you appreciated it on it's merits rather than comparing it outside of what it is. It is really an 'art film' in that it is not there to make you feel good about affirming your fairy tales about the world but to challenge you to look more deeply into even the most pure of intentions and attitudes.
I like your perspective on Li Mubai and Jen. I have always only thought that Li Mubai only wanted a student, but your assessment of the undertone highlights the struggle of the two natures of free will versus dominance. Li Mubai desired more than just being a teacher and Jen saw through this, so she did not want to be restrained again as she was already trying to be free from it.
😕我不同意. She said Wudan is whorehouse because that's how it treated her governess. Jade Fox was much more apart of Jen growing up than Jen's mother. Li Mu Bai truly loved Shu Lien. He says in the movie his desire to train Jen. She'll become a poisoned dragon. She has so much potential but no teacher. That's why she was being such a brat when she was free. Li Mu Bai sees her as she is: a girl so naturally gifted that so far no one has been able to be the parent/master role to her. She's discovering her potential without guidance. Without inner rules, or being able to rule her 内心, she acts out, is arrogant, will lash out at anyone because in her whole life no one has ever disciplined her. You see young children like this (usually without wuxia..) they have never been disciplined and their attitude is angry. Maybe discovering the world/enlightenment when you're not prepared for it is sensory overload and it would make anyone angry. If anyone has seen Good Will Hunting, Li Mu Bai is exactly like Robin Williams talking to Will/Matt Damon on the bench. He sees someone with potential but is too stubborn to accept help. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶... 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯... 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺, 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺ou. And then he tells Will he is 100% interested in helping Will figure out his 内心 but also calls out that Will doesn't want to work on that, he finds it easier to pretend he doesn't care. Li Mu Bai 🙅🏻♀️ no romantic interest in Jen. If you look carefullllly, you get the impression he is fully in love with Shui Lien. The movie hints at that. By saying it verbatim many times and backing that uppp. Just like Qui-Gon Jinn desperate for baby Anakin to be trained, because he has the rare potential. Qui-Gon Jinn wasn't like ooo hey baby Anakin I want to dominate you. 不不不
@@explodingplant2 Both your examples are still male-to-male guidance, as where CTHD, it’s male to female in a patriarchal society. Even if Li Mu Bai trained her in the path of the Wudan system subconsciously, he’d still be biased toward her gender.
@@Mangolite that's yet another reason crouching tiger hidden dragon is an amazing movie 🙄 stories are always about men. Men men men 无聊 who cares? Watching reactions to 卧虎藏龙 I was thinking 'damnnnn this doesn't just pass the Bechtel test it smashes thru it.' It has female characters with agency, power, and action-- old, medium, and young. It wasn't until Mad Max Fury Road I saw another movie that remembered old women exist and can whoop ass. Not my fault the stories out there are male-male. Yoda training Luke, ignoring Leia. Yet if Yoda trained Leia, y'all would postulate Yoda teaching a lesson about learning to submit is now sexual 😮💨 Y'all not have several platonic relationships in your lives? This is really your thinking, influenced by your own experiences? Uff 😕 sad yikes. En verdad, ustedes me dan mal rollo tío. Mejor que ustedes pongan a prueba por más saludable, 加油 🫂
The whole movie is just two women fighting over a man. It's very straightforward. It's not so much Li Mubai who is conflicted but the director Ang Lee himself! The struggle is between letting loose one's desires as represented by Jen or to conform to conventions as represented by Li and Yu. There is no happy ending for any of them because the conflict is never resolved.
Wow, this is a very educational reaction. As a kung fu movie fan, I went to the cinema to see this film when it was released in our country in 2001. I was disappointed that there was so much flying in the fights. But later I liked the film because of the story, the aesthetics, and the atmosphere. It opened my mind to be able to appreciate other fantasy movies like A Chinese Ghost Story, Duel To The Death, Tai Chi Master, New Dragon Gate Inn, and many others. I love Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and this reaction gave me some more information about the historical and cultural background. Thank you.
You are right about this being different from the usual Kung fu movie. It is the first and still only Kung fu movie that has won the Oscar to best foreign movie. To me, the other movie that deserve an Oscar is "Hero", such a beautiful photography and choreography. Thanks for reviewing this, it's so interesting to check the language and story behind this! Thanks for sharing!
This is my first time viewing one of your reactions. GREAT content. I loved how you related what you were watching to a place you had visited. And the history things that the young man (your boyfriend?) was mentioning was great. And the reading of the Chinese to see if they made sense to the movie. I love this movie and think its great, but your reactions were what was fun to watch.
Interesting facts, Michelle Yeoh has apparently never had any formal martial arts training, even for her 80s Kung Fu movies. She used her ballet and dance training to learn the choreography. Also, her first language is English; she didn't start learning to speak Cantonese until she started working in Hong Kong, and she had never spoken any Mandarin until she took this movie.
I heard about the expression crouching Tiger hidden Dragon and that it’s similar to the English expression “to hide one’s light under a bushel ” meaning to not tell others about one's talents, successes, ideas.
Wow! I don’t know how I got to this video because I already know mandarin but you guys gave the most interesting review for a movie I’ve ever seen. Over the years I’ve seen Crouching Tiger 2 or 3 times but didn’t get any of what Jessie mentioned at the end of the video. I definitely want to watch more Chinese movie reviews from you guys like Grand Master or Hero! Great job and thanks!
It's so nice to hear you two talk about the history and background and all the little details, and Jessie's film analysis at the end was fantastic! Also that deer tattoo and the story behind it is really cool, it must have been weird to see that location in the film and be all "hey!!"
many of us in north america were blown away by this movie. that first fight scene between Jen and Shu Lien was just eye popping! loved this movie and i loved all the action choreography...never saw anything like it. i saw CTHD 3 times in the theater and i wish i'd seen it more. i wish i could see it in the theater again. WOW!
Insightful, charming and thoughtful reviews, both of "Red" and "Crouching Tiger." Although I subscribed the channel to listen to Jessie's pronunciations and fun style, you two are fantastic doing interpretive reviews with cultural content, with intelligent subtitles. Lee seems to be an encyclopedia of both Chinese and Western (at least NBA, LOL) cultures. So many choices to review, but young Zhang Ziyi in "The Road Home" might be good. Keep up the great videos!
I really enjoyed your insights, thank you. Before covid, I traveled to China (mainly in the central west) for my work, and learnt a bit about the amazing diversity of accent, food, and culture within China itself. So it was fun to watch you point out how different actors were struggling with accent and dialect:)
If you haven't already seen them, 2 other great films to react to in this same vein, Hero and House of Flying Daggers. Both are absolutely gorgeous movies that I can't recommend enough.
completely agree! and while they didn't receive as much critical acclaim in the U.S. as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, they were both very compelling stories and truly works of art. All of these were released from 2000 to 2004, what a time for masterful Chinese dramas.
I still have this movie on DVD 😅 it's the copy my mom got for me when I was a kid. It's always been a favorite of mine. I can't explain it but this movie *captured* me as a little girl and I couldn't stop watching it! 🐅🐲
In college I worked part-time in a Chinese restaurant(here in USA). The boss and his family and the Chef and his wife became pretty good friends of with me (actually went to visit their hometown in Anhui when I went to China). My memory of when this movie came out my boss and his wife invited me, the chef and his wife out to the Cinema to watch it. Both Boss and Chef tried to give me money to pay for all the tickets because neither of them could speak English well. As you might can imagine it got a bit violent and I was caught in the middle of it. The movie violence was actually pretty tame compared to that (j/k) Also wanted to mention I have visited an ancient walled city in Shanxi province called Pingyao where there was a field office for one of those ancient security companies there. That was a really cool place.
Please watch “hero”…… it really might be not just the best Chinese film I’ve ever seen but one of the best films in general and it has so much to say about Chinese history
For an American example of a security company working in the early years of the US look into Pinkerton Detective Agency. They’re still around and they were heavily involved in hunting down outlaws and protecting in the wild west era
WOW. I loved this reaction. It was very informative as an American. I love this film. I saw it in the theater 3 times and have owned it ever since it was first released. But it's wonderful to hear your insights and see the family trip picture with your brother.
I am so pleased you enjoyed the film. I first saw it at the cinema (it's fairly rare for Chinese language films to get a UK release) and have seen it many times on DVD. The only think which irked me, and I've seen it before in many HK films, is where Zhang Ziyi is mistaken for a boy because of her clothing. I mean she was, and still is, almost painfully gorgeous. Nobody could mistake her for a guy!!! But thank you for doing a review. I enjoyed your observations and additional information. Especially the complexity of the history of the name Beijing. I had no idea about that.
There are feminine-looking males, so I assume that they think Jen is one of those who happened to be an excellent fighter. I mean, I have seen an androgynous person, and even with their voice, it was hard to distinguish if they were male or female.
@@davidsanders5652 Wow, you really are hung on how you can tell that Zhang Ziyi is a woman and not a man, even in disguise. However, women did not begin to get hired to perform on stages until sometimes around the 1600s in the West. In most cultures, including China, men played women on stages far longer into the 1900s and quite convincingly. As for women playing in the role of the opposite sex, one of the most famous ones is Linda Hunt’s Oscar-winning performance in The Year of Living Dangerously as Billy Kwan. Even with that film, I knew Billy Kwan was a woman. When The Incredibles came out, Edna Mode reminded me of her, even though Hunt did not voice the character.
@@Mangolite You are clearly more obsessed with trying rather feebly, to turn this into something political. The history of the theatre is a total red herring and is simply feeding your narcissistic frailty. Sounds like you may be one of those idiot trans who think they actually pass as the other sex. Well that almost NEVER WORKS, normals can tell from the get go.
Eh it's a common trope, and definitely not just in Chinese stories - it's usually more about women being underestimated, so people just assume they're male if they present themselves that way and do things people associate with men. Sometimes it's even played off as a joke, where it's meant to be incredibly obvious someone is a woman, but people's ignorant attitudes mean they never even consider the possibility. Don't get too hung up on the realism, that's not the point!
Your interpretation about Li Mubai's desire to teach Jen is a bit off, imo. Ang Lee grew up in Taiwan and is a prominent member of a Taoist sect that is banned in China, and Ang Lee injected a few details into the movie and passed it off as principles of Wudan's teachings. Things like detachment, stillness, etc., and Li Mubai had failed his practice towards enlightenment due to not being able to detach from his desires, not only to be with ShuLien, but also to avenge his master. When in the process of avenging his master, he finds out there was another entanglement, being Jen, he decided to make an effort to unentangle it, and set her and Wudan back on the right path. ShuLien is resistant to it because she knew it would be more entanglements that would take his attention away from being with together with her. His feelings towards Jen was never romantic or cardinal.
Excellent review. I had always wondered about the details like accents, the writing, geography, and the like. To hear the both of you provide some facts about them was enlightening. Thank you and keep up the good work.
I watched this film so many times because it was the first dvd that I owned and the only dvd I had for months. Another film that I always liked is 'House of Flying Daggers' from 2004. There is a beautiful colorful scene in that of Zhang Ziyi dancing. That would be another good film to react to. The soundtrack is really good too.
Jet Lu as Li Mu Bai would have been awesome. Btw, I'm in awe with the analysis of the movie at the end of the video. Generally at least the people I interact with, oriental tend to deny their culture and only seek material success in the western world. Therefore they lack the depth and wouldn't be able to appreciate this kind of movie. I'm someone who likes to dive deep into the interpretation of movies but I gotta say this movie is a deeper one, even after watching several times I've been unable to extract all the intricacies of the characters and their stories. Thanks to you, I've learned a lot and I might re-watch it again to fully experiment it.
I have heard that mistakes in movies are sometimes done intentionally to see who's paying attention, when watching the movie. Sometimes moviemakers just don't want to spend the money to correct a minor mistake. I've read of a famous movie director who removed furniture from scenes, just because they felt it wasn't needed. And they'd fast pace the scene, so must viewers would never notice. Filmmakers are an odd and rare bunch.
Terrence Malick is an odd one, for sure. I heard and read that Adrian Brody was cast as the lead in the movie "A Thin Red Line.". He went out and promoted the film, talked about his character, and it was supposed to be like his debut role, so to speak. The day of the premiere arrived, and he finds out that his character had been edited out almost entirely and Jim Caviezal's scenes were edited in as the lead. No one told Adrian Brody. Terrence Malick is known for doing that.
If you mean the furniture in the Shining, Kubrick did it to further antagonize the audience by making them feel uneasy. Decals on the walls disappearing, faces shot with a different lense, noise instead of music, carpet changing direction...you name it, it's in there.
Lee has a Freddie Hubbard shirt, points out that Wudang is the same as Wu-Tang, and just knows his stuff in general? Cool guy. I think this is still the highest-grossing foreign language film in the US box office history. It was definitely the first time most of America got to see a _wuxia_ film. It's also the movie that really got me into movies, period.
Very insightful analysis of the film. I was blown away by some of the ideas you presented. Good catch on how it looked like Jen was floating up at the end. I didn’t quite realize that symbolism. Please react to The Godfather!
這個電影很厲害。真的還不錯 I too was struck by Handsome Cave Boi while watching lol, I put it in my movie review on Letterboxd. I also want a cave like his and I also want to share it with Zhang Ziyi. The thing about the accents interests me. Because my Chinese is so poor I don't really notice it. If a serious movie about medieval UK would have American sounding actors in it, that'd probably take me out of the experience (actually, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves is like that supposedly, but I haven't seen it). So... as long as my Chinese is crappy, I don't think I'll be bothered by how weird the lead actors sound lol!
I mean, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves gets all this grief because they just let Kevin Costner and Christian Slater talk the way they naturally do, which I honestly prefer to a laboured unconvincing accent. Never mind that, of course, back in 1194, most characters would be speaking early Middle English (and the nobles would all be speaking French). Literally everyone's accent in that movie is "wrong." But it's a great movie, so who cares, you know?
@@zammmerjammer if you can't get everyone to actually speak ancient English, the next best thing is to map social classes and regions to current accents. Just seems weird to me to take people out of the experience like that. If I knew Handsome Desert Cave Man in CTHD sounded like a T-pop star I'd probably have a laugh at that too while watching.
@@youn00ber Artistic choices are often dictated by pragmatism. RH:PTC was the 2nd highest grossing movie the year it was released. Everyone enjoyed it because it's a fun movie. There's little point in sacrificing good movie-making for "accuracy."
@@zammmerjammer Everyone enjoyed it (me too btw, quite a bit) except, notably, Chinese audiences. They were the most critical of all, and one of their annoyances was the accent issue.
First really good explanation of the ending when Jen jumps. Prefers Myth to Reality. Very nice ... maybe true, maybe not ... literature is meant to create reflection.
Out of curiosity, have you watched Zhang Yimou's "Hero" from 2002? I'd love to hear what you have to say about it, it's absolutely gorgeous aesthetically and has a wonderful soundtrack to boot! :)
I haven't! I'm not a fan of Zhang Ziyi for some reason, but this movie has changed my opinion, she is truly an amazing actor so I think I'll check out more of her movies in the future!
@@ChinesewithJessie, my ranking of the movie "Hero": EPIC. The size of the separate divisions that makes up the Emperor's army is massive in number. The fight scene between Jet Li and Donny Yen is breathtaking. I can now understand; from that scene, why it's called martial 'arts'.
I always had an interest in Chinese culture and history, but after watching this movie 20 odd years ago, I firmly decided to study China. Honestly, I thought that if I studied Chinese I'd get a beautiful wife like Zhang Ziyi (I'm Chinese-American by the way). Still haven't found a beautiful Chinese wife. But I think that's because I still haven't mastered the Chinese language :) . So, there's still a chance. Anyway, thank you for your reaction and the historical and cultural insight! I really liked your interpretation! Maybe you can see Rise the Red Lantern (大紅燈籠高高掛) or Eat Drink, Man Woman (飲食男女). Or some American classics like The Godfather or Rocky. Anyway, thank you for this. Again, you help improve my Chinese!
I really liked your comments on the film. I remember when this came out in the U.S. - American audiences, who were mostly not familiar with Wu Xia style movies, were completely blown away! I know the movie is based on a novel from the 1940's by an author named Wang Dulu. I am curious if the original novel is very well known to Chinese audiences? Or is it a more obscure novel that few have heard of or read? I also don't know how closely the film follows the original novel.
frankly .the original novel is shit. but I'm surprised you know the author's name. This is a second creation based on the original work. Of course, the main character's name remains the same.
Lee is like a walking encyclopedia. His knowledge is impeccable. Also, I fell asleep watching this movie... Maybe I'll give it another shot in the future. 😅
Good reaction actually, it's been many years since I've watched this movie. Hearing the two you speak brought back memories of hearing best friends family speak. Even though he was born in Taiwan his family spoke the Mandarin dialect. His mom is from Mainland China and his dad was from either Indonesia or Singapore I can't remember. I used to spend a lot of time with him and his family when I was younger I had tons of fun with them. His mom is one hell of a great cook I loved eating with them.
I live in South America and have an interest in Brazilian martial arts. I get asked a lot why a North American wants to learn South American art forms. I always say that "No soy una persona de America del Norte, soy una persona del mundo, y quiero aprender todo." From that point it's up to them whether they want to teach me or not.
There were not much more than ten English words but with closed captioning I was perfectly fine with Chinese language it played, in my mind like understood speaking.-Ernie Moore Jr.
As a Westerner, I have watched Kung Fu fighting movies and never tire of them since grade school. We would spend just about every weekend in Chinatown at the movie theater. Also, you two are great reactors and reviewers. Are you both history majors? 😉
This is my favourite movie. Very close to my heart. I really like your reactions and explanations were great too. Also, this is a great way to learn Mandarin because you can pick up actual conversational speaking. Not text book language.
9:42 I can relate with kdramas and kpop. As a Korean who lived in Korea for a long time, kpop songs and kdramas are what I grew up with that I grew tired of catching up with the new trends and films. It's just a part of living in the country, I guess..😅
21:56 Little Tiger, Spoiled Dragon Not knowing Chinese poetry or History I use what makes sense for saying a thing is a thing. If Spoiled Dragon is Hidden then The True person of her is not shown. Spoiled Dragon's True self is Hidden. Little Tiger is crouching. Crouching means on the ready--someone who is alert and ready. Crouching Tiger seems reserved in being small, but also crouching is reserved, hesitant crouching Tiger holds himself back.-Ernie Moore Jr. The Title with the characters can speak to the personalities. One person is hesitant to be aggressive although he is designed for it. He is afraid to be himself because he is so strong He is as a coiled spring and can expand with purpose; he is a lake that reflects like a mirror, but in his depths fierce-pouncing Tiger. The other is masked as a girly-girl, like Bruce Wayne And Batman-she is disgustingly--shallow a surface girl. She conceals her training and study and hearts...she is powerful and big yet does not know her ownself, She has potential but her greatness is yet to be found--Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.-Ernie Moore Jr.
Nobody answered my question yet 😭
Was there a western version of 镖局(security company) back then?
Pinkertons in the 1800’s USA. You see them working in Western movies, like guarding trains from robbery
@@voightkampffchamp Yeah, something like a "security company" existed, but not on a scale large enough to be recognized by the central government.
@@voightkampffchamp Thanks, that's interesting to know!
@@kylekonop4801 Yeah I read somewhere that some of these companies could run through different dynasties for hundreds of years. They are recognized by the government and they could make deliveries for both the government and individuals. The deliverables could not only be goods but also be people.
...it's a bit of a long shot, but maybe the Knights Templar? At least, on paper, they were supposed to act as security for pilgrims to Jerusalem et al, even if they did other, not so nice things.
Edit: of course, this was MUCH earlier than the time period of this film.
im so impressed with Lee's history knowledge!! the two of you together commentating on any film is just perfect
same, I was thinking he was a history major or something. Made me aware of my ignorance of my own country's historic details. Also, that "Even zombies kiss." made me laugh and smile.
yeah I agree, they are both so entertaining and full of insight and it is refreshing to see young people care this much about these things. I love these videos.
The "yin and yang haircut" was actually a form of subjugation and oppression by the Manchu reigning Qing Dynasty... In 1645 the Jurchen mongols from Manchuria conquered The Chinese Ming empire and established the Qing Dynasty, shortly after the conquest ended the Jurchens became known as the Manchu since they were originally from Manchuria, and they introduced the Hair Mandate as a way to subjugate the majority Han population and to bring an end to the Cultural identity of the Han led Ming Dynasty who according to Confucianism standards did not cut their hair, instead tying it up into a top knot... Any male Han Chinese that refused to shave their forehead and tie the remaining hair into a pigtail or queue could face execution, public humiliation or torture, and in some cases exile... They would not be considered citizens of Qing China... Hence why in the many uprisings that took place in the later Qing Dynasty namely in the mid to late 1800s and early 1900s such as the Xinghai revolution, Han Chinese would often cut off their queue hairstyles as an act of Rebellion against the Qing government... Even the "tang suit" or Qipao outfits you see in Kung Fu movies was actually from Manchu culture as well as the "kung Fu slippers"... In all Dynasties preceding the Qing Dynasty, Chinese people had completely different clothing styles like top knot hairstyles, tunics and robes tied up with sashes and Hanfu boots
Many theaters in the US refused to show it when it was released. I think they assumed people didn't want to watch a Mandarin language movie with English subtitles. Eventually, it won four Academy Awards and each showing was sold out in my city for about six months.
I have partial hearing loss and so watch TV with closed caption on so reading subtitles doesn’t effect me. Also helps with watching Japanese anime.
I was in New York City when this came out and I don't recall any overt refusal within the US to screen this film. There certainly wasn't any news that a general refusal was in effect. Though I'm sure the less international areas of the US might have chosen not to screen it (or to do so in a limited way) due to American's reluctance to watch movies not in English:)
When you watch a chinese language reaction channel and find out its actually a history channel . . . cool
Definitely better than watching the History Channel and finding out it's actually about aliens
I laughed so hard when Jesse said "she took so long she even had time to change her clothes!". (before bringing the antidote)
I watched this movie 3 times and didn't even notice that...
Although it is in the Qing dynasty, there is an anachronism. The streets of Beijing are laid with stone. When the Manchus took the city, they removed the stones so that their horses, which didn't have horseshoes, could be more comfortable. The streets would have been mud and/or dirt.
1:13 I'm positive that no other reactor to this movie will have a similar connection. 🥰
and i really like the personal stories you include in your reactions ✅
FANTASTIC absolutely top tier analysis, I loved this video so much, you really made my appreciation for this movie grow tenfold. Please do more movie reaction/analysis in this style! Loved it so so much.
Glad you enjoyed it!
LOL, WuTang Clan. Dude you are super smart. like your insights and commentaries along with Jessie. Great video
I remember at the time Chinese reaction to the movie was "The leads' accents are way off" and "this was a very basic Wuxia film."
19:36 Li: "I couldn't finish it when I was a kid... but now I think it's good".
Well, of course you like it now, Li... You watched it with Jessie! (Everything is nicer when shared with Jessie. 😇)
🤣🤣
Jessie is extremely gifted in being able to communicate her technical knowledge, as well as putting into words her philosophical views.
It's lovely to watch this movie with a couple of Chinese people, Jessie. I always loved it (OK, I always loved Michelle Yeoh in it, if I'm going to be honest). You two point out a lot that I lacked the cultural knowledge to understand.
There are certain (few) movies that have the creative artistic talent that are on a completely different level. I watched "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" at the theater when it was released. The romantic aspect is hardly ever mentioned about this movie. I was crying every bit as much as when I watched "The Notebook". That's how much "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" effected me.
Any and all anecdotes and minutiae are greatly appreciated. Every item of information both of you shared and discussed/debated, I considered vital details of the movie. But of course, Ang Lee would have had to stretch it out to 5 hours to explain the details you pointed out.
Thank you so much, Chinese with Jessie.
I thought this an excellent and concise analysis of the film. So glad you appreciated it on it's merits rather than comparing it outside of what it is. It is really an 'art film' in that it is not there to make you feel good about affirming your fairy tales about the world but to challenge you to look more deeply into even the most pure of intentions and attitudes.
I like your perspective on Li Mubai and Jen. I have always only thought that Li Mubai only wanted a student, but your assessment of the undertone highlights the struggle of the two natures of free will versus dominance. Li Mubai desired more than just being a teacher and Jen saw through this, so she did not want to be restrained again as she was already trying to be free from it.
😕我不同意. She said Wudan is whorehouse because that's how it treated her governess. Jade Fox was much more apart of Jen growing up than Jen's mother.
Li Mu Bai truly loved Shu Lien. He says in the movie his desire to train Jen. She'll become a poisoned dragon. She has so much potential but no teacher. That's why she was being such a brat when she was free. Li Mu Bai sees her as she is: a girl so naturally gifted that so far no one has been able to be the parent/master role to her. She's discovering her potential without guidance. Without inner rules, or being able to rule her 内心, she acts out, is arrogant, will lash out at anyone because in her whole life no one has ever disciplined her. You see young children like this (usually without wuxia..) they have never been disciplined and their attitude is angry. Maybe discovering the world/enlightenment when you're not prepared for it is sensory overload and it would make anyone angry.
If anyone has seen Good Will Hunting, Li Mu Bai is exactly like Robin Williams talking to Will/Matt Damon on the bench. He sees someone with potential but is too stubborn to accept help. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶... 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯... 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘺, 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺ou.
And then he tells Will he is 100% interested in helping Will figure out his 内心 but also calls out that Will doesn't want to work on that, he finds it easier to pretend he doesn't care.
Li Mu Bai 🙅🏻♀️ no romantic interest in Jen. If you look carefullllly, you get the impression he is fully in love with Shui Lien. The movie hints at that. By saying it verbatim many times and backing that uppp.
Just like Qui-Gon Jinn desperate for baby Anakin to be trained, because he has the rare potential. Qui-Gon Jinn wasn't like ooo hey baby Anakin I want to dominate you.
不不不
@@explodingplant2 Both your examples are still male-to-male guidance, as where CTHD, it’s male to female in a patriarchal society. Even if Li Mu Bai trained her in the path of the Wudan system subconsciously, he’d still be biased toward her gender.
@@Mangolite that's yet another reason crouching tiger hidden dragon is an amazing movie 🙄 stories are always about men. Men men men 无聊 who cares?
Watching reactions to 卧虎藏龙 I was thinking 'damnnnn this doesn't just pass the Bechtel test it smashes thru it.' It has female characters with agency, power, and action-- old, medium, and young. It wasn't until Mad Max Fury Road I saw another movie that remembered old women exist and can whoop ass.
Not my fault the stories out there are male-male. Yoda training Luke, ignoring Leia. Yet if Yoda trained Leia, y'all would postulate Yoda teaching a lesson about learning to submit is now sexual 😮💨
Y'all not have several platonic relationships in your lives?
This is really your thinking, influenced by your own experiences? Uff 😕 sad yikes.
En verdad, ustedes me dan mal rollo tío. Mejor que ustedes pongan a prueba por más saludable, 加油 🫂
The whole movie is just two women fighting over a man. It's very straightforward. It's not so much Li Mubai who is conflicted but the director Ang Lee himself! The struggle is between letting loose one's desires as represented by Jen or to conform to conventions as represented by Li and Yu. There is no happy ending for any of them because the conflict is never resolved.
Wow, this is a very educational reaction. As a kung fu movie fan, I went to the cinema to see this film when it was released in our country in 2001. I was disappointed that there was so much flying in the fights. But later I liked the film because of the story, the aesthetics, and the atmosphere. It opened my mind to be able to appreciate other fantasy movies like A Chinese Ghost Story, Duel To The Death, Tai Chi Master, New Dragon Gate Inn, and many others. I love Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and this reaction gave me some more information about the historical and cultural background. Thank you.
I fuckin lost it when my man Lee hit us with the “Wu-Tang foreva!” 😂
You are right about this being different from the usual Kung fu movie. It is the first and still only Kung fu movie that has won the Oscar to best foreign movie. To me, the other movie that deserve an Oscar is "Hero", such a beautiful photography and choreography. Thanks for reviewing this, it's so interesting to check the language and story behind this! Thanks for sharing!
This is my first time viewing one of your reactions. GREAT content. I loved how you related what you were watching to a place you had visited. And the history things that the young man (your boyfriend?) was mentioning was great. And the reading of the Chinese to see if they made sense to the movie. I love this movie and think its great, but your reactions were what was fun to watch.
Interesting facts, Michelle Yeoh has apparently never had any formal martial arts training, even for her 80s Kung Fu movies. She used her ballet and dance training to learn the choreography.
Also, her first language is English; she didn't start learning to speak Cantonese until she started working in Hong Kong, and she had never spoken any Mandarin until she took this movie.
She’s both smart and beautiful- what a combination! Thanks for your reaction!
I heard about the expression crouching Tiger hidden Dragon and that it’s similar to the English expression “to hide one’s light under a bushel ” meaning to not tell others about one's talents, successes, ideas.
Wow! I don’t know how I got to this video because I already know mandarin but you guys gave the most interesting review for a movie I’ve ever seen. Over the years I’ve seen Crouching Tiger 2 or 3 times but didn’t get any of what Jessie mentioned at the end of the video. I definitely want to watch more Chinese movie reviews from you guys like Grand Master or Hero! Great job and thanks!
It's so nice to hear you two talk about the history and background and all the little details, and Jessie's film analysis at the end was fantastic! Also that deer tattoo and the story behind it is really cool, it must have been weird to see that location in the film and be all "hey!!"
This is now online for years but just seen your post and much impressed with the depth of your both comments.
many of us in north america were blown away by this movie. that first fight scene between Jen and Shu Lien was just eye popping! loved this movie and i loved all the action choreography...never saw anything like it. i saw CTHD 3 times in the theater and i wish i'd seen it more. i wish i could see it in the theater again. WOW!
I love this movie so much and you guys are the best at commenting movies, thanks
Insightful, charming and thoughtful reviews, both of "Red" and "Crouching Tiger." Although I subscribed the channel to listen to Jessie's pronunciations and fun style, you two are fantastic doing interpretive reviews with cultural content, with intelligent subtitles. Lee seems to be an encyclopedia of both Chinese and Western (at least NBA, LOL) cultures. So many choices to review, but young Zhang Ziyi in "The Road Home" might be good. Keep up the great videos!
2:44 Oh My Goodness this history telling is super good. Such good knowing.-Ernie Moore Jr.
I really enjoyed your insights, thank you. Before covid, I traveled to China (mainly in the central west) for my work, and learnt a bit about the amazing diversity of accent, food, and culture within China itself. So it was fun to watch you point out how different actors were struggling with accent and dialect:)
If you haven't already seen them, 2 other great films to react to in this same vein, Hero and House of Flying Daggers. Both are absolutely gorgeous movies that I can't recommend enough.
completely agree! and while they didn't receive as much critical acclaim in the U.S. as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, they were both very compelling stories and truly works of art. All of these were released from 2000 to 2004, what a time for masterful Chinese dramas.
I still have this movie on DVD 😅 it's the copy my mom got for me when I was a kid. It's always been a favorite of mine. I can't explain it but this movie *captured* me as a little girl and I couldn't stop watching it! 🐅🐲
YEEESSS!! I love this movie and your analysis! Thanks for this one!
Would love to see a reaction like this to Jet LI's Fearless.
In college I worked part-time in a Chinese restaurant(here in USA). The boss and his family and the Chef and his wife became pretty good friends of with me (actually went to visit their hometown in Anhui when I went to China). My memory of when this movie came out my boss and his wife invited me, the chef and his wife out to the Cinema to watch it. Both Boss and Chef tried to give me money to pay for all the tickets because neither of them could speak English well. As you might can imagine it got a bit violent and I was caught in the middle of it. The movie violence was actually pretty tame compared to that (j/k) Also wanted to mention I have visited an ancient walled city in Shanxi province called Pingyao where there was a field office for one of those ancient security companies there. That was a really cool place.
Please watch “hero”…… it really might be not just the best Chinese film I’ve ever seen but one of the best films in general and it has so much to say about Chinese history
For an American example of a security company working in the early years of the US look into Pinkerton Detective Agency. They’re still around and they were heavily involved in hunting down outlaws and protecting in the wild west era
Martial artists also have enjoy the fight scenes even though we realize they are not realistic, sometimes it is nice to feel fantasy
WOW. I loved this reaction. It was very informative as an American. I love this film. I saw it in the theater 3 times and have owned it ever since it was first released. But it's wonderful to hear your insights and see the family trip picture with your brother.
I love that you guys give so much details!!! Thank you very much!
Crouching Tiger Hidden dragon, Jet Lis Hero, and House Of Flying Daggers was the best and most iconic Chinese action flicks of the 2000s
你俩这么幽默哈哈笑死，这是个好评论哦！点赞
我發現這集含金量好高，學到不少電影外的知識，謝謝
I love that the film dares to not have a happy ending, despite the rest of the film building up to that moment wasn't sad at all.
I am so pleased you enjoyed the film. I first saw it at the cinema (it's fairly rare for Chinese language films to get a UK release) and have seen it many times on DVD. The only think which irked me, and I've seen it before in many HK films, is where Zhang Ziyi is mistaken for a boy because of her clothing. I mean she was, and still is, almost painfully gorgeous. Nobody could mistake her for a guy!!! But thank you for doing a review. I enjoyed your observations and additional information. Especially the complexity of the history of the name Beijing. I had no idea about that.
There are feminine-looking males, so I assume that they think Jen is one of those who happened to be an excellent fighter. I mean, I have seen an androgynous person, and even with their voice, it was hard to distinguish if they were male or female.
@@Mangolite Takes an amazing suspension of disbelief in the case of Zhang Ziyi. In fact it was more likely women who looked more masculine.
@@davidsanders5652 Wow, you really are hung on how you can tell that Zhang Ziyi is a woman and not a man, even in disguise. However, women did not begin to get hired to perform on stages until sometimes around the 1600s in the West. In most cultures, including China, men played women on stages far longer into the 1900s and quite convincingly. As for women playing in the role of the opposite sex, one of the most famous ones is Linda Hunt’s Oscar-winning performance in The Year of Living Dangerously as Billy Kwan. Even with that film, I knew Billy Kwan was a woman. When The Incredibles came out, Edna Mode reminded me of her, even though Hunt did not voice the character.
@@Mangolite You are clearly more obsessed with trying rather feebly, to turn this into something political. The history of the theatre is a total red herring and is simply feeding your narcissistic frailty. Sounds like you may be one of those idiot trans who think they actually pass as the other sex. Well that almost NEVER WORKS, normals can tell from the get go.
Eh it's a common trope, and definitely not just in Chinese stories - it's usually more about women being underestimated, so people just assume they're male if they present themselves that way and do things people associate with men. Sometimes it's even played off as a joke, where it's meant to be incredibly obvious someone is a woman, but people's ignorant attitudes mean they never even consider the possibility. Don't get too hung up on the realism, that's not the point!
Your interpretation about Li Mubai's desire to teach Jen is a bit off, imo. Ang Lee grew up in Taiwan and is a prominent member of a Taoist sect that is banned in China, and Ang Lee injected a few details into the movie and passed it off as principles of Wudan's teachings. Things like detachment, stillness, etc., and Li Mubai had failed his practice towards enlightenment due to not being able to detach from his desires, not only to be with ShuLien, but also to avenge his master.
When in the process of avenging his master, he finds out there was another entanglement, being Jen, he decided to make an effort to unentangle it, and set her and Wudan back on the right path. ShuLien is resistant to it because she knew it would be more entanglements that would take his attention away from being with together with her. His feelings towards Jen was never romantic or cardinal.
I don't think ive ever heard anyone refer to Crouching Tiger as boring.
This is a good commentary! You two are funny! LOL I like this channel very much!☺
You crack me up, Jessie. Nice video
Very insightful, you brought up many concepts that I had never thought of. Good work.
Excellent review. I had always wondered about the details like accents, the writing, geography, and the like. To hear the both of you provide some facts about them was enlightening. Thank you and keep up the good work.
I watched this film so many times because it was the first dvd that I owned and the only dvd I had for months. Another film that I always liked is 'House of Flying Daggers' from 2004. There is a beautiful colorful scene in that of Zhang Ziyi dancing. That would be another good film to react to. The soundtrack is really good too.
This is one of the best reviews I've seen of any movie.
Thank you for explaining your tattoo. WOW! 💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋
I love your movie reactions & reviews! Lee is hilarious! 😂
Jet Lu as Li Mu Bai would have been awesome. Btw, I'm in awe with the analysis of the movie at the end of the video. Generally at least the people I interact with, oriental tend to deny their culture and only seek material success in the western world. Therefore they lack the depth and wouldn't be able to appreciate this kind of movie. I'm someone who likes to dive deep into the interpretation of movies but I gotta say this movie is a deeper one, even after watching several times I've been unable to extract all the intricacies of the characters and their stories. Thanks to you, I've learned a lot and I might re-watch it again to fully experiment it.
I have heard that mistakes in movies are sometimes done intentionally to see who's paying attention, when watching the movie. Sometimes moviemakers just don't want to spend the money to correct a minor mistake. I've read of a famous movie director who removed furniture from scenes, just because they felt it wasn't needed. And they'd fast pace the scene, so must viewers would never notice. Filmmakers are an odd and rare bunch.
Terrence Malick is an odd one, for sure. I heard and read that Adrian Brody was cast as the lead in the movie "A Thin Red Line.". He went out and promoted the film, talked about his character, and it was supposed to be like his debut role, so to speak. The day of the premiere arrived, and he finds out that his character had been edited out almost entirely and Jim Caviezal's scenes were edited in as the lead. No one told Adrian Brody. Terrence Malick is known for doing that.
If you mean the furniture in the Shining, Kubrick did it to further antagonize the audience by making them feel uneasy. Decals on the walls disappearing, faces shot with a different lense, noise instead of music, carpet changing direction...you name it, it's in there.
so interesting.. i love the investigative reporting and history comments.. great movie reaction... thank you
Lee has a Freddie Hubbard shirt, points out that Wudang is the same as Wu-Tang, and just knows his stuff in general? Cool guy.
I think this is still the highest-grossing foreign language film in the US box office history. It was definitely the first time most of America got to see a _wuxia_ film. It's also the movie that really got me into movies, period.
Very insightful analysis of the film. I was blown away by some of the ideas you presented. Good catch on how it looked like Jen was floating up at the end. I didn’t quite realize that symbolism. Please react to The Godfather!
This movie made Zhang Zi Yi extremely popular in the west. She's also in the movies "House of Flying Daggers" and "Hero"
這個電影很厲害。真的還不錯
I too was struck by Handsome Cave Boi while watching lol, I put it in my movie review on Letterboxd. I also want a cave like his and I also want to share it with Zhang Ziyi.
The thing about the accents interests me. Because my Chinese is so poor I don't really notice it. If a serious movie about medieval UK would have American sounding actors in it, that'd probably take me out of the experience (actually, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves is like that supposedly, but I haven't seen it). So... as long as my Chinese is crappy, I don't think I'll be bothered by how weird the lead actors sound lol!
I mean, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves gets all this grief because they just let Kevin Costner and Christian Slater talk the way they naturally do, which I honestly prefer to a laboured unconvincing accent. Never mind that, of course, back in 1194, most characters would be speaking early Middle English (and the nobles would all be speaking French). Literally everyone's accent in that movie is "wrong." But it's a great movie, so who cares, you know?
@@zammmerjammer if you can't get everyone to actually speak ancient English, the next best thing is to map social classes and regions to current accents. Just seems weird to me to take people out of the experience like that. If I knew Handsome Desert Cave Man in CTHD sounded like a T-pop star I'd probably have a laugh at that too while watching.
@@youn00ber Artistic choices are often dictated by pragmatism. RH:PTC was the 2nd highest grossing movie the year it was released. Everyone enjoyed it because it's a fun movie. There's little point in sacrificing good movie-making for "accuracy."
@@zammmerjammer Everyone enjoyed it (me too btw, quite a bit) except, notably, Chinese audiences. They were the most critical of all, and one of their annoyances was the accent issue.
I love this movie. It’s one of the few movies I give a 10/10. I always loved Mu Bai Lee’s dying words. I saw this in the theater bitd
This was a fabulous reaction because it is very educational for an English speaker like me.
First really good explanation of the ending when Jen jumps. Prefers Myth to Reality. Very nice ... maybe true, maybe not ... literature is meant to create reflection.
please make more of these wisecrack-esque content 💓 thank you for this 💓 love from the Philippines
Excellent post-reaction breakdown and commentary
wow i understood nothing when i watched first time, amazing analysis by jessie!
"我的妈呀" "哎呀气死我啦" you super cute 😆
Out of curiosity, have you watched Zhang Yimou's "Hero" from 2002? I'd love to hear what you have to say about it, it's absolutely gorgeous aesthetically and has a wonderful soundtrack to boot! :)
I've always found that Zhang Yimou perfected what this film tried to be
I haven't! I'm not a fan of Zhang Ziyi for some reason, but this movie has changed my opinion, she is truly an amazing actor so I think I'll check out more of her movies in the future!
@@ChinesewithJessie It also has Tony Leung Chiu-wai being very hot throughout the movie which is always a huge plus in my book 😁
@@ChinesewithJessie, my ranking of the movie "Hero": EPIC. The size of the separate divisions that makes up the Emperor's army is massive in number.
The fight scene between Jet Li and Donny Yen is breathtaking. I can now understand; from that scene, why it's called martial 'arts'.
Hero is amazing! The use of colour is pretty much unique.
I always had an interest in Chinese culture and history, but after watching this movie 20 odd years ago, I firmly decided to study China. Honestly, I thought that if I studied Chinese I'd get a beautiful wife like Zhang Ziyi (I'm Chinese-American by the way). Still haven't found a beautiful Chinese wife. But I think that's because I still haven't mastered the Chinese language :) . So, there's still a chance. Anyway, thank you for your reaction and the historical and cultural insight! I really liked your interpretation! Maybe you can see Rise the Red Lantern (大紅燈籠高高掛) or Eat Drink, Man Woman (飲食男女). Or some American classics like The Godfather or Rocky. Anyway, thank you for this. Again, you help improve my Chinese!
I really liked your comments on the film. I remember when this came out in the U.S. - American audiences, who were mostly not familiar with Wu Xia style movies, were completely blown away!
I know the movie is based on a novel from the 1940's by an author named Wang Dulu. I am curious if the original novel is very well known to Chinese audiences? Or is it a more obscure novel that few have heard of or read? I also don't know how closely the film follows the original novel.
frankly .the original novel is shit. but I'm surprised you know the author's name. This is a second creation based on the original work.
Of course, the main character's name remains the same.
Wow, Lee knows a lot of history!
Lee is like a walking encyclopedia. His knowledge is impeccable.
Also, I fell asleep watching this movie... Maybe I'll give it another shot in the future. 😅
Such a great movie. Loved the reaction and commentary))
Good reaction actually, it's been many years since I've watched this movie. Hearing the two you speak brought back memories of hearing best friends family speak. Even though he was born in Taiwan his family spoke the Mandarin dialect. His mom is from Mainland China and his dad was from either Indonesia or Singapore I can't remember. I used to spend a lot of time with him and his family when I was younger I had tons of fun with them. His mom is one hell of a great cook I loved eating with them.
When you hear a discrepancy thank you for saying something.-Ernie Moore Jr.
12:20 "What's up with the rhythmic gymnastics?"
Maybe Jade Fox, with her lesser skills, cannot fly without waving the ribbon? :D
You would have seen the Pinkerton's in Red Dead Redemption. The Pinkerton National Detective Agency was found decades after this in 1850.
I live in South America and have an interest in Brazilian martial arts. I get asked a lot why a North American wants to learn South American art forms. I always say that "No soy una persona de America del Norte, soy una persona del mundo, y quiero aprender todo." From that point it's up to them whether they want to teach me or not.
That was great! I hope you guys make more movie reactions in the future.
Very interesting analysis of the film's themes. Thanks!
very good commenting.-Ernie Moore Jr.
Dude knows everythang!
Wowow great analysis from both :D
There were not much more than ten English words but with closed captioning I was perfectly fine with Chinese language it played, in my mind like understood speaking.-Ernie Moore Jr.
As a Westerner, I have watched Kung Fu fighting movies and never tire of them since grade school. We would spend just about every weekend in Chinatown at the movie theater. Also, you two are great reactors and reviewers. Are you both history majors? 😉
"Even zombies kiss!" 🤣🤣
18:30 "Even zombies kiss" 🤣
This is my favourite movie. Very close to my heart. I really like your reactions and explanations were great too.
Also, this is a great way to learn Mandarin because you can pick up actual conversational speaking. Not text book language.
I love this movie.
6:11 書同文，車同軌，那是門口檢查用的…
Chow Yun Fat brought way more gravity to it than Jet Li could.
看这个电影，那些口音特别让人出戏。就是拍给老外看的片
9:42 I can relate with kdramas and kpop. As a Korean who lived in Korea for a long time, kpop songs and kdramas are what I grew up with that I grew tired of catching up with the new trends and films. It's just a part of living in the country, I guess..😅
Sweet! "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is one of my favorite films. "House of Flying Daggers" is also really really good.
i didn't want spoilers so i paused the video, watched the film, then returned
came for the movie, stayed for the history lesson
See Ang Lee's "Eat Drink Man Woman".
21:56 Little Tiger, Spoiled Dragon Not knowing Chinese poetry or History I use what makes sense for saying a thing is a thing. If Spoiled Dragon is Hidden then The True person of her is not shown. Spoiled Dragon's True self is Hidden. Little Tiger is crouching. Crouching means on the ready--someone who is alert and ready. Crouching Tiger seems reserved in being small, but also crouching is reserved, hesitant crouching Tiger holds himself back.-Ernie Moore Jr.
The Title with the characters can speak to the personalities. One person is hesitant to be aggressive although he is designed for it. He is afraid to be himself because he is so strong He is as a coiled spring and can expand with purpose; he is a lake that reflects like a mirror, but in his depths fierce-pouncing Tiger. The other is masked as a girly-girl, like Bruce Wayne And Batman-she is disgustingly--shallow a surface girl. She conceals her training and study and hearts...she is powerful and big yet does not know her ownself, She has potential but her greatness is yet to be found--Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.-Ernie Moore Jr.