BBBB.5
(out of 5)
Ang Lee combines traditions of classic martial arts cinema, Asian period dramas and his own sensibilities of emotional realism for a deftly perfect movie experience. Yun-Fat Chow is excellent as a great warrior who gives his magical jade sword to a good friend, only to see it stolen by a masked thief. He teams up with Michelle Yeoh, a woman with fighting talents equal to his who has also been his heart’s keeper for most of his life, to retrieve the sword and avenge the death of their master at the hands of the evil woman known as Jade Fox. Thrown into the mix is Ziyi Zhang, making her international debut as the daughter of the house from whom the sword was stolen, whose own history of thwarted love is intricately linked with the recovery plot. The story says pure adventure, but Lee elicits such beautifully tender work out of all of his actors that the feelings of the movie run deep. The fight scenes, which employ the characters’ magical abilities to dance on walls and fly through the air, have a ballet-like grace that is as fluid and lush as the exquisite acting. An astonishing achievement, and deservedly one of the highest points of international cinema of its decade, the film won four Academy Awards and tied with Fanny And Alexander for the most Oscars won by a Foreign-Language Film.
Taiwan/Hong Kong/USA/China, 2000
Directed by Ang Lee
Screenplay by James Schamus, Hui-ling Wang, Kuo Jung Tsai, based on the novel by Du Lu Wang
Cinematography by Peter Pau
Produced by Li-Kong Hsu, William Kong, Ang Lee
Music by Dun Tan
Production Design by Tim Yip
Costume Design by Tim Yip
Film Editing by Tim Squyres
Film Festivals: TIFF 2000
Cast Tags: Bao Cheng Li, Bin Chen, Chang Cheng Don, Chen Chang, Cheng Lin Xu, De Ming Wang, Dong Song, Fa Zeng Li, Feng Lin, Jian Hua Feng, Jian Min Zhu,Jin Ting Zhang, Kai Li, Li Li, Michelle Yeoh, Ning Ma, Pei-pei Cheng, Rei Yang, Sao Chen Chang, Shao Jun Zhang, Sihung Lung, Su Ying Huang, Wen Sheng Wang, Xian Gao, Yan Hai, Yi Shih, Yong De Yang, Yun-Fat Chow, Zhen Xi Du, Zhong Xuan Ma, Ziyi Zhang
Academy Awards
Best Art Direction (Tim Yip)
Best Cinematography (Peter Pau)
Best Foreign Language Film (Taiwan)
Best Music (Original Score) (Tan Dun)
Nominations
Best Costume Design (Tim Yip)
Best Directing (Ang Lee)
Best Film Editing (Tim Squyres)
Best Music (Original Song) (“A Love Before Time”, music by Jorge Calandrelli, Tan Dun; lyric by James Schamus)
Best Picture (Bill Kong, Hsu Li Kong, Ang Lee, producers)
Best Writing (Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published) (Wang Hui Ling, James Schamus, Tsai Kuo Jung)
Golden Globe Awards
Best Foreign Language Film (Taiwan)
Best Director (Ang Lee)
Nomination
Best Original Score-Motion Picture (Tan Dun)
New York Film Critics Award
Best Cinematography (Peter Pau)
Nominations
Best Film
Best Director (Ang Lee)
Best Foreign Language Film
Los Angeles Film Critics Awards
Best Picture
Best Cinematography (Peter Pau)
Best Music (Dun Tan)
Best Production Design (Tim Yip)
Nominations
Best Supporting Actress (Ziyi Zhang)
Best Director (Ang Lee)
National Society of Film Critics Award Nominations
Best Director (Ang Lee)
Best Cinematography (Peter Pau)
National Board Of Review Award
Best Foreign Language Film
Writers Guild Award Nomination
Best Adapted Screenplay
Directors Guild Award
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Ang Lee)
Independent Spirit Awards
Best Feature
Best Supporting Female (Ziyi Zhang)
Best Director (Ang Lee)
British Academy Awards
Best Film not in the English Language
Best Costume Design
David Lean Award for Direction (Ang Lee)
Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music
Nominations
Best Film
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Michelle Yeoh)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Ziyi Zhang)
Best Screenplay – Adapted
Best Cinematography
Best Sound
Best Editing
Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects
Best Production Design
Best Make Up/Hair
European Film Award Nomination
Screen International Award
Toronto Film Critics Awards
Best Picture
Best Supporting Performance, Female (Ziyi Zhang)
Nominations
Best Performance, Female (Michelle Yeoh)
Best Director (Ang Lee)
Boston Film Critics Awards
Best Cinematography
Best Foreign Language Film
Chicago Film Critics Awards
Best Cinematography
Best Foreign Language Film
Best Original Score
Most Promising Actress (Ziyi Zhang)
Nominations
Best Picture
Best Supporting Actress (Ziyi Zhang)
Best Director (Ang Lee)
