Customer Reviews

New Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

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The Ang Lee version of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon left many Asians with a bad taste. The movie version cut alot of the side stories and boiled it down to the bare essentials. Asian audiences felt that 2 hours was not enough to tell the original story. The same can be said of many book to movie adaptations.


This U.S. DVD release of New Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is essentially a condensed Reader's Digest version of the television mini-series that aired in China shortly after the Ang Lee movie came out.

The original series, like alot of Chinese mini-series, tended to explore many aspects of Chinese culture that would be unfathomable to Western tastes. Much of that is cut out.

This series plays out more like a soap opera with continuing plot lines from episode to episode.

It's too bad that Tai Seng edited alot of the story out as some folks may want to see the complete uncut series. But in the interest of Western audiences, it was pared down to a more managable 4 hour show. This DVD release would probably not have sold very well if it was released in the U.S. in its complete uncut edition with more discs and a higher price.

VCDs of the original uncut series are available in China and in Chinese video rental shops but there are no English subtitles or English dubbing.

This "NEW" version of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is more like a television mini-series. It is shot on VIDEO. Not Hi-Def George Lucas like video but soap opera / sitcom style video. However, despite the low budget quality of the production, this is a fun ride. The story and characters differ quite a bit from the theatrical version of the story but I enjoyed this alternate take. It clocks in at over 200 minutes so the story delves deeper into nuances & character arcs. Now on to the martial arts. The fighting in this new production is intense & non-stop. Top notch Kung Fu all the way. Overall, this will not make you forget about the Ang Lee directed theatrical film but it's an interesting alternate version of the epic story. Approach it with an open mind & I think you'll enjoy it.

This version of Crouching Tiger is certain to disappoint most fans of the Ang Lee movie version. The special effects budget is nonexistent. There are scenes where the wires are vividly visible, destroying any believability. Unfortunately, the acting only deepens the disappointment. It is abysmal and amateurish. The story progresses at a jerky pace and the editing is choppy, (probably reflecting the fact that this is condensed from a 15 hour TV version), making it difficult to follow what is going on. Take my advice, save your money! Buy the Ang Lee movie version if you have not already seen it. Watching this horrific and degenerate version is painful and not worth the effort.

This tv production pre-dates the famous movie by a year or so, but, has it's own character and story to tell. Some incidents remain the same, as well as all the major characters, performed by an attractive and talented group of actors (I've developed a little crush on the actress playing Shu lin). This was apparently a much longer work attested to by missing scenes shown in the opening and closing credits and it's a shame Tai Seng has not also offered the complete series dubbed for the serious collector. What's left is a sometimes choppy, but well edited story that expands into many different directions from the movie, yet at it heart never strays from the familiar. Great martial arts too. Very Highly Recommended!!

The best thing about this chopped-up TV series is the attractive cast. As I began watching this almost 4-hour epic, I was almost instantly disappointed with the quality of the directing and the martial arts, and the awful pinkness of the costumes (very well represented on the DVD cover!). Is this a production for a mainly young female audience? After having watched for about an hour or so, I actually became caught up in the story, and thought that this might not be so bad after all. Unfortunately, the second disc proved overlong and confusing, featuring a very uneven plotline with shredded threads. The ending also is marked by nonsense and disappointment. It's not a complete loss, but I felt that many elements of this version were rather incompetently made. Not much to be impressed with here.

Except one thing: In this version we hear a lot of extra details that were left out of the Ang Lee movie. As I recall, in Ang Lee's movie Jen (Lung) steals the Green Destiny sword and then soon after brings it back, but we don't hear what she wanted it for in the first place. In this version we hear that the sword is supposed to be able to cut through anything if you apply the right stances to it, and this is what Lung is interested in testing.

Also, Lung's boyfriend Dark Cloud has a vastly bigger role here. Shu Lien herself, however, while easy on the eyes, seems not to have much to do in this New version. She's one of the main characters, but she's just sort of there. She doesn't train Lung, and she doesn't have much of a relationship with Li Mu Bai, and her kung fu skills don't really feature very prominently. It's interesting to have seen this version, but if I had seen it beforehand I probably would not have shelled out for the DVD. Overall, I'd have to say I find it of below average quality.

The Ang Lee movie, however, is a heck of a masterpiece.

New Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

I am a big fan of Ang Lee's movie, and was really doubtful about this one. It turned out to be very good - well developed story, touchy love scenes, a lot of action. I liked the female actresses, they are really good looking, and just very good... in everything ;) Some male roles (like Li Mu Bai and his master Ku) are well developed too.

Surely, the budget is incomparable to Ang Lee's epic story, and the acting sometimes looks really amateurish, but the overall impression is very positive. The contributing thing is that this movie lasts for 4 hours and the story is very rich and detailed. And I will join other reviewers and will feel pity that I can not see the full 15-hours version.

To compare this movie to Ang Lee's is like comparing the book to Hollywood adaptation. Watching "New Crouching Tiger" is really like reading a book, so much the story is developed.

I also wonder why this movie is not listed on IMDB. One of those rare movies, I guess... I liked it so much, that I ordered the DVD into my collection.

I first rented this from Blockbuster thinking that it was the movie, and much to my disappiontment, it really wasn't. I watched the first 20 minutes and noticed all the shortcomings: bad acting, low-budget special effects, and terrible camera angles to make up for lack of special effects. I was kind of disappointed, so I just turned it off and planned on returning it the next day.
I eventually ended up watching the entire thing in almost one run, and I got really absorbed in it. Some of the storyline is still a litle blurry to me, but it was really fun to watch once I got past the bad acting and visible wires. I'm still kind of disappointed that it was originally a 15-hour series and we only get the 4-hour abridged version. Kind of annoying, really.
So, with all that said, I recommend this only if you have a lot of free time...since there really aren't any good places to pause if you get really absorbed in it.

One thing that I always see in reviews are people who compare this film to the Action Adventure wire-fu epic flic. This is a Chinese action drama. It's also a TV series. Not a Gung Fu epic. As an action drama, it's one of my favourites. Amazing action, a much-appreciated love story, and further background into the characters.
Remember that Chinese cinema is NOT American cinema. Everything is different. Different people play the same parts in variations from the original. And each variation can show a different part of the whole story. I loved the further dive into this world.

I really liked this version of the story. There's more to it than what we saw in Ang Lee's fine movie. More characters, more situations, just more to watch and enjoy. I thought it was well-done, and I didn't think the acting was that bad. The visual effects aren't big-budget, but hey, it's a TV series so I don't expect ILM-level stuff.

It's fun, well-done, and a good story. Watch it!

this video is the best chinese action movie i've seen besides some I've seen a few years ago with Vivian Leung. The action is great, all the actors/actresses were Great! I liked it so much more than the original crouching tiger hidden dragon.... I would definitely watch it over and over and over again.!!