Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Communications & Media Essay

Crouching Tiger; Hidden Dragon Study Questions
Screening - Crouching Tiger; Hidden Dragon. Ang Lee, 2000 U.S.A/Taiwan/Hong Kong [starring MicheUe Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Chow Yun-fat] Cinematographer Peter Pau Study Question Ideas: Include a reference to one of the above assigned readings and/or a director’s interview clips (if so include link please).
1. Respond to a specific quote from one of the assigned readings and connect it to the film.
2. In his 2016 restoration of Crouching Tiger; Hidden Dragon, Ang Lee explains that for him, fight scenes in martial arts films are like musicals — a beautiful mix of highly choreographed dance and Chinese opera acrobatics. Discuss this in relation to a scene.
3. In an interview, Ang Lee discusses the idea that martial arts films are more concerned with mood than plot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C86B5 1POXO Does this apply to Crouching Tiger; Hidden Dragon?
4. Ang Lee brings his own unique aesthetic style to make a new form of martial arts films with highly stylized and beautifully choreographed (by Yuen Woo-ping) scenes. What does his aesthetic vision bring to a fight sequence? Explore topics such as the body in motion, action choreography or an interesting method of cinematography with a close reading of a film sequence.
5. Discuss the use of specific technics such as framing, pacing, long takes, speed shifts, slow motion, or edits in a particular scene.
6. Look over some interview clips with Ang Lee on Blackboard and relate them to a specific moment in the film.
7. How does Ang Lee use mise-en-scene to create a unique point of view/argument or tone in a particular moment?
8. How does a scene offer the audience a physical spectacle and visual pleasure? Discuss
9. Describe the camera movements and editing style of an extended fight scene. Discuss a particular metaphor, scene, shot or action sequence from Crouching Tiger; Hidden Dragon that pays homage to the King Hu films Come Drink with Me. 1966 or A Touch of Zen I <&111971 and make specific connections between both.
10. The tradition of female warriors is not new and can be traced back to 1920s cinema in China. The modem female warrior is probably most pronounced in King Hu’s, A Touch of Zen (1971). How are these female action stars different from earlier female heroes in Western or Martial Arts films? Give examples.
11. Discuss the gender politics of the wuxia heroines in Ang Lee’s film. Is this reflective of a tradition of women warriors that is built into the origins of the genre? or is he providing something new here for viewers?
12. How does this film present masculinity and the male action hero?
13. Trace the roots of the woman warrior motif here from an earlier film, classical literature or folk tale (for film - see folders on King Hu and the Shaw Brothers or Women Warriors on Blackboard).
14. Discuss the specific or general literary influences that went into this film.
15. How does this film address romantic love in a way that disrupts or works with the overarching and standardized martial arts preoccupations with themes of brotherhood, loyalty, and honor?
16. Discuss how a film captures the Martial (wu) and heroic/chivalrous (xia) aspects of the Genre — be specific. How does this film add a new approach to the classic Wu Xia style film?

17. How does a film or director present concepts of ‘chivalry’ as a way to embody the ethos of the xia. What happens when he inserts romantic love and romance into the picture here?
18. Break down a scene and trace a few martial arts influences that are drawn from earlier wt xia martial arts films.
19. One aspect of the wu xia genre involves a duel between warriors 'sizing up’ their opponents. Defeating an opponent is not all about action. It also involves psychology, respect, practice, discipline and out-thinking an enemy. Discuss in relation to the film.
20. Wu xia films often share certain elements with similar genres e.g. the chanbara or 'swordfight' film from Japan, the knights' tales, westerns and gangster films —where notions of honor, loyalty and responsibility arc important. Give an example.
21. The important cultural roots in China mean that the actions of'warriors' in wu xia are linked to forms of philosophy and traditions of training which involve apprentices and masters. Warriors recognize each other according to the 'schools' and masters they have trained under. Discuss.
22. In wu xia films the mission often focuses on some form of lost sacred object, often a scroll, a sword etc. Discuss
23. In wu xia films the batdes between warriors often take place in a specific location, but they are usually in almost mystical places — often in mountains, rivers, lakes and forests. Discuss.
24. How does the film pay respect to the wu xia tradition that implies or reveals Taoist elements of qi [vital energy] mystical arts, 'super powers' — for example warriors arc able to leap high and long and to hang in the air, their swordplay is more accurate and swifter than seems possible and they can defeat whole armies of lesser warriors. Discuss or trace the roots here.
25. Discuss how this originally, nation-based subgenre of wu xia is evoking amidst a global, cosmopolitan, market economy with flexible transnational funding sources. How does this reveal itself in the film?
26. How would you describe the 'quest' or 'mission' that drives the narrative?
27. How is sound used in the film? Are there moments you remember when a particular sound or passage of music is essential to understanding what is happening? Or does sound always simply support the image?
28. Does the film fit the genre of martial arts or historical film ncady? Why or why not?