In honor of our special guest that visited our campus, veteran actress, Cheng Pei-Pei, we watched Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Now, although the film is not necessarily a King Hu film, the film was inspired by King Hu, but was directed by Ang Lee.
The film casted Cheng Pei-Pei (Come Drink With Me) as Jade Fox, but is the antagonist in the film. Her role in Come Drink With Me as Golden Swallow had a scene that was similar to her role as Jade Fox in Crouching Tiger, which was her on the ground backing away in one of the battle scenes. Yes, the scenes in both of the movies were pretty much the same, except Cheng Pei-Pei is 34 years older than when she was Golden Swallow.
Not only that scene was inspired by one of King Hu’s film, but also the forest scene. We see in A Touch of Zen, a popular scene that was the battle in the forest with bamboos. This film, however, consists of actual fighting on the trees as the characters sway up and down on the thin branches and “fly”/jump across through trees and even by the waterfall.
Aside from that, the amount of action in the film kept me on my toes, especially the fighting scenes that involved Zhang ZiYi and Michelle Yeoh. The jumping from one roof to another, the walking/running on walls, Michelle stopping ZiYi’s character from escaping with her foot, the various weapons Michelle uses in the temple, etc.
The lighting in the film was mainly consisted of low-key lighting as it darkened the mood, which I believe enhances the scene as it keeps viewers at the edge of their seats. Overall, although this film was not necessarily a King Hu film, King Hu’s techniques and aspects are what influenced Ang Lee to create Crouching Tiger, just a more modernized version.
ACM 382: King Hu Film Reviews 
