Video Review: 'Crouching Tiger'

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," the visually stunning film from Taiwanese director Ang Lee, may lose a bit of its splendor on the small screen, but this four-time Oscar winner is worth renting nonetheless.

It's a beautiful story of love and revenge, set off by the most breathtaking martial arts sequences ever put on film. Choreographer Yuen Wo Ping, the man behind the impressive sequences in "The Matrix," this time creates gravity-defying battles over village roofs, across rivers and mist-shrouded treetops. It's a marvel to behold.

The film is much more than impressive flying-fight scenes though. It's also a sweeping romance and a thrilling adventure with compelling characters. Chow Yun Fat stars as Li Mu Bai, a famed warrior who has decided to hang up his sword, the Green Destiny, for good. When the sword is stolen however, Bai and Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) embark on a journey to retrieve it, all the while downplaying the obvious romantic sparks between them.

Zhang Ziyi makes a dynamic debut as Jen, the adventurous princess who longs to become a warrior. The tiny actress acts with fierce intensity, and dominates all her scenes. Rounding out the cast are Chang Chen, as Jen's thieving lover Lo, and Cheng Pei Pei as the elusive master female warrior Jade Fox. --Suzanne Ellis

Recent Releases

The tale of one of film history's most enigmatic duos comes gloriously to life in "Shadow of the Vampire," as F.W. Murnau, German director of the 1922 silent film classic "Nosferatu," and Max Shreck, the actor who played the title role, are reunited as characters in a part fiction-part fact retelling of the making of their film.

In a play on the actor's mysterious persona, "Shadow" screenwriter Steven Katz turned Shreck into an actual vampire. So, in the film, he's a vampire playing an actor playing a vampire. Murnau (John Malkovich), a director obsessed with realism, goes so far as to hire a true vampire for his film, passing him off to the cast and crew as a method actor who never appears out of character. Shreck agrees to appear in the film on the promise that he'll receive the neck of the leading lady when the shooting wraps. Unfortunately, his hunger for blood won't wait -- bad news for the film crew.

With "Shadow," director E. Elias Merhige has made an immensely entertaining, fiercely original film. It's also a darkly funny and witty look at the art of filmmaking and how far each of the players will go to get what they want. As Shreck/Orlock, an unrecognizable Dafoe is the lifeblood of this film, despite being surrounded by talented actors. He really bites into the part -- wide-eyed scowls, outstretched arms, clicking nails, slithering movements, convincing European accent and all. The performance is so much more than (ghoulish-makeup-covered) skin deep -- he plays the vampire with an erotic passion, but also a sensitive and romantic neediness.

Like the classic film on which it's based, "Shadow Of the Vampire" casts an intoxicating spell on the audience: It's haunting, moving and sublime. --Suzanne Ellis

'Requiem For A Dream' (R)

A cutting-edge tale of four drug abusers falling to their lowest depths, "Requiem For a Dream" will either gauge a love-it-or-hate it response from video viewers. Co-written and directed by "Pi" filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, the film is brutally realistic, if not outright disturbing.

Oscar-nominee Ellen Burstyn's performance as diet-pill addict is no doubt the film's most riveting, although there's also much to be said for Jared Leto, who plays (Burstyn's son), Jennifer Connolly (his girlfriend) and Marlon Wayans (his best friend) who are burdened with their own demons.

Those bothered by graphic depiction of drug use and the extent people will go to fulfill their addictions will likely be disturbed by the film's content, and Aronofsky's stylish, break-neck pacing complete with repetitive close-ups of dilating pupils every time someone gets high will just add to the frustration. But, after all, it is a horrifying look at the world of drug abuse, and it's hardly meant to be pretty.

While "Requiem" is a depress-fest, Aronofsky should at least be credited for not selling out and delivering the happy Hollywood ending. It'll be interesting what sort of dark spin he puts on the next of the "Batman" film series, a prequel to the other Caped Crusader films. --Tim Lammers

DVD Spotlight

One of the funniest movies of 2000 just got funnier.

Thanks in part to the DVD version of the Christopher Guest mock "dogumentary" about show dogs and their eccentric owners, "Best in Show," viewers are being treated to a lot of the stuff that didn't make the initial cut of the film. And when that's 30 minutes worth -- which is one-third of the film's running time -- that's a pretty significant amount.

The only real disadvantage, unlike a few selected other DVDs, is that the scenes cannot be optionally added in to the original cut, and are instead only available a one of the features in the stand-alone bonus section.

But a viewing of the clips reveals that many of them would have easily fit right into the scheme of the film. Sure, there are more scenes of the same nature of the film, but clearly none of the scenes are throw-aways.

In many of the instances, the segments essentially serve as a backstory of some of the characters. Among the funniest are of the overly-stressed yuppie lawyer couple played by Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock, who in a hilarious exchange take a shot at each other's dysfunctional families. There's also more of the couple Scott and Stephan (John Michael Higgins and Michael McKean), whom you just simply can't get enough of in the movie. They're a hoot.

Also revealed is the film's original ending, which likely would have worked, considering the talents of co-writer/co-star Eugene Levy and co-star Catherine O'Hara.

What viewers might find surprising is as funny as Guest can be on-camera, he's extremely reserved on the commentary tracks. He takes very seriously what he does, and that reserve even rubbed off on co-star and co-writer Eugene Levy. And while it's light years away from Guest, McKean and Harry Shearer's brilliantly hilarious turns doing Nigel Tufnel, David St. Hubbins and Derek Smalls commentary track on the DVD of "This is Spinal Tap," it still is informative nonetheless.

Perhaps the most exciting result of the "Best in Show" disc is that it reveals Guest's willingness to reveal more of what have become defining staples in the comedy film genre. Can the DVD release of "Waiting for Guffman" be that far behind? --Tim Lammers