A nuanced gem of storytelling structure

Rating: 9/10 (29 June 2001)

A few superb films are so carefully made that every shot seems to have its own story to tell.
This film goes all of them one better -- nearly every frame seems to have a life of its own, and a carefully thought out reason for being part of this remarkable epic.
It is a rare event in film to see such discipline that its characters' every subtle movement falls into the effortless rhythm of the camera and editing while also propelling the story forward. The more closely you watch this film, the better it gets. It is crafted with a seemingly superhuman attention to detail.
The lengthy, structurally audacious flashback serves as close counterpoint to the consistently extraordinary scene settings and several first-order cinematographic coups involving the synthesis of other-worldly beauty through framing and digitally clarified color.
And it's not just art -- some of the fight scenes and a few clever shots so quick you better not blink are outright fun!
OK, I admit it. As a sincere lifelong cinema addict, I've maintained a very short list of "the best films ever made" since I saw "2001: A Space Odyssey" on my 10th birthday, the day it premiered in New York. I didn't understand "2001" that day, and I'm certain I don't fully grasp "Crouching Tiger" in 2001.
But "Crouching Tiger" has an unassailable place on that short list.
Anyone who enjoys movies as movies must not lose the opportunity to see a good print of this in a good projection facility. The DVD stands up as well as any DVD, but this film begs to be seen in a theatre.