My favourite Ang Lee movie, and well-deserving of its accolades!

Rating: 10/10 (15 May 2016)

Easily my favourite of Lee's films, plus this was a no-brainer for me to watch, since I love martial arts films and the three stars. Peter Pau's cinematography and Dun Tan's soundtrack deservedly won two of the four Oscars, amidst its ten nominations, but even though the production values and story were the reason that this, rather than more significant martial arts classics, such as 'The 36th Chamber of Shaolin' and other Shaw Brothers' masterpieces of the genre is that it stepped outside the box and became mandatory viewing for both genders and all cultures with its love story, in the same way that 'Rocky' isn't simply a boxing movie. Still fascinating watching today, and the scene in which the restaurant is destroyed is one of the most fascinating set-pieces I have yet seen.
Just afterwards, I was watching a behind-the-scenes featurette on 'L.A. Confidential', which I hope to watch soon, and director Curtis Hanson had the completely antithetical approach to that film, for he said he wanted to make the surroundings great, yes, but kept in the background so that the acting performances captured the viewer's attention and shone through. It's a shame that Michelle Yeoh, Yun-Fat Chow and Ziyi Zhang weren't nominated for Oscars, but I believe that was why: Our attention was so much on the production values and the story that unfortunately the actors left less of an indelible imprint on us than they deserved to.