Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
I chose the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to analyze certain visual elements including color, lighting, sound, the positioning of the camera and the different types of frames used to convey the story. The film takes place in the 8th century when China was ruled by the Qing dynasty. Through their specific choice of music and consist use of musci through the film, the listener is brought back in time to ancient chinese culture. You can hear the sound dominated by sting instruments which are popular in chinese music. Some ancient instruments used were called the erhu, pipa, and guzheng. When considering the coloring of the film there exists an ominous mist that seems to lay itself in the background of most of the scenes, it brings an eerie mystical element to the story as well as makes the settings seem old and dusty. Both the colors and the music compliment each other, fully immersing the audience into past Chinese culture. The lighting as well fluctuates constantly depending on scene, in this movie they used predominantly reds and blues. Mainly when inside the color in association was red symbolic of warmth and safety, and when outside there was a strong presence of blues symbolic of risk and exposure. The blue color was paired with conflict consistently throughout the film. Similarly, the lighting turned predominantly less colorful and bleak when a character was remembering the past. The change in color was consistent and a clear way for the viewer to understand the film was no longer exploring present day, however exploring a memory.
The first ten minutes of the film do indeed set up the conclusion of the movie in certain ways. We are introduced immediately to Yu Shu Lien as she is being attacked on her journey to the Iron way empire. This first attack on her by many chinese warriors is symbolic of her role as a target throughout the movie. Her motives to protect the sword make her the center of conflict and this is constant til the end. Additionally, during this scene Silent Wolf enters and fights off the chinese warriors, protecting Yu Shu Lien. This foreshadows their relationship in the conclusion of the movie. It is clear how they are drawn together again by love, which ultimately always existed between the two, based on the first scene described. The proceeding character introduced is Snow Vase the camera focuses in on her face as the guard says, “This girl claims she wants to join our ranks...” From this dialogue her character is presented as untrustworthy and childish when she is referred to “girl” and the word “claims”. This correlates with how the rest of the story follows. Snow Vase attempts to steal the sword in the beginning of the movie proving her childish habits. And another irresponsible decision was when she allowed Wei Fang out of his jail cell, ultimately allowing the sword to be stolen by him. Another main character introduced in the first ten minutes is, Wei -Fang. His first dialogue says a lot about the type of character he is the rest of the movie. When he first speaks he is in the deep, dark, dreary forest being followed, he can hear the person around him but cant see them. He speaks out without hesitation raising his weapon, “Show Yourself!” This is representational of his brevity and ability to survive which he proves to do the rest of the movie. Ten minutes in and the big main characters are presented with identifiable characteristics that do foreshadow parts of the conclusion regarding who the characters develop into. The film encompassed a variety of frames that provided insight to the viewer and what they should be focused on. Heightened music in the midst of conflict, bright light and low lights depending on the action in place , and this all in turn helped develop the moods and tones that fluctuated throughout.
I personally really enjoyed this movie and almost cried at the end if I’m being honest lol. I have watched another chinese warrior movie called Hero and really liked that one as well. I am not surprised how much I liked this one too, there culture and the way it's depicted in films is interesting and different than what I am used to.
The first ten minutes of the film do indeed set up the conclusion of the movie in certain ways. We are introduced immediately to Yu Shu Lien as she is being attacked on her journey to the Iron way empire. This first attack on her by many chinese warriors is symbolic of her role as a target throughout the movie. Her motives to protect the sword make her the center of conflict and this is constant til the end. Additionally, during this scene Silent Wolf enters and fights off the chinese warriors, protecting Yu Shu Lien. This foreshadows their relationship in the conclusion of the movie. It is clear how they are drawn together again by love, which ultimately always existed between the two, based on the first scene described. The proceeding character introduced is Snow Vase the camera focuses in on her face as the guard says, “This girl claims she wants to join our ranks...” From this dialogue her character is presented as untrustworthy and childish when she is referred to “girl” and the word “claims”. This correlates with how the rest of the story follows. Snow Vase attempts to steal the sword in the beginning of the movie proving her childish habits. And another irresponsible decision was when she allowed Wei Fang out of his jail cell, ultimately allowing the sword to be stolen by him. Another main character introduced in the first ten minutes is, Wei -Fang. His first dialogue says a lot about the type of character he is the rest of the movie. When he first speaks he is in the deep, dark, dreary forest being followed, he can hear the person around him but cant see them. He speaks out without hesitation raising his weapon, “Show Yourself!” This is representational of his brevity and ability to survive which he proves to do the rest of the movie. Ten minutes in and the big main characters are presented with identifiable characteristics that do foreshadow parts of the conclusion regarding who the characters develop into. The film encompassed a variety of frames that provided insight to the viewer and what they should be focused on. Heightened music in the midst of conflict, bright light and low lights depending on the action in place , and this all in turn helped develop the moods and tones that fluctuated throughout.
I personally really enjoyed this movie and almost cried at the end if I’m being honest lol. I have watched another chinese warrior movie called Hero and really liked that one as well. I am not surprised how much I liked this one too, there culture and the way it's depicted in films is interesting and different than what I am used to.
Yes, I love this movie too--in part because the female characters are strong, and the love story is slightly unpredictable. I like that you named all of hte characters and also examined how their dialogue was helping us better understand them. One thing you might also do is think about how the shots were set up---especially the lovely fight scenes, which are so beautifully choreographed. It's okay to cry at the end!!
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