Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny will be hitting cinemas on February 26. So I figured this was the perfect occasion to take a look back at one of the most memorable scenes from its predecessor, the Chinese martial arts classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000).
When I think of Tiger and Dragon, which was released sixteen years ago (!), the first thing that comes to my mind is the brilliant bar brawl scene. Jen Yu (Ziyi Zhang), disguised as a man, takes a lunch break in a rural restaurant. A place oozing with testosterone. Lost in thoughts, maybe of home or her loved one or maybe the priceless stolen sword “Green Destiny” by her side, she sips her tea when a group of local fighters challenge her to a duel. With their chests puffed out like roosters, they announce their warrior names (Iron Arm Mi, Flying Saber and Shining Phoenix Mountain Gou) and then strike at Jen.
Without letting go of her tea cup, she fends them off single-handedly, but as they keep pressing her to reveal her identity, she loses her patience. Spouting one epithet after the next, she not only takes the men, but the whole restaurant apart in that gravity defying way of hers.
You want to know who I am? I am... I am the Invincible Sword Goddess, armed with the Green Destiny that knows no equal! Be you Li or Southern Crane, bow your head and ask for mercy! I am the dragon from the desert! Who comes from nowhere and leaves no trace! Today I fly over Eu-Mei. Tomorrow... I topple Mount Wudan! - Jen Yu
I’d call that a flashy introduction. You can tell Jen is enjoying every second of it. And so do we. By not only beating the local warriors physically but also verbally, Jen shows these bulky men that she is not having their bullshit. For every fan of martial arts movies and strong female characters this brawl scene is a treat. Have a look and enjoy!
Looking out the window the weather leaves no doubt about what day it is: Umbrella Day. What an exciting entry in the never ending calendar of made up holidays! A day to rejoice and listen to Rihanna all day long.... No, thank you. Instead I opted for another classic, yet more classy umbrella piece: 1952's Singin' in the Rain. To show you there is more to the today's celebrated object than rain protection, have a look at another scene to remember:
This scene not only includes the title song of said motion picture, but summarizes what makes it so great. At the beginning you have the sort of trigger for it all, the true romance between famous movie star Don Lockwood and unknown theater actress Kathy Selden. Despite the glamour sourrounding him, their relationship is honest and loving. They kiss goodbye at her door and - come on - a kiss like that would make any lovebird rejoice, but in 1950s Hollywood it also makes you break out in song and dance!
Gene Kelly's smooth and cheerfull voice delivers a tune that is known and loved around the world. Also, to say his tapdancing game is pretty good would be the understatement of the year. He taps and swings, and jumps from puddle to puddle, from sidewalk to gutter, from street light to street. All the while his trusted umbrella is a worthy partner that functions as shelter, baton, walking stick, and dance partner all in one (you see, this trusty gadget might just deserve its own holiday after all).
Don Lockwood's exuberant joy swaps from feet to puddle right into our hearts and - if not attempting to copy his moves - has us tapping our feet to the tune. A seemingly simple dance number combines the musical quality, romantic feeling, charm, and unashamed fun and entertainment that Singin' in the Rain is known for. All of that in 4.50 mins makes this piece of movie history A Scene to Remember.
Despite the recent boom of comic adaptations in the cinematic universe, comics are a medium that have received little academic attention. That is because comics are still tightly linked to excessive action scenes, performed by men in tights, who are usually endowed with superpowers. Comics open up worlds that are distinctly different from the real one – worlds where spider bites lead to superpowers, mutants rescue or destroy the planet and your car may actually be an extraterrestrial being that becomes a humongous autobot when necessary. Comics and superhero stories in particular provide their readership with escapist fantasies that allow them to leave behind their daily lives and immerse themselves in the fantastic story world. If this is what gives comics their charm, however, then why did Christopher Nolan choose to ground his Batman adaptation The Dark Knight (2008) so firmly in reality?
In both the comic book and the film, Gotham City plays a role that exceeds that of a mere location. Although depicted in different manners, the city has a symbolic value that is one of the key themes in the Batman series. There is no Gotham without Batman and no Batman without Gotham.
The urban space is one of paranoia and fear. That is true for the gothic-noir Gotham of the comic books, with its archaic manors, grim gargoyles and dark, steamy alleys and also the Art Deco, modernist city of the Nolan films.
To create a sinister, oppressive mood, the comic relies heavily on noirish elements, such as the famous striped pattern of venetian blinds, which are borrowed from the cinematic genre of film noir. Colours, sharp angles and abstractions also play a major role for the tone of the comic book. A purple night sky or yellowish green alleys defy the laws of realism, but help to enhance the readers’ reaction to the scene. Or the way in which Batman’s shadow is drawn like a living, writhing thing, emphasises his demonic side. He is like one of Gotham’s gargoyles who protects but also frightens Gotham’s citizens.
The Gotham City in the comics is a purely fictional place, while films, unless they fully rely on computer animation, have to use actually existent places and transform them to fit their needs. Unlike most other Batman films, The Dark Knight was not filmed in New York but in Chicago because Christopher Nolan wanted his film to be as realistic as possible and since Chicago does not have such a plethora of easily recognizable landmarks and building as New York does, there was little need for digital alteration:
“It's that pressure-cooker, street-smart sense that makes Chicago a real — instead of manufactured — Gotham.” – Richard Moskal (Director of Chicago Film Office)
Unlike the comics, or even earlier Batman movies, Nolan’s The Dark Knight works with realism. His Gotham could be any modern metropolis and is not distinctly fictional. The film does not shun from showing that Gotham is not reduced to its nightlife, but plays with dualities – dark and light, good and evil – to augment its claim to realism.
The play with dualities is especially prominent in the scene in which the Joker crashes the fundraiser party Bruce Wayne, Gotham’s Dark Knight, gives for Harvey Dent who is Gotham’s White Knight. Just have a look:
The movement of the camera, when it follows the Joker through the room, is unsteady and therewith underlines the instability of the Joker’s psyche. When Rachel tells him to stop, he circles her like a predator and puts his potato peeler to her face. And when he does, the camera begins to drive in circles around them and creates a feeling of vertigo and sickness that mirrors what Rachel must feel.
The background is blurred out and switches between showing Gotham’s two sides: the bright lit party room with Gotham’s high society, an anonymous, faceless crowd, too afraid to move or stand up against the group of criminals. And then outside of the window we have Gotham’s skyline with its modern glass skyscrapers all doused in darkness and reigned by fear, corruption and crime – the crime that has now invaded the ballroom. The way this scene is made up, with the rotating camera and the background alternating between light and dark reminds of the half-burnt coin TwoFace tosses in order to decide about fate. And it is not the only decisive scene in the film that is made up this way.
The silhouettes of darkened skyscrapers, like those beyond the window, are typical symbols of modern urbanity. They represent progress, energy and dynamics, but also irrationality, constriction and peril. Despite the fact that Batman possesses the newest technology and sufficient financial means, he is nonetheless no match for the Joker’s unpredictable insanity and his battered potato peeler.
Gotham is a dark city, ruled by crime. It is a frightening place and to get that mood across, the comics and the film utilize very different means.
Being a solely visual medium, the comic book works with estrangement and uses symbolic icons that have a negative connotation – steaming alleyways, dark, imposing mansions, graveyards and a dark colour palette.
The film deliberately refrains from drifting into a too stylised set up. By taking one of the most realistic heroes in the comic universe and putting him into a realistic setting, Nolan goes against the strategy of the comics. He not only focuses on Gotham’s dark side, but also shows it by day, when it appears like any ordinary city. Instead of creating fear by estrangement, he counts on the fact that the familiar will create an equal or even greater reaction, because it is relatable, at some point even believable and accordingly all the more frightening.
When the first season of Marvel's Daredevil invited us to an excessive binge-watching session earlier this year, it became obvious that the show was willing to take risks and try new things in TV as well as in the comic adaptation genre. It allowed for its eponymous hero to not be flashy and invincible, but rather gritty and vulnerable. It went for an unpolished, sinister look instead of a slick, glossy one. It neglected CGI spectacle for well-choreographed, physically challenging stunt work. And it produced dialogues that weren't meant to be one-liner fun festivals but gave the characters room to unfold and breathe.
I admit, the scene I love most in season one, taken from the second episode called "Cut Man", is void of any talking. It is a pure action scene in which Matt Murdock, a.k.a. the Daredevil, fights a bunch of thugs in order to rescue a small boy kidnapped by the ruthless criminals.
This certainly is a scene that was etched on my memory long after I first saw it. As an almost three-minute long one-take shot, it is sheer stunt greatness and unlike anything I've seen on TV so far. And while it manages to stand out on its own, it also unites all the above mentioned qualities that mark the series in its entirety. It's dark and rough and physical, technically brilliant, and it portrays Murdock not as someone who has an easy-peasy time fighting the bad guys. No, he's vulnerable, tired and scarred right before and at the end of the sequence. This depiction further fleshes out his character, showing that despite all the harm and destruction he brings upon himself, he's still willing to stand up against the injustices of Hell's Kitchen.
In this case, action is not just a mere kick-and-punch extravaganza, it also enhances the character narrative. And, hey, I love me some brainy action.
Oh how I love it when we introduce a new category for our blog! To be fair, this one isn't actually new, but has unjustly been neglected by us since the beginning... But no more!
Here, we'll introduce you to or remind you of scenes that are memorable as they are or should be remembered from here on out. There are many reasons for a scene to be memorable, be it great acting or writing, grand emotions, epic fun, or massive popularity.
Our freshman scene has a bit of all of these qualities. And since the show it's from is nearing the end of its run, some premature remembrance is only fair:
Times were hard in the early 20th century, but not everyone underwent the same ordeals. The upstairs folks of Downton Abbey suffered from a severe, yet highly entertaining case of what today we'd call #firstworldproblems. Arrogance and naivete make a dangerous mix, but (with a little warmth and the knowledge that this is just a TV show) also make for some quality amusement time. No one is whittier and out of this world, yet strangely up to date and accurate in their utterings than the Dowager Countess herself. Dame Maggie Smith, admittedly, can do and say almost anything, but her hillarious and outer-worldly one-liners as Violet Crawley shall never be forgotten!
So on this last summer Sunday I ask you: "What is a weekend?"
