Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a 2000 Wuxia film about two warriors in pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive who are led to an impetuous, physically-skilled, teenage nobleman's daughter, who is at a crossroads in her life.

Directed by Ang Lee. Written by Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo-Jung, based on the fourth novel in a pentalogy, known in China as the Crane Iron Pentalogy, by Wang Dulu.

Li Mu Bai

  • No growth without resistance. No action without reaction. No desire without restraint. Now give yourself up and find yourself again.
  • The things we touch have no permanence. My master would say: there is nothing we can hold onto in this world. Only by letting go can we truly possess what is real.
  • [to Yu Shu Lien] Crouching tigers and hidden dragons are in the underworld... but so are human feelings.
  • [to Yu Shu Lien] I've already wasted my whole life. I want to tell you with my last breath that I have always loved you. I would rather be a ghost, drifting by your side as a condemned soul, than enter heaven without you. Because of your love, I will never be a lonely spirit.

Yu Shu Lien

  • To repress one's feelings only makes them stronger.
  • Whatever path you decide to take in this life... be true to yourself.

Jade Fox

  • Your master underestimated women! I was good enough to sleep with, but not to teach. What better punishment than to die by a woman's hand?

Sir Te

  • A sword by itself rules nothing. It only comes alive in skilled hands.
  • [on the theft of the Green Destiny sword once again] They take it, they return it, they take it again... this place is becoming everyone's private storeroom!
  • When it comes to the affairs of the heart, even the greatest warriors can be consummate idiots.

Dialogue

Yu Shu Lien: The Green Destiny Sword. You're giving it to Sir Te.
Li Mu Bai: I am. He has always been our greatest protector.
Yu Shu Lien: I don't understand. How can you part with it? It's been with you a long time.
Li Mu Bai: Too many men have died at its edge. It may look pure... , but only because blood washes so easily from its blade.
Jen Yu: It must exciting to be a fighter, to be totally free.
Yu Shu Lien: Fighters have rules, too. Friendship, trust, integrity. Always keep your promise. Without rules we wouldn't survive long.
Yu Shu Lien: It's a great fortune to marry into such a noble family.
Jen Yu: Is it? Actually, I like the great heroes in the books... just like you and Li Mu Bai. Marriage is a good thing. If only I could be free to live my own life... to choose who I love and love him in my own way. That's real happiness.
Jen Yu: Don't send me back!
Lo "Dark Cloud": You must decide. You might get tired of this life. You might begin to miss your family. If it were our daughter, we'd look for her too. She would miss us. Jen. I want you to be mine forever. I will make my mark on the world. I will earn your parents' respect. We have a legend. Anyone who dares to jump from the mountain, God will grant his wish. Long ago, a young man's parents were ill, so he jumped. He didn't die. He wasn't even hurt. He floated away, far away, never to return. He knew his wish had come true. If you believe, it will happen. The elders say, 'A faithful heart makes wishes come true.'
Jen Yu: Who are you?
Gou Jun Pei: I'm Shining Phoenix Mountain Gou.
Jen Yu: Gou? A name I abhor. When I hear it, my ears start to ache. I feel like vomiting! [rising from the table] And suddenly I cannot hold back my sword hand's anger!
Li Mu Bai: She should come to Wudan and become a disciple.
Yu Shu Lien: But Wudan does not accept women.
Li Mu Bai: For her, they might make an exception. If not, I'm afraid she'll become a poisoned dragon.
Jen Yu: Do you remember the legend of the young man?
Lo "Dark Cloud": A faithful heart makes wishes come true.
Jen Yu: Make a wish, Lo.
Lo "Dark Cloud": To be back in the desert, together again.
[Jen Yu leaps off the balcony and floats away into the sky]

Cast

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