Date: 26th January 2001

Crouching Tiger Big In Taiwan, Flops On Mainland


Perhaps reflecting the persistent bad blood between mainland China and Taiwan, Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is being acclaimed on the island nation while being scorned on the continent, Singapore's Straits Times observed today (Friday).

The newspaper quoted Taiwan Premier Chang Chung-hsiung as saying, "We recognize the hard work and contribution that Lee Ang has made to our movie industry and his achievements on the international cinema stage also honor us." But the newspaper noted that the movie turned out to be a "fiasco" at mainland theaters. It quoted one Chinese critic as saying, "It is made to please the Westerners. To the Chinese, it is a disappointment, as no one in the film has the soul of a true Chinese martial arts expert."

Source: Studio Briefing