Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – what Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Ang Lee said about Chow Yun-fat, the martial arts scenes and wire work

The stars of the Oscar-winning martial arts epic trained hard for the action scenes, and afterwards recalled the agony of their wire work on the film

Michelle Yeoh marvelled at Chow Yun-fat pulling off fight scenes despite having no martial arts experience; a scene in a bamboo forest was a nightmare for Lee

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Zhang Ziyi (left) and Michelle Yeoh in a scene from director Ang Lee’s film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Photo: AP/Sony Pictures Classics

Published: 5:15am, 17 Oct 2021Updated: 7:53am, 17 Oct 2021

The martial arts scenes in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which include a gravity- defying fight in the treetops, a surreal rooftop chase, and a vicious battle between the two female protagonists, are some of the best to be performed in a wuxia movie.

That would seem unsurprising, as they were choreographed by Hong Kong maestro Yuen Woo-ping to an overall scheme designed by director Ang Lee.

But in spite of the talent involved, the success of the martial arts was never certain, as two of the three stars, Chow Yun-fat and Zhang Ziyi, had no training in martial arts, and even director Lee had no experience shooting the genre.

Although Michelle Yeoh, the film’s third star, was a seasoned martial arts performer, she injured herself at the start of the shoot, further complicating the production.

Read what the filmmakers and stars said about filming the action scenes below.

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