Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (US version)
Manufacturer: Columbia
Price: $20
Sound: Dolby 2.0, Dolby 5.1
Format: widescreen
Languages: Mandarin, English, French
Subtitles: English, French
Extras: trailers, behind-the-scenes featurette, Michelle Yeoh interview, commentary with Ang Lee and James Schamus, cast/crew filmographies, photo montage, production notes*
The featurette and interview are nothing very exciting; they're the usual promo fluff and won't really tell you anything new about the movie unless you're one of the two people who didn't see or hear any of the hype surrounding the movie when it came out in theatres. The filmographies are pretty limited (just a "selected" one) and use US titles versus the Hong Kong ones (e.g., Twin Warriors instead of Tai-Chi Master). On the other hand, the commentary is interesting, with Lee giving both some good behind-the-scenes anecdotes and some notes about Chinese culture. As could be expected from a new disc from a major US company, the transfer is well-done for the most part, though there is a small bit of pixellation noticeable during the extras. The English dub is okay, but some of the voices (their delivery, not the sound mix) sound a bit flat, while the subtitles are of the yellow variety and very easy to read. A good disc overall that's worth picking up if you like the movie.
Rating: ***
* - The "production notes" listed on the cover are not actually on the disc, they're in the booklet.