Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Ang Lee succeeds in making a film that is poetic, exhilarating and visually striking; furthermore, it’s refreshing to see that three women are the main characters (protagonist, antagonist and villain) and that the most exciting fight scenes are between women. The action is beautifully choreographed by Yuen Woo-Ping and captured by cinematographer Peter Pau (who elegantly shoots the great, varied locations and achieves an amazing color palette). Tan Dun’s score sets the tone beautifully. The cast is in fine form: Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chow Yun-Fat are all very interesting.