HomeTechnologyA Valentine's Day homage to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

A Valentine's Day homage to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

TechnologyFebruary 14, 2026
2 min read
A Valentine's Day homage to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Ang Lee's gorgeous 2000 masterpiece has awe-inspiring martial arts stunts and a tragic love story for the ages.
Reading Settings

It's Valentine's Day, and while there are plenty of classic and current rom-coms out there for those wishing to immerse themselves in warm and fuzzy feelings, we're opting to celebrate in a different way: honoring Ang Lee's 2000 masterpiece Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a wuxia tragic fairy tale featuring one of the most beautifully heartbreaking love stories in film at its center. It's also got stunning cinematography and tons of awe-inspiring martial arts sequences, which makes it my personal perfect date night movie.

(Spoilers below, but we will give you a heads up before the major reveals.)

The film is adapted from a 1940s novel by Wang Dulu and is set sometime during the Qing dynasty, which lasted from 1644 through 1912. (No specific date is given.) The title is a direct translation of a line from a 6th century Chinese poem: "behind the rock in the dark probably hides a tiger, and the coiling giant root resembles a crouching dragon." It's generally interpreted as a description of legendary martial arts masters living un-noticed and/or hiding in plain sight—until someone picks a fight, that is. And some of those hidden masters are women.

Read full article

Comments

Source: Ars Technica

Share this article

Related Articles

Are AI chatbots making us lose control of our brains?
Jun 059 hours ago

Are AI chatbots making us lose control of our brains?

This week I’ve been at SXSW London. There’s been music, film, and a lot—and I mean a lot—of talk about AI. I also had the opportunity to sit down with Gloria Mark, a psychologist at the University of

technologyreview.com7 min read
Read More