Seven Samurai vs. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Seven Samurai vs. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- Seven Samurai (78%, 7 Votes)
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (22%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 9
Loading ...Voting closes on 4/21/19 at 6 pm EDT.
It’s An Art House Battle Royal!
In terms of movie making, these might be the two most beautiful martial art movies ever made! We all know that martial arts movies are usually relegated to the B-side of things. Maybe even the C-side…except these two. They both had major movie budgets, and it shows. Up against each other, vying for your votes are two Oscar Award Winning Martial Arts Masterpieces: Seven Samurai vs. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(full movie reviews at these links)!
Before placing your vote, here are a couple of things to consider.
Film Elements
This is where both movies shine! Both movies are cinematic masterpieces. Whereas Seven Samurai is all about filming technique, and social commentary; Crouching Tiger is about sweeping vistas, immaculate set pieces, and character choices. There is definitely a difference in style between the 50’s Japanese movie and the 2000’s Chinese movie. Seven Samurai, in the typical Japanese mode, is a slowly building story. There are some brief action scenes in the beginning, but even they are shown in slow motion, to drag out the impact. All of the build-up culminates into the final battle scene, which serves as a release valve. Crouching Tiger, on the other hand, has a much more constant action feel. The action and dialog/plot scenes are almost alternate breaths throughout the whole movie.
In terms of acting. It’s Toshiro Mifune’s wildman acting vs. Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh’s calm demeanors. Even the young Ziyi Zhang’s acting in purposely subdued.
Martial Arts
This is where the two movies really separate in terms of their style. Seven Samurai’s action scenes would barely qualify as martial arts compared to the more Hong Kong action type scenes we see in Crouching Tiger. Although few and far between, the action in Seven Samurai is more wildly realistic and direct. Crouching Tiger is full of wire-fu, and exquisite long choreographed fight scenes. Each has their place, and both movies use them beautifully to the fullest extent.
Lasting Impression
Both movies are classics for a reason. They both leave you feeling like you watched “film” and not just a movie, which is rare amongst martial arts movies. It’s almost sad that they have to eliminate each other so early in the tournament. Which one survives? You decide!
- Review of The Ankō Itosu Biography - September 13, 2021
- Suparinpei-The Last Kata of Goju-Ryu Karate - July 12, 2021
- Swords Are Cool…That’s All I’ve Got - March 4, 2021
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