CTHD
HoFD
Hero

but l like em all. so.

My exact order, but I didn't. Makeshift, I'm still baffled by people's adherence to Hero having better cinematography than HOFD. I thought 1. The scenes were Ziyi dances with the drums was excellent, and 2. The group fighting scenes, which Hero has none, were actually more visually striking than the one-on-one stuff in Hero where everyone else was just standing around watching in a circle.

WOW! Was really surprised by Daggers. A- loved Ziyi!!

Well, I finally saw House of Flying Daggers tonight and I unfortunately, I have to admit I wasn't very impressed. As I have expected the visuals of Hero weren't exceeded, even though I have to admit that Zhang Ziyi's "dancing" scenes in the beginning of the movie as well as her following fight with Andy Lau were breathtaking and by far the best scenes in the entire film.

The cinematography was good, as expected and so were all technical aspects of the movie, but rarely have they reached the level of perfection that Hero has achieved in my opinion. The acting was average with merely Zhang Ziyi being a highlight. She truly delivers her career-best in this film. I was surprised by how mediocre Andy Lau was in this movie, especially since I really liked him in Infernal Affairs. The screenplay was more developed than Hero's, but not in the right way, as I thought. The whole menage á trois angle of the film came very unexpected and initially it is a good idea, but wasn't worked-out well enough. Zhang Ziyi and Takeshi Kaneshiro lack chemistry and that is fatal in such a film.

What has annoyed me the most was the fact that the big battle between the Flying Daggers and the General's army was hinted and one'd expect a big showdown or at least to get to know how it all turned out, but there is nada. We are left in the dark. I think, focusing a bit more on that part of the story, couldn't have hurt.

Overall, it is a decent film with many flaws which all lie in the screenplay/direction department. The technical aspects are, as expected, almost flawless, even though nothing I haven't seen before in CTHD[/b or [b]Hero. The movie deserved an Oscar nomination for Best Costumesand Best Art Direction and it's a shame that it didn't get these. I'd grade the flick B-.


Looking back at the three films, I have to say, that overall, I couldn't get into this type of film, even though I tried. All of them lack too much substance and make up for it with style. Style that is very impressive, though. Hero has definitely come out as my favorite of the three because of its sheer visual beauty. This is how I'd rank them:


1. Hero
2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
3. House of Flying Daggers

CTHD!

Hero is just a stupid propaganda movie for tyranny and the death penalty...

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a breathtaking experience for me. I was so enthralled by the martial arts, and the beautiful cinematography. The story was also very good, and I just love everything about this movie. This was when I first became a Ziyi Zhang fan, she's so beautiful, and talented. I would definitely give this film an A.

Hero is pretty good, but lacks what CTHD had going for it. The fighting sequences are good, but nothing spectacular. The story is very confusing at times, and at the end of the film I really didn't understand it, but it was entertaining, and only reached A status when the beautiful Ziyi Zhang was on screen. I would give this one a B-.

House Of Flying Daggers I have not seen, so I cannot comment on it, but I will see it only because I love these kinds of movies, and my honey Ziyi Zhang.