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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was an important achievement in Asian cinema. Released in 2000, first in Hong Kong and Taiwan, then later in the Unites States, it became an unexpected international success, garnering critical acclaim and over 40 awards.
Although an international co-production, it introduced Chinese wuxia films to mainstream western audiences and allowed others, such as Hero and House of Flying Daggers, to reach theaters in the US.
It’s one of my favorite movies and a major influence on my work-in-progress, an eastern fantasy novel.
My writer friend 
Mike Schulenberg 