Ang Lee Bridging East and West through Film

With the support of Taiwans largest movie studio, Lee was able to turn both screenplays
into feature motion pictures: Pushing Hands (1992) and The Wedding Banquet (1993). Both
films the first about a tai chi master who retires to New York to live with his son and
American daughter-in-law, the second about a gay Taiwanese-American who marries a
Chinese woman to please his parents explore the conflicts that occur when different
cultures and generations clash. While Pushing Hands was a big hit in Taiwan, The Wedding
Banquet was an international success, winning a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
Lees next movie, Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), a story about a retired Taipei chef and his
three daughters that further explores the themes of his first two films, was an even greater
success. The film won Best Foreign Language Film nominations for both the Golden Globe
and Academy Awards, giving him the momentum he needed to break into Hollywood.
Lees first Hollywood feature, Sense and Sensibility(1995), was a skillful adaptation of the
Jane Austen novel starring Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant. The film was a critical and
commercial success, paving the way for two more Hollywood films: The Ice Storm (1997),
a 1970s family drama starring Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline, and Ride with the Devil
(1999), a Western movie set during the Civil War. While these two films were well received
by critics, they failed at the box office, a setback that prompted Lee to return to his roots.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), a Chinese-language martial arts epic made for
Western audiences, finally brought Lee the recognition he deserved. Shot on a small budget
with a cast and crew from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, the film won four Academy
Awards, including Best Foreign Language Film, and became the highest-grossing foreign
film in U.S. history.
Now more popular than ever, Lee was chosen to direct Hulk (2003), a big-budget comic
book adaptation starring Eric Banna and Jennifer Connelly. Unfortunately, the movie was
such a critical and commercial failure that he considered retiring early. With encouragement
from his father, though, Lee returned to the directors chair for Brokeback Mountain (2005),
a low-budget independent film about the relationship between two gay ranch hands in
1960s Wyoming. This sensitive story about forbidden love became a box office hit and
cultural phenomenon. It also received 71 awards, including an Oscar for Best Director.
Since this career high, Lee has continued exploring new genres with films like Lust,
Caution (2007), a spy thriller set in 1940s Shanghai and Taking Woodstock (2009), a light
comedy about the famous 1969 music festival.
Vocabulary
1. screenplay, n., the words that are written down for actors to say in a film, and the
instructions that tell them what they should do [= script]:

2.

- She won an Oscar for the movie's screenplay.

- Who wrote/did the screenplay for/of/to the film 'Chariots of Fire'?
feature, n., a film that is usually 90 or more minutes long

- There were a couple of short cartoons before the main feature.

3.

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8.

9.

explore, v., to search and discover (about something):

- You should explore your options before you choose a major.
- Management need to explore ways of improving office security.
clash, (of beliefs, ideas or personalities) to be very different and opposed to each other:
- His views and his father's clashed.
- They have clashing personalities.
hit, n., a thing or person that is very popular or successful:
- The Beatles had a string of number-one hits in the 1960s.
- They've just released a CD of their greatest hits (= their most successful songs).
- The clown was a big hit at Timmys birthday party.
nomination, n., an official suggestion of someone to do something:
- The actress has received many Oscar nominations.
- He won the nomination as Democratic candidate for the presidency.
momentum, n., the force that keeps an object moving or keeps an event developing
after it has started:
- They began to lose momentum in the second half of the game.
- Once you push it, it keeps going under its own momentum.
break into, phrasal verb, to be successful when you get involved in something
- Many young actors hope to break into the movies.
- The company is having difficulty breaking into new markets.
adaptation, n., a film, book, play, that has been made from another film, book, play etc.:
- Last year he starred in the film adaptation of Bill Cronshaw's best-selling novel.

10. star, v., If a film, play, etc. stars someone, or if someone stars in a film, play, etc., they
are the main actor in it:
- Ben Kingsley starred in the film 'Gandhi'.
- The movie starred Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan.
11. prompt sb. to do sth., v., to make something happen:
- What prompted Sarah to change her mind?
- The thought of her daughter's wedding day prompted her to lose some weight.
12. crouch, v., to put your body close to the ground by bending your legs under you:
- She saw him coming and crouched (down) behind a bush.
13. epic, a. & n., a film, poem or book which is long and contains a lot of action, usually
dealing with a historical subject:
- It's one of those old Hollywood epics with a cast of thousands.
- The final was a long (4 hours and 23 minutes) and high quality match, with Nadal
prevailing in another epic five set match.
14. gross, v., to earn a particular amount of money before tax has been taken off it:
- It is one of the biggest grossing movies of all time.
- The film has grossed over $200 million this year.