Skip to main content

Check out this great movie before it leaves Amazon Prime Video next week

A woman points a dagger at a man in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Sony

We’re thankfully living in an era when more and more foreign movies and TV shows can become genuine phenomena in the U.S. Thanks to the increasing use of subtitles, and the global distribution of many of these movies, we can see the best of what cinema has to offer from all around the world.

Amazon Prime Video is home to many of these titles, as well as a broader selection of great movies that cut across every imaginable genre. If you’re struggling to find just one movie to watch, you should start with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The movie was a major phenomenon in the U.S. in an era when few international movies got that treatment, and it’s also leaving Prime Video at the end of May. Here are three reasons you should check it out.

Recommended Videos

It stars Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh wielding a sword in a scene from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Sony PIctures Classics

Michelle Yeoh absolutely deserved the Oscar she won for Everything Everywhere All at Once, but she probably should have already had one for Crouching Tiger. Here, Michelle plays a legendary warrior who is in love with another legendary warrior, but the two have repressed their feelings for one another.

In addition to plenty of genuinely stunning action sequences, Yeoh again shows here why she’s one of the most gifted actors of her generation. Without ever actually saying what she’s feeling, everyone in the audience can read her face perfectly. It’s a stunning, deeply emotive performance.

It features some of the best kung fu choreography in history

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers

The wuxia style of fight choreography recent had an American resurgence thanks to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and few movies execute that style more brilliantly than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It’s not just that these scenes are beautifully conceived and shot, it’s that each character’s fighting style actually tells us a lot about who they are as people.

The fighting is not designed merely to entertain us, but to inform us about these characters and the reasons that they are in conflict with one another. As a result, it becomes a part of the language of the movie itself.

It’s a movie about the pointlessness of repression

Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-fat in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Sony Pictures Classics

Like so many movies set hundreds of years ago, Crouching Tiger is really a movie about people who don’t feel like they can live the way they want to. Each of the characters longs for something they are either keeping themselves from having or are told they can’t have.

It’s immensely satisfying, then, to watch the ways the arcs of each character interact with one another, ultimately leading to a climax that feels like it speaks to the ultimate goal of total liberation. Few movies come to more satisfying conclusions, or leave you with a more complete feeling of weightlessness.

Joe Allen
Joe Allen is a freelance writer at Digital Trends, where he covers Movies and TV. He frequently writes streaming…
Best new movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Max (HBO), and more
The cast of Poolman.

It's a slow month on the streamers, and that's reflected in our list of the best movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Max (HBO), and other services. However, do not think that means there isn't anything to watch. There are still loads of great originals and releases from other studios to catch up on.

This week, there are just three new additions to this list, including Chris Pine in Poolman, Aubrey Plaza in My Old Ass, and Nick Frost in Black Cab.
We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.

Read more
The 50 best movies on Netflix right now (November 2024)
A man and a woman fly in a space ship in Oblivion.

If you've seen the list of the most popular movies on Netflix in November, then you probably noticed that there haven't been many changes in the lineup lately. Harold and the Purple Crayon is a relatively new addition, but we like all of you too much to ever suggest that movie. You have better options, and we've put together this list of the best movies on Netflix to help you find them.

This week, the Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum action rom-com The Lost City is coming to Netflix on Saturday, November 10. But you don't have to wait around if you want to see Tom Cruise's underrated sci-fi flick, Oblivion, which is already on Netflix. You may also enjoy some other recent arrivals, including Kung Fu Panda 4, Woman of the Hour, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, and A Quiet Place Part II. You can find those films and more in our complete roundup of the best movies on Netflix right now.

Read more
The best movies on Amazon Prime Video (November 2024)
Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella in My Old Ass.

November is for lovers on Amazon Prime Video. The Prime Video original, My Old Ass, is a romance/sci-fi flick that is rising on Amazon's movie chart. Prime Video also recently added a terrific romantic dramedy, Silver Linings Playbook, which still hits all the right notes 12 years after its theatrical run.

Meanwhile, Mark Wahlberg's Infinite has a stranglehold on Prime Video's No. 1 slot, followed closely by another Prime Video original, Canary Black. Perhaps November is also for action lovers on Prime Video. But as long as you're happy with what you're watching, it doesn't matter what you choose. We're only here to help you find the best movies on Amazon Prime Video right now. We update this list every Friday morning so you can stay on top of the newest arrivals.

Read more