Both The Terminator and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fall into the action genre, but other than that they explore two very different worlds. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has all the feelings of a Chinese movie because it reflects Eastern culture in terms of setting, cast, and the style of fighting, but if you analyze the film then you’ll begin to see how the director Ang Lee included that Western influence. Western culture is centered on individualism, freedom, and the belief that anything is possible through hard work and determination. We can see these influences portrayed through Zhang Ziyi’s performance as the Governor’s daughter Jen, a young girl that decides to run off instead of honoring tradition to marry a man that her family had chosen. It’s a film that explores human nature and some of our innate desires and impulses, such as love, redemption, and greed. The Terminator replaces the choreographed martial arts scenes with shootouts that are often one-sided. In this film, James Cameron explores the dangers that technology presents to society through Schwaranegger’s portrayal of a human-cyborg that’s transported from the future and takes human life without regard. The film offers a glimpse into aspects of society during the 1980s in Los Angeles, accompanied by a cyborg killing machine. The Terminator cinematographic style helped influence films in the science fiction genre, especially those released during the 80s. 

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

The Terminator (1984) Official Trailer – Arnold Schwarzenegge Movie – YouTube

Next, I want to explore the budget differences in both films and see what the cinematographers were able to do with the available resources. Adam Greenberg was the cinematographer for The Terminator, and he was limited to a budget of $6 million for the film. In an article I’ve read, Greenberg states to accomplish the visual effects we see in the film, he used “lighting and mood, rather than using a lot of elaborate equipment [they] couldn’t afford.” Greenberg wanted to use a lot of dark shadows and strong backlight to create a ‘contrasty’ look; this use of shadow and lighting help Greenberg pull off many of the visual effects of the film because he’s able to fool the eyes of the audience. A majority of the camera work in the film was handheld because the budget would not allow for the use of a Steadicam. However, Greenberg got creative and fashioned his own device to get shots suitable for the film; they created something called “The Adam Camera” which allowed Greenberg to get those low-angle shots that were intended to portray Schwarzenegger as even more of a large, imposing figure. Greenberg managed to develop a visually spectacular film for its time despite being constrained to a budget. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was much more heavily financed than The Terminator which no doubt gave them some more creative freedoms. Ang Lee had wanted this film to be popular internationally, but she specifically wanted it to appeal to western audiences. The film is set over 300 years ago during the Qing Dynasty, and the visuals help offer an escape into that time period; the architecture, clothing, fighting, etc. all reinforce what I’d expect of that time. My favorite parts of the film are the elaborate fight scenes and their “light feet” technique which grants them the ability to leap through the air; the camera work is exceptional during the fight sequences. The cinematographer Peter Pau is able to meld this fast-paced action with sentimental moments that touch on our emotions about feelings of redemption and love. 

The Terminator – Adam Greenberg, ASC on Vimeo

The Terminator is very similar to The Blade Runner, both of these films are in the science-fiction genre and their release dates weren’t very far apart. Although the messages of the two films are quite different, the style and cinematography are similar and set the aesthetics for the science fiction genre of the 1980s and beyond. They are both considered classics today, but I have some questions about the difference in box office numbers at the time of their release. The Terminator and Blade Runner were released in 1984 and 1982, respectively, but Blade Runner was a flop. However, you could argue that Blade Runner had the better visuals and delivered more meaningful messages, so why was it received so differently by the public? The replicants in Blade Runners were artificial beings, and although we follow the protagonist through a mission to eliminate these ‘replicants’ we begin to see them express humanity. In comparison, The Terminator portrays a human cyborg from the future that to eliminate Sarah Connor which is almost the reverse of Blade Runner; the message they’re trying to send is the dangers of technology and fulfilling one’s destiny. 

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has two female leads in the film, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi, who both serve as symbols of strength and independence. Zhang Ziyi, who plays the Governor’s daughter, Jen, struggles to accept the expectations of society and her family and runs away because she values her independence. The film is addressing issues they see in classical Chinese culture, such as arranged marriages, and uses strong female leads to help break ideas and stereotypes. In Chinese films at the time, women were not displayed to have a lot of personal strength, and it was even less common for women to be warriors in martial arts movies. However, Ang Lee wanted to break society’s stereotypes and that’s what she managed to do with the release of this film. 

There was a considerable amount of time between the releases of The Terminator and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but they were both incredibly successful films at the time of their release. The Terminator helped ignite the careers of both James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger, which they managed to do with a film that had a ‘low’ $6 million budget. In comparison, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon had a notable director in Ang Lee, who had previously released films like Eat Drink Man Woman and The Wedding Banquet. It also had a star-studded Chinese cast that included recognizable names such as Michelle Yeoh, Chow-Yun Fat, and Zhang Ziyi. Although it was reportedly a flop with Chinese audiences, it was one of the most popular foreign films in the United States and won many awards, including four Academy Awards.

Works Cited:

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Meaning – Decent Films

Ang Lee’s obsessions help decode Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’s mysteries / The Dissolve

The crouching culture and hidden emotion in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | CCTP748: Media Theory and Digital Culture (georgetown.edu)

Adam Greenberg on The Terminator – The American Society of Cinematographers (ascmag.com)

What Critics Thought About ‘The Terminator’ in 1984 (filmschoolrejects.com)