Crouching Dragon—The Tiger Lily Cut

Like the title says, this is a Tiger Lily version, which means it's all about funny subtitles putting a totally different spin on the original. Here SSJ unleashes his sly and inventive humor on an unsuspecting martial arts historical epic. The idea starts strong and the gags are witty, snarky, absurd, clever, or any and all combinations of those. I enjoyed the pairing of words to on-screen emotions. Even though the gags are operating in a completely different universe, they jibe with the expressions and intonations of the actors. And the alternate universe SSJ builds is delightful, a mashup of Middle Earth, Cheech and Chong, Iron Chef, and many other threads.

The concept continues to be convincing in the desert sequence, where the two romantic leads bicker like air-headed loft-dwelling metrosexuals who really need to get out more often. In the latter part of the movie the gags are a little forced and the freshness of the concept flags a little.

All of the fight scenes are uncut so you can enjoy the top notch acrobatics all over again. There's one chunk cut from the middle of the movie which isn't missed, although there isn't much explanation for why Jen Yu is suddenly on the road. There are a few hints of a plot, something about an egg, but it's almost a throwaway. For enjoyment I give the first part of the movie a 10 and the conclusion a 7.5, for an overall 9 stars.

Also, don't miss the supplemental clip. It's a press conference with Michelle Yeoh that gets the same Tiger Lily treatment as the movie and is equally as funny.

Pros: I can't remember the last time I've watched a film that made me laugh so hard. Most of the new dialogue is just brilliant; its simply absurd, however the author did a great job of choosing where and when to say what. The subtitles are never too long or too short for the amount of words being spoken. Also, the context of the dialogue is always properly reflected by the characters' facial expressions and behaviors. That being said, the ridiculous dialogue becomes 10x funnier by how naturally the characters appear to be speaking it, with the straightest of faces. I don't think a live-shot English spoken version of this fanedit could ever exist, because I can't imagine anyone actually speaking this dialogue without busting a gut, or bare minimum cracking a smile.

Cons: I didn't find some of the plot/subplots really too entertaining, but they are certainly necessary to at least keep some seriousness alive (which I already said, makes the punchlines hit that much harder). All the talk of the orcs, dragon eggs, wyverns (not the zombie pandas- who doesn't love that?) started to get old for me, but I don't know what could fill that void without accomplishing the greatness reached in this fanedit.

Great work SSJ!

More fun than that one time when I had this girl over and she challenged me to a corn eating contest. Well, to be honest, that was an awesome evening that I'll never forget and a one-of-a-kind thing that I still have mental images of, except watching this edit didn't end in me having to wash my bed sheets. No wait, I didn't wash them but put them up on ebay along with a burned DVD disc of what went on after all that corn and alcohol mixed up and we ended up in bed and I had the brilliant idea of turning that HD camera on. It netted me about $22 and for a minute there I thought of turning that into a business but then figured it was best to keep this a unique memory that I'll cherish forever.

This edit is exactly what I expected and hoped for from the genius and slightly demented mind of ssj! I watched this with a friend, and we absolutely pissed ourselves pretty much the whole way through. From literally the first subtitle we were in stitches, and with only brief pauses for breath, the next killer line would hit the screen.

It's a simple concept, but executed so brilliantly. Ssj's comic timing is spot on, and the perfect sincerity in the performances from the actors only adds to the comedy. I see the potential for a series here from ssj if he can be bothered, but regardless, this one is a comedy classic from the outset. So many great one liners.

Highly recommended! Technically it is spot on (I watched the HD version), and none of the cuts were noticeable. I did notice the dramatic change in volume during one fight scene, but ssj tells us this was in the original too. Curious.

I didn't expect this to be a replacement disk, but what do you know. I can't imagine going back to original when I know that the Tiger Lilly cut is on offer.

Well done ssj, I look forward to more of your wonderfully insane offerings in the future. 10/10

I quickly realized what I was in for with this edit after the first subtitle appears on the screen. It set the tone. This edit is flat out funny. Now that's no guarantee that everyone will like it. People have different senses of humor etc. But there are some genius moments in this edit. I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions. Props to ssj for some clever "phonetic translations" of the spoken words in a few spots in the movie. And there were some great subtitles for some of the written stuff as well.

This edit is not simply a series on one liners either, not just a case of "hmmm let me make all the subtitles funny". That would have been too easy and would have resulted in a far inferior edit IMO. ssj weaves a coherent (and very entertaining) plot

So if it's been awhile since you've watched Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or your tired of seeing it in its theatrical form, I say to you:

Grab some goat cheese and boozemilk. Seat thy ass! And watch this edit.