Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Script, Script de Tigre et dragon

Special thanks to "Michelle Yeoh Web Theatre"

CAST
Li Mu Bai Chow Yun-Fat	Yu Shu Lien Michelle Yeoh	Jen Yu Zhang Ziyi	Lo Chang Chen	Sir Te Lung Sihung	Jade Fox Cheng Pei-Pei	Bo Gao Xian

Ps: Only available in english. Désolé pour les francophones le script est pour l'instant seulement disponible en anglais

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3

EXT. SUN SECURITY COMPOUND - DAY

Security men and porters are loading wagons for a convoy. As they work, we see across the lake a lone horseman entering the village. One of the men recognizes him.

WORKER
Master Li is here!

ANGLE ON: Li Mu Bai, thirties, powerful and handsome.

In the background, old Aunt Wu, at the sight of Li Mu Bai, drops her parcels and runs excitedly into the building.

INT. SUN SECURITY HALLWAY - DAY

Aunt Wu runs hurriedly through the halls.

AUNT WU
Shu Lien!

INT. YU SHU LIEN'S ROOM - DAY

Yu Shu Lien, a beautiful woman in her early 30s, is finishing packing for the convoy, wrapping a few small items in a linen wrapper, as Aunt Wu bursts in.

AUNT WU
Li Mu Bai is here!

INT. SUN SECURITY PRACTICE HALL - DAY

LI
How's everything?

AUNT WU
Fine. Please come in.

Yu Shu Lien sits, composed, as Aunt Wu ushers Li in. Li carries a large object, wrapped in silk.
Shu Lien smiles.

SHU LIEN
Mu Bai...It's been too long.

LI
It has. (he glances around the room) How's business?

SHU LIEN
Good. And how are you?

LI
Fine.

An awkward pause.

SHU LIEN
Monk Zheng said you were at Wudan Mountain. He said you were practicing deep meditation.

LI
Yes.

SHU LIEN
The mountain must be so peaceful... I envy you. My work keeps me so busy, I hardly get any rest.

LI
I left the training early.

SHU LIEN
Why? You're a Wudan fighter. Training is everything.

LI
During my meditation training... I came to a place of deep silence... I was surrounded by light... Time and space disappeared. I had come to a place my master had never told me about.

SHU LIEN
You were enlightened?

LI
No. I didn't feel the bliss of enlightenment. Instead... I was surrounded by an endless sorrow. I couldn't bear it. I broke off my meditation. I couldn't go on. There was something... pulling me back.

SHU LIEN
What was it?

LI
Something I can't let go of. You are leaving soon?

SHU LIEN
We're preparing a convoy for a delivery to Peking.

LI
Perhaps I could ask you to deliver something to Sir Te for me.

Li unwraps the object. It is an ancient, astonishingly beautiful sword.

SHU LIEN
The Green Destiny Sword? You're giving it to Sir Te?

LI
I am. He has always been our greatest protector.

SHU LIEN
I don't understand. How can you part with it? It has always been with you.

LI
Too many men have died at its edge. It only looks pure because blood washes so easily from its blade.

SHU LIEN
You use it justly, you're worthy of it.

LI
It's time for me to leave it behind.

SHU LIEN
So what will you do now?

Li doesn't reply.

SHU LIEN
Come with me to Peking. You can give the sword to Sir Te yourself. It'll be just like old times.

LI
First I must visit my master's grave. It's been many years since Jade Fox murdered him. I have yet to avenge his death. And yet I'm thinking of quitting. I must pray for his forgiveness.

SHU LIEN
Join me once you have finished. I can wait for you in Peking.

LI
Perhaps.

EXT. THE GATE TO PEKING. DAY

Customs officials have just finished checking the contents in a row of carriages bearing the Sun Security insignia. The caravan slowly passes through the checkpoint into the boundaries of Peking. Yu Shu Lien, riding a handsome horse and clearly the leader, watches as her crew clears inspection.

GUARDS
Ok. Pass.

SHU LIEN
Thanks. Let's go into the city.

EXT. OUTSIDE A DEPOT. DAY

Workers are busy unloading the contents from the carriages. Boss Giao is checking off the merchandise -- a cargo of medicinal herbs.

GIAO
Everything got here safely. I'm much obliged.

SHU LIEN
Just doing my job.

GIAO
Sun Security has been the best since your father started it. You're a credit to his memory.

SHU LIEN
Thank you.

GIAO
I mean it.

EXT. DAY. PEKING

From a gray tiled roof, we can see Peking's magnificent grid of houses extending miles and miles out, freshly painted by the morning sun.

EXT. PEKING STREET. DAY

Dusty and congested as always, people, horses, and carriages are fighting to get through the boulevards.

A group of jugglers perform at a corner.

Shu Lien surveys the busy street from on top of her horse.

INT. TE'S GREAT HALL - DAY

Shu Lien presents the sword to Sir Te.

SIR TE
This is Li Mu Bai's personal sword, a great hero's weapon! He is the only one in the world worthy of carrying it. It's too fine a gift. I cannot accept it.

SHU LIEN
Sir Te! It has brought him as much trouble as glory. Help him to leave these troubles behind. Otherwise, he'll never be able to start anew.

SIR TE
All right. I'll act as the sword's custodian.

De Lu, the head servant, enters.

DE LU
Governor Yu has arrived.

SIR TE
I must change.

SHU LIEN
(getting up) You've always been so good to Li Mu Bai and me. Please accept our thanks.

SIR TE
Please do not be such a stranger. You'll stay the night as my guest. Now, Shu Lien... tell me something. And forgive me for prying. Your father was a great friend to me, and I think of you as my own daughter.

SHU LIEN
Please, Sir Te, what is it?

SIR TE
Li Mu Bai giving up his sword and his warrior days... maybe he's trying to tell you something?

SHU LIEN
I don't know...

SIR TE
Don't be coy. I've always known about your feelings for each other. All these years, it's a shame... neither of you is brave enough to admit the truth to the other. You're both wasting precious time.

SHU LIEN
I beg your pardon. Li Mu Bai and I aren't cowards.

SIR TE
When it comes to emotions, even great heroes can be idiots. Tell me if Li Mu Bai is not more open the next time you see him. I'll give him an earful!

INT. TE'S STUDY - DAY

Shu Lien and De Lu approach the study.

DE LU
Sir Te said to leave the sword in here.

De Lu opens the door and is startled to find a young woman inside. The woman is studying the sheets of calligraphy hanging on the walls.

DE LU
Who are you?

JEN
I'm your guest today. I am Governor Yu's daughter.

DE LU
This is Sir Te's study. You are here to...

JEN
I was looking for a quiet corner.

DE LU
I am Sir Te's head servant. And this is another of our guests.

INT. TE'S STUDY - DAY

Shu Lien gently lays the sword, still in its sheath, in Jen's hands.

JEN
It's heavy for such a thin piece of metal!

SHU LIEN
The handle is heavy. And the blade is no ordinary metal. Still, the sword is the lightest of weapons. You're just not used to handling it.

JEN
But I have had much practice. As a child in the West, a platoon lived with us. They'd let me play with their weapons. The scabbard is so beautiful.

SHU LIEN
Beautiful but dangerous. Once you see it tainted with blood, its beauty is hard to admire. It's 400 years old.

JEN
Exquisite! You said it belongs to...

SHU LIEN
My friend Li Mu Bai. He's given it to Sir Te as a gift.

JEN
Li Mu Bai! The famous warrior? Why would he give his sword to Sir Te?

SHU LIEN
You're too young to understand.

JEN
You're a sword fighter too?

Shu Lien yanks the sword out of the sheath. An eerie sound resonates within the study. Jen is even more impressed.

SHU LIEN
Yes, I am. But I prefer the machete. Certain moves, however, call for a sword.

JEN
Really?

Shu Lien puts the sword back in the case.

JEN
(longingly) It must be exciting to be a fighter, to be totally free!

SHU LIEN
Fighters have rules too: friendship, trust, integrity... Without rules, we wouldn't survive for long.

JEN
I've read all about people like you. Roaming wild, beating up anyone who gets in your way!

SHU LIEN
Writers wouldn't sell many books if they told how it really is.

JEN
But you're just like the characters in the stories.

SHU LIEN
Sure. No place to bathe for days, sleeping in flea-infested beds... They tell you all about that in those books?

JEN
You know what I mean. I'm getting married soon, but I haven't lived the life I want.

SHU LIEN
So I heard. Congratulations. It's the most important step in a woman's life, isn't it?

JEN
You're not married, are you?

SHU LIEN
What do you think?

JEN
No! You couldn't roam around freely if you were.

SHU LIEN
You're probably right.

Shu Lien studies Jen. The room falls silent for a moment.

EXT. SIDE COURT YARD - DAY

It's dusk and the sky is beautiful orange and purple. Jen is leaving the study escorted by her maid. She turns to Shu Lien for a final good-bye. Shu Lien seems intrigued by the encounter.

EXT. SIR TE'S COMPOUND - NIGHT

Two lighted lanterns are raised up.

INT. TE'S STUDY - NIGHT

Sir Te hands the sword to Governor Yu.

SIR TE
Go ahead, Governor Yu.

Governor Yu is impressed by the opulence and elegance of the sword. He closes his eyes to guess the weight of the sword. Te snubs out the flame from a candle, then slides the sword out from its sheath. The sword gives off a luminous blue glow in the dark.

SIR TE
Two feet 9 inches long. 1 inch wide. The handle is 1 inch deep, 2.6 inches wide. Seven-tenths of an inch thick. With seven rubies missing from the hilt. You can tell the design dates back to before the Chin era. Engraved with a technique lost by the time of the Han Dynasty.

GOVERNOR YU
Your knowledge is remarkable, Sir Te.

SIR TE
A sword by itself rules nothing. It comes alive only through skillful manipulation.

GOVERNOR YU
I see your point. Please continue.

SIR TE
The Imperial Court isn't the problem. With royalty and officials everywhere, the Royal Guard keeps security tight. But Peking is not like the West. Here, you'll find all sorts of characters. Proceed with caution in your quest for law and order. Don't depend only on the court. Contacts in the Giang Hu underworld can ensure your position. Be strong, yet supple. This is the way to rule.

INT. JEN'S ROOM - NIGHT

A maid warms her hands in a basin of hot water for Jen, then walks over to Jen and helps remove her earrings. Someone knocks and the maid goes to answer the door.

MAID
Governess...

GOVERNESS
Let me do it.

The maid leaves as the governess enters the room.

JEN
Please sit.

GOVERNESS
I've made you silk pajamas. Do you want to change into them?

JEN
Put them down.

GOVERNESS
I heard you met Shu Lien today.

JEN
Do you know her?

GOVERNESS
She's one of those. Your mother would not want you consorting with her kind.

Jen shoots her an angry look.

JEN
I'll socialize with whomever I please.

GOVERNESS
Don't invite danger into your father's house.

She's about to say something, then thinks better of it.

JEN
I'm tired now.

GOVERNESS
Go to bed then. Miss has grown up, and is getting married soon. God knows what the future will bring.

JEN
It will be just the same. Enough! I'm tired.

GOVERNESS
Autumn is coming. I'll shut the windows for you.

The governess leaves. Jen sits on the side of her bed, thinking.

EXT. TE'S COMPOUND - NIGHT

A wide shot of the compound. A patrol man greets Master Bo, Sir Te's head of security. The place is serene.

MASTER BO
Chilly, eh?

NIGHTMAN
Yes, Master Bo.

As Bo walks on, shadows rustle in a treetop in the background.

EXT./INT. INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF TE'S STUDY - NIGHT

A masked figure silently opens the window and enters the room. It moves swiftly to the sword case, opens it, and wraps the sword.

Bo enters, sees the thief, who leaps up to the ceiling. The thief steps over Bo and out into the courtyard. Bo tries to stop the thief, who easily outwits him, jumping onto the roof as Bo yells out.

BO
Someone help! Stop him! He's on the roof! The sword's been stolen! Stop thief! Stop him!

The thief skips a few times and jumps off to a side street.

Bo grabs a pole and runs, as gongs begin to sound, alerting people to the theft. People rush outside, Shu Lien among them.

EXT. PEKING STREET - NIGHT

Bo runs through the streets. The thief is nowhere in sight. Suddenly, there are sounds of weapons clashing. Bo hurries towards the source.

EXT. AN ALLEY OUTSIDE GOVERNOR YU'S COMPOUND - NIGHT

Bo is surprised to see the hooded figure battling with two other fighters -- Tsai (male, 40s) and May, his daughter.

TSAI
It's Jade Fox!

MAY
We must avenge mother!

The hooded figure does a gravity defying flip and soars over a wall, just as Bo arrives.

BO
Do something! He's getting away!

EXT. PEKING ROOFTOP - NIGHT

The thief runs atop a roof -- right into Yu Shu Lien. Shu Lien and the hooded figure face off.

SHU LIEN
Return the sword, and I'll let you go.

The figure just regards her, slightly shifting weight.

Shu Lien attacks, but the figure repels her.

SHU LIEN
You've been trained at Wudan?

The figure answers by leaping to another rooftop. Shu Lien catches up, and resumes her attack with a relentless series of lightning-quick blows.

EXT. ALLEY OUTSIDE GOVERNOR YU'S COMPOUND - NIGHT

Bo follows Tsai and May, who are quickly walking away.

TSAI
You're mistaken. We're just street performers. We were rehearsing.

MAY
Father!

BO
You were rehearsing? Who are you trying to fool?

May wants to respond but is again cut off by Tsai. They run off.

BO
Where did that thief go?

Bo looks around and discovers he had chased the thief into Governor Yu's compound.

BO
Governor Yu's house!

EXT. ROOF TOP

Shu Lien and the Black Figure continue to fight.

SHU LIEN
Get down here! Give back the sword!

EXT. GOVERNOR YU'S - NIGHT

Shu Lien slowly gets the upper hand in her fight with the thief. A small arrow cuts across the night and flies toward Shu Lien. She catches it, but the masked figure takes the opportunity to get away.

Shu Lien pauses to feel the arrow in her hand, standing in the empty courtyard.

EXT. TE'S SIDE ENTRANCE - DAY

De Lu escorts Shu Lien into Te's.

DE LU
Sir Te awaits you.

INT. TE'S GREAT HALL - DAY

Men are standing at attention. Bo is giving his account of what happened, as Shu Lien enters.

BO
I'm sure the thief is in the Yu household.

SIR TE
How dare you imply?

BO
But I say --

SIR TE
-- Enough.

The men hustle out. Bo can barely contain his frustration.

SHU LIEN
Has Governor Yu ever seen the sword?

SIR TE
Yes, though I doubt he's involved in this.

SHU LIEN
But the sword could be in his compound.

SIR TE
Then someone's trying to set him up. We should inform Li Mu Bai.

EXT. OUTSIDE GOVERNOR YU'S COMPOUND - DAY

Madam Yu is returning from temple. The governess is helping her out of the carriage. Servants are peeling bills off a wall across the street.

MADAM YU
What is it?

SERVANT
Madam Yu, someone's put up posters.

A partially torn flyer with the words "Jade Fox is at governor Yu's compound" is seen on the ground.

MADAM YU
Let me see.

GOVERNESS
Someone is after Jade Fox. Preposterous, looking for her here!

Madam Yu nods and walks inside, as the Governess tosses the flyer away and follows her.

A hand scoops up the flyer -- it is Shu Lien. She studies it, then puts it in her pocket, and moves on.

EXT. BRIDGE - DAY

Bo is searching for the Tsais. The bridge is full of jugglers. But the two are nowhere to be found.

EXT. PEKING STREET - DAY

Bo quizzes a homeless man.

BO
Where are they?

HOMELESS MAN
I don't know. I haven't seen them in two days.

Bo is about to give up when he looks up and sees May walking quickly into an alley. Bo follows her.

EXT. IN FRONT OF TSAI'S HOUSE - DAY

May walks into a dilapidated house surrounded by a broken- down bamboo fence. Bo inches closer and sees May and Tsai oiling their weapons.

INT. JEN'S ROOM - DAY

Jen practices calligraphy. The governess is by her side embroidering and throwing occasional glances at Jen. The maid enters.

MAID
There is a Miss Shu Lien here to see you.

Jen stops and looks up at them.

GOVERNESS
Miss is busy right now.

MAID
I'll tell her.

JEN
Show her in.

The governess shoots her a look.

GOVERNESS
This spells trouble.

JEN
I have a guest.

The governess gets up to leave just as the maid shows Shu Lien in.

MAID
This way please.

The governess and Shu Lien exchange quick glances. The governess bows slightly and departs.

JEN
I've missed you.

SHU LIEN
How so?

JEN
I'm bored.

Shu Lien sees the calligraphy.

SHU LIEN
You're doing calligraphy?

JEN
I'll write your name. Just for fun.

Jen writes Yu Shu Lien's name with great confidence and swiftness.

SHU LIEN
I never realized my name looks like "sword."

Jen freezes slightly.

SHU LIEN
You write gracefully. Calligraphy is so similar to fencing.

JEN
Maybe it is. I wouldn't know.

The maid enters with tea.

JEN
Please.

SHU LIEN
Thank you for seeing me. I hear your wedding day is near. You must be overwhelmed by the preparations.

JEN
I'm hardly doing a thing. The less I think of it the better. My parents are arranging everything. The Gous are a very powerful family. My marrying one will be good for my father's career.

SHU LIEN
You are fornuate to marry into such a noble family.

JEN
Am I? I wish I were like the heroes in the books I read. Like you and Li Mu Bai. I guess I'm happy to be marrying. But to be free to live my own life, to choose whom I love... That is true happiness.

SHU LIEN
Do you think so? Let me tell you a story.

JEN
About you and Li Mu Bai?

SHU LIEN
Yes. Did you know I was once engaged to be married?

JEN
No, really?

SHU LIEN
His name was Meng Si Zhao. He was a brother to Li Mu Bai by oath. One day, while in battle, he was killed by the sword of Li Mu Bai's enemy. After, Li Mu Bai and I went through a lot together. Our feelings for each other grew stronger. But how could we dishonor Meng's memory? So the freedom you talk about, I too desire it. But I have never tasted it.

JEN
Too bad for Meng, but it's not your fault, or Li Mu Bai's.

SHU LIEN
I am not an aristocrat, as you are... but I must still respect a woman's duties.

JEN
Don't distance us. From now on, let's be like sisters.

SHU LIEN
Then as a sister, let me wish you happiness in your marriage.

EXT. YU'S GARDEN - DAY

The maid escorts Shu Lien out. Shu Lien pauses, looks around, and sees the profile of the Governess peering at her from around a corner.

INT. JEN'S ROOM - NIGHT

Moonlight spills into the room, as Jen rises sleeplessly from bed and looks out the window. A light breeze stirs her hair. The sound of the wind rises, and slowly her face dissolves, into...

INT./EXT. CARRIAGE/MONGOLIAN DESERT - DAY

...the face of a younger, less sophisticated Jen, as she lets the dry desert air flow through her hair. She sits in a carriage, part of a caravan, with guards on horseback, that is traveling through the spectacular desert. Across from her sits her mother, of whom she is barely cognizant.

MADAM YU
What a godforsaken place! Can't your father be appointed closer to civilization? Jen... are you listening to me?

Jen is still looking out the side of the carriage, at a beautiful mountainside.

INT. JEN'S ROOM - NIGHT

Jen sighs, and turns back toward her bed.

EXT. STREET OUTSIDE GOVERNOR YU'S COMPOUND - NIGHT

Tsai and May have been sitting, hidden in the branches of a tree, watching Jen.

TSAI
Let's go!

They drop down silently and walk away. From another rooftop, Lo looks silently on.

EXT. TSAI'S HOUSE - NIGHT

Tsai and May enter the house.

INT. TSAI'S HOUSE - NIGHT

Inside the tiny house, they discover a hooded figure going through their belongings.

Immediately Tsai throws a knife, which rips off the figure's mask -- revealing Bo. Tsai has another long knife at his throat.

TSAI
Who are you?

BO
Wait! I'm a friend!

Tsai pauses.

INT. TSAI'S HOUSE - NIGHT (LATER)

May fans a small coal-fired grill that is boiling a sizzling pot of vegetable and meatball soup. Her father and Bo are now friendly dinner companions, much to May's delight.

TSAI
I don't care about your sword.

BO
Why were you spying on the Yus?

TSAI
I'm looking for someone. Jade Fox. I'm a police inspector from Shaan Xi, Gen Su district. Jade Fox is a master criminal. I hear she infiltrated the Yus. She must have come with them when they transferred here. But with Yu's reputation, I can't just go in and accuse her.

BO
This Jade Fox is a woman?

TSAI
Yes.

BO
Then leave her to me.

TSAI
Pardon me, but I doubt you can handle her. My wife was quite a martial arts expert. Jade Fox killed her. So you see, this is personal. Leave her to me.

MAY
It's ready! (re: the soup)

BO
I'm ready for anything!

Bo fishes into the pot with his chopsticks. May intercepts him with her own chopsticks.

MAY
Father gets first dip.

Tsai stiffens and snaps his chopsticks, not to pick up a meatball but to catch an incoming dart. A dart wrapped with a note. Bo jumps up.

TSAI
They're gone.

MAY
What does it say?

TSAI
"We'll settle this at midnight on Yellow Hill." Good, the fox is out of her hole.

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