Passes the Bechdel test
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
2001. Directed by Ang Lee, written by Hui-Ling Wang and James Schamus and Kuo Jung Tsai.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
9 women characters. 5 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 2 scenes out of 108. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
In early nineteenth-century China, in the waning years of the Qing dynasty, the renowned swordsman who yearns for enlightenment, Li Mu Bai, decides to give up his legendary Green Destiny sword: the sharp four-hundred-year-old blade of heroes. To mark the end of a blood-stained career, Li entrusts the excellent female warrior, Yu Shu Lien, with the precious weapon to deliver it to Governor Yu; however, once there, an audacious and nimble masked thief manages to steal it. As Shu Lien is hot on the trail of the skilled burglar, unrequited loves; fervent passions; an unconquerable desire for freedom, and bitter loose ends stand in the way. Can Mu Bai shake off his violent past?
- Released
- 12 Jan 2001
- Genres
- Action, Adventure, Drama
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7.8 / 10
- Metascore
- 94 / 100
- Awards
- Won 4 Oscars. 105 wins & 137 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Yu 121 lines, man
- Jen 107 lines, woman
- Li 80 lines, man
- Lo 38 lines, man
- Sir Te 21 lines, man
- Bo 19 lines, man
- Fox 19 lines, woman
- Tsai 14 lines, man
- Madam Yu 12 lines, woman
- May 12 lines, woman
Full cast, 31 people
- Chow Yun-Fat as Li Mu Bai
- Michelle Yeoh as Yu Shu Lien
- Zhang Ziyi as Jen
- Chang Chen as Lo
- Lung Sihung as Sir Te
- Cheng Pei-pei as Jade Fox
- Li Fazeng as Governor Yu
- Gao Xian as Bo
- Hai Yan as Madame Yu
- Wang Deming as Tsai
- Li Li as May
- Huang Suying as Auntie Wu
- Zhang Jinting as De Lu
- Yang Rui as Maid
- Li Kai as Guo Jun Pei
- Feng Jianhua as Gou Jun Sihung
- Du Zhenxi as Shop Owner
- Xu Chenglin as Captain
- Lin Feng as Captain
- Wang Wensheng as Gangster A
- Song Dong as Gangster B
- Ma Zhongxuan as Mi Biao
- Li Baocheng as Flying Machete Chang
- Yang Yongde as Monk Jing
- Shao Jun Zhang as Male Performer
- Ma Ning as Female Performer
- Chu Jianmin as Waiter
- Dong Changsheng as Homeless Man
- Shih Yi as Waitress
- Chen Bing as Servant
- Zhang Shaocheng as Nightman
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 5% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 108
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 to 6 | 2 | 29 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 to 12 | 14 | 28 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 6 |
| 16 to 18 | 14 | 3 |
| 19 to 21 | 1 | 4 |
| 22 to 24 | 1 | 5 |
| 25 to 27 | 4 | 9 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 2 |
| 31 to 33 | 18 | 11 |
| 34 to 36 | 1 | 1 |
| 37 to 39 | 3 | 12 |
| 40 to 42 | 10 | 38 |
| 43 to 45 | 10 | 23 |
| 46 to 48 | 3 | 3 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 8 |
| 52 to 54 | 17 | 16 |
| 55 to 57 | 6 | 3 |
| 58 to 60 | 2 | 6 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 3 |
| 64 to 66 | 5 | 8 |
| 67 to 69 | 2 | 4 |
| 70 to 72 | 4 | 4 |
| 73 to 75 | 5 | 3 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 6 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 12 |
| 82 to 84 | 16 | 23 |
| 85 to 87 | 3 | 17 |
| 88 to 90 | 14 | 16 |
| 91 to 93 | 5 | 4 |
| 94 to 96 | 3 | 1 |
| 97 to 99 | 6 | 12 |
| 100 to 102 | 4 | 6 |
| 103 to 105 | 1 | 2 |
| 106 to 108 | 2 | 2 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scenes
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
MADAM YU: Jen... stop playing with it. JEN: I won't break it.
JEN: Where is Mrs. Wu? AUNT WU: Stop it! JEN: Shu Lien told me to show you this. AUNT WU: Let her in.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 35 are women's.
177 lines from women, 332 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
9 women and 22 men in the cast. 5 women and 19 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 3 of 533.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 49 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 29% of the words (1,618), men 71% (4,039). Women have 35% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
7
Two men
25
Exhibit F: behind the camera
1 of the 12 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 24% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Ang Lee (man)
- Written by
- Tsai Kuo-Jung (man), Wang Huiling (woman), James Schamus (man)
- Produced by
- Hsu Li-Kong (man), Ang Lee (man), Bill Kong (man)
- Shot by
- Peter Pau Tak-hai (man)
- Edited by
- Tim Squyres (man)
- Music by
- Tan Dun (man)
- Production design by
- Timothy Yip Gam-Tim (man)
- Costumes by
- Timothy Yip Gam-Tim (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Sound
8 women, 17 men, 15 not listed
-
Production
7 women, 17 men, 11 not listed
-
Other crew
1 women, 12 men, 12 not listed
-
Visual Effects
1 women, 5 men, 11 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
5 women, 5 men, 5 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 6 men, 7 not listed
-
Directing
3 women, 6 men, 2 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 3 men, 6 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 37 on average. Men: 49 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Zhang Ziyi 21, Michelle Yeoh 37, Cheng Pei-pei 53
Men
Chang Chen 23, Chow Yun-Fat 45, Li Fazeng 58, Lung Sihung 69
Exhibit H: the money
It made 12.6 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $17 million
- Box office
- $214 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 108 scenes and 533 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
