It's not easy to make an award-winning film. It's even harder for a filmmaker to win a lifetime achievement award. Chinese director Ang Lee was recently given this honor by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
The academy called him"one of the world's most pioneering and revered contemporary (当代) filmmakers". He has made many classic films in different genres. More importantly, whether it's an Eastern or Western story, he is able to bring out its "original flavor", Sohu News said.
Lee came to fame in the 1990s with a comedy trilogy (三部曲) that he calls Father Knows Best. In these three films, he told stories about Chinese families. The success of the trilogy paved his way to Hollywood. He then was hired to direct an adaptation of the British novel Sense and Sensibility (《理智与情感》), as well as the American drama The Ice Storm and superhero movie Hulk. His career reached a peak with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (《卧虎藏龙》). The film is an exciting combination of different genres — historical romance, martial arts and the classic American Western.
Lee's deep understanding of both East and West comes from his life experience. Born in Taiwan, Lee later studied filmmaking in the US. After graduation, he stayed in Hollywood to look for opportunities. He experienced six years of "development hell" in which he had nearly no income and no chance to direct.
But Lee says the "movie gods" have been very good to him, so he values every chance. In recent years, he has been trying new filmmaking technology, including high-frame rate (高帧率) filming, 3D and other innovations (创新) that he believes are the future of film. "A part of you has to keep honest and fresh. I just hope my whole career is like a never-ending film school," Lee said.
