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Ang Lee is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter, Producer, Assistant Camera and Editor American born on 23 october 1954 at Chaojhou (Taiwan)

Ang Lee

Ang Lee
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Nationality USA
Birth 23 october 1954 (69 years) at Chaojhou (Taiwan)
Awards Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres‎, Academy Award, Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Academy Award for Best Director

Ang Lee (Chinese: 李安; pinyin: Lǐ Ān; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese film director, screenwriter and producer.

Throughout his career, Ang Lee has sought to explore complex themes in his movies. His earlier films frequently sought to explore the relationships and conflicts between tradition and modernity, Eastern and Western. This is clearly evident in films such as The Wedding Banquet, Pushing Hands, and Eat Drink Man Woman. Lee also adeptly deals with the complexities of human emotion (particularly repressed, hidden emotions) in many of his films, including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hulk, and Brokeback Mountain. Whatever Lee has chosen to deal with in his films, he has done so in a way that demonstrates his remarkable insight into the human heart. It is this insight which has allowed his films to transcend cultural and linguistic barriers to speak to audiences all over the world.

Lee has won the Academy Award for Best Director twice, first for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and most recently for Life of Pi (2012). He also won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). He is the first person of Asian descent to win an Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA for Best Director, and the only director to win two Best Film Awards (Golden Bear) at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Biography

Jeunesse et révélation du cinéma asiatique
Né le 23 octobre 1954, il grandit à Taïwan, ses parents sont venus en Taïwan de la province de Jiangsu, un des centres culturels chinois de la Chine continentale en 1945, après La guerre civile chinoise avec KMT. Ang Lee étudie le théâtre et le cinéma à l'Académie des arts de Taipei. Il continue sa formation aux États-Unis à l'Université de l'Illinois et reçoit ensuite un Master of Fine Arts à l'Université de New York où il réalise le moyen métrage Fine Line comme projet de fin d'étude. Comme étudiant, il est le camarade de classe de Spike Lee.

Il réalise également un autre moyen métrage : Dim Lake, distingué par le Golden Harvest taïwanais du meilleur film.

Il tourne son premier long métrage en 1992 : Pushing Hands, présenté au Festival de Berlin et récompensé par le prix du meilleur film au Festival du film de l'Asie-Pacifique.

Il signe, l'année suivante, le portrait d'un jeune Taïwanais installé à New York, cachant son homosexualité à ses parents, Garçon d'honneur, qui reçoit l'Ours d'or du Festival de Berlin. Le film est ensuite nommé au Golden Globe et à l'Oscar du meilleur film étranger. Ang Lee devient ainsi l'un des premiers réalisateurs à introduire le thème de l'homosexualité dans le cinéma chinois.

Peu après, il tourne une autre chronique intimiste : Salé sucré, film sur la famille taïwanaise également récompensé dans plusieurs festivals.


Reconnaissance critique en Occident (1995-2009)
En 1995, il se tourne vers l'Occident et réalise en Angleterre, avec une distribution d'acteurs anglais, son premier film à costume : Raison et sentiments, d'après Jane Austen, qui lui vaut encore de nombreux prix dont un deuxième Ours d'or berlinois. Il continue sur la route des succès hollywoodiens avec la comédie dramatique Ice Storm et la fresque historique Chevauchée avec le diable, prenant pour cadre la guerre de Sécession.

Il adapte en 2000, de façon moderne pour le public international, le genre wuxia avec Tigre et Dragon, film d'art martiaux mettant en scène plusieurs combats stylisés au temps de la Chine impériale. Triomphe international, le film remporte quatre Oscars en 2001 dont celui du meilleur film étranger.

Ang Lee s'essaye alors au blockbuster hollywoodien en s'attaquant en 2003 à l'adaptation du comic-book Hulk. Mais cette superproduction ne récolte que 243 millions de dollars dans le monde pour un coût total de 172 (production et promotion).

Changeant complètement de registre, il met en scène Le Secret de Brokeback Mountain, une histoire d'amour entre deux hommes, Ennis del Mar et Jack Twist, dans les montagnes du Wyoming. Ce film dramatique, adapté de la nouvelle d'Annie Proulx, lui vaut le Lion d'or de la Mostra de Venise en 2005 et l'Oscar du meilleur réalisateur l'année suivante.

La plupart de ses films traitent des relations entre tradition et modernité et s'attaquent au problème de l'affirmation par l'individu de ses choix et de ses aspirations face à la norme sociale.

En 2007, Ang Lee réitère l'exploit d'obtenir un deuxième Lion d'or à la 64e Mostra, deux ans seulement après avoir gagné son premier trophée, pour Lust, caution, un drame historique et érotique se déroulant à Shanghai durant l'occupation japonaise. En 2009, il réalise une comédie ayant pour cadre le Festival de Woodstock : Hôtel Woodstock.


Confirmation (années 2010)

Pendant plus de trois ans, il travaille ensuite avec Yann Martel sur l'adaptation du roman Histoire de Pi narrant le voyage d'un jeune Indien qui, après le naufrage d'un bateau rempli d'animaux sauvages, erre 227 jours sur un canot de sauvetage en compagnie d'un tigre du Bengale. L'Odyssée de Pi, conçu comme une fable initiatique et une ode à l'imaginaire, est en grande partie tourné sur fond vert et les décors sont incrustés plus tard par ordinateur et retouchés à la palette graphique. Des nouvelles techniques de matte painting et de modélisation 3D sont employées. Le film sort en salles fin 2012 et est presque exclusivement exploité en 3D. Les critiques américaines sont très élogieuses et L'Odyssée de Pi réunit 86 % de critiques positives sur le site Rotten Tomatoes. En 2013, l'œuvre gagne quatre Oscars dont celui de la meilleure réalisation.

Ang Lee a présidé le jury de la Mostra de Venise 2009 et fait partie du jury du Festival de Cannes 2013, présidé par Steven Spielberg.

En 2016, il connait en revanche un flop avec le film de guerre Un jour dans la vie de Billy Lynn, une co-production internationale dont le rôle-titre est joué par un acteur anglais quasi inconnu, Joe Alwyn. Le reste de la distribution de ce treizième long-métrage compte tout de même Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund, Chris Tucker et Vin Diesel. Les critiques sont aussi très mitigées.

En octobre 2019, il dévoilera son quinzième long-métrage, qui marquera aussi sa première incursion dans la science-fiction : Gemini Man est écrit par une référence du genre, Andrew Niccol, et a pour têtes d'affiche Will Smith et Clive Owen.

Best films

Life of Pi (2012)
(Director)
Hulk (2003)
(Director)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
(Director)
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
(Director)
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
(Director)
Cinderella Man (2005)
(Director)

Usually with

James Schamus
James Schamus
(11 films)
Tim Squyres
Tim Squyres
(13 films)
Eugene Gearty
Eugene Gearty
(9 films)
Ted Hope
Ted Hope
(5 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Ang Lee (19 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Hulk
Hulk (2003)
, 2h18
Directed by Ang Lee
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Themes Hulk (comics) films, Superhero films, Super-héros inspiré de comics
Actors Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas, Nick Nolte, Stan Lee
Roles Hulk (voice) (uncredited)
Rating55% 2.799472.799472.799472.799472.79947
Scientist David Banner introduces the idea of creating super soldiers by introducing modified DNA sequences extracted from various animals to strengthen the human cellular response, making them effectively impervious to any weaponized agent, but General Thaddeus Ross denies him permission to use human subjects. Banner subsequently conducts the experiments on himself. After the birth of his son Bruce, he finds that his son may have inherited the effects and seeks a cure, but is stopped in the process. Bruce remembers nothing of the incident after a traumatic event, and has been raised by the Krenzlers. Years later, Bruce is a geneticist working with his ex-girlfriend Betty Ross, within the Berkeley Biotechnology Institute on nanomed research. The pair hope to achieve instantenous cell repair by using low level Gamma radiation exposure to activate the nanomeds once they are introduced into a living organism. During routine maintenance of their appropriated Gammaspectrometer, a circuit shorts and triggers the experiment's program sequence. Unable to prevent the machine from firing, Bruce throws himself in front of his colleague to shield him and is exposed to incredibly toxic levels of Gamma.
The Wedding Banquet, 1h46
Directed by Ang Lee
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Romantic comedy, Romance
Themes Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related films, Coming out, LGBT-related film
Actors Winston Chao, Mitchell Lichtenstein, Gua Ah Leh, Michael Gaston, Ang Lee, Mason Lee
Roles Guest at the Wedding Banquet (uncredited)
Rating75% 3.79673.79673.79673.79673.7967
Wai-Tung Gao and Simon are a happy gay couple living in Manhattan. Wai-Tung is in his late 20s, so his tradition-minded parents are eager to see him get married and have a child in order to continue the family line. The early part of the film is madcap comedy. When Wai-Tung's parents hire a dating service, he and Simon stall for time by inventing impossible demands. They demand an opera singer and add that she must be 5'9" have two PhD's and speak five languages. The service actually locates a 5'8" Chinese woman who sings Western opera, speaks five languages and has a single PhD. She is very gracious when Wai-Tung explains his dilemma, as she, too, is hiding a relationship (with a Caucasian man). At Simon's insistence, Wai-Tung decides to marry one of his tenants, Wei-Wei, a penniless artist from mainland China in need of a green card. Besides helping Wei-Wei, Simon and Wai-Tung hope that this will placate Wai-Tung's parents.

Director

Gemini Man
Gemini Man (2019)
, 1h57
Directed by Ang Lee
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Thriller, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Actors Will Smith, Clive Owen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Benedict Wong, Linda Emond, Douglas Hodge
Rating57% 2.8617452.8617452.8617452.8617452.861745
Ancien militaire, Henry Brogen est un tueur à gages avec une solide réputation de sniper. Il travaille pour une mystérieuse agence gouvernementale, la DIA. Après un contrat à Liège en Belgique, il décide de prendre sa retraite dans l'État de Géorgie. Il découvre par ailleurs que la cible de ce dernier contrat n'était pas celle qu'il pensait. Les employeurs de Henry veulent le faire disparaitre. Clay Varris, directeur de GEMINI, envoie alors à ses trousses le seul homme capable de tuer Henry : son clone, plus jeune de trente ans et élevé par Clay lui-même.
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, 1h52
Directed by Ang Lee
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Historical
Actors Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Vin Diesel, Steve Martin, Chris Tucker, Ben Platt
Rating61% 3.097793.097793.097793.097793.09779
En 2005, un jeune Texan de 19 ans, Billy Lynn, est pris dans une violente attaque avec son régiment d'infanterie en Irak. Lui et les autres survivants sont présentés comme des héros. Ils sont ensuite rapatriés aux États-Unis par l'administration Bush pour parader dans tout le pays, parade qui culmine lors du show de la mi-temps du match de NFL (football américain) des Dallas Cowboys pour Thanksgiving, match à domicile à Dallas. Mais ils doivent ensuite retourner au front...
Life of Pi
Life of Pi (2012)
, 2h5
Directed by Ang Lee
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Themes L'adolescence, Films about animals, Films about education, Films about children, La fin du monde, Seafaring films, Films about religion, Transport films, Mise en scène d'un tigre, Children's films, Mise en scène d'un mammifère, Suricate, Films about school violence, Disaster films, Films about seafaring accidents or incidents
Actors Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Ayush Tandon, Tabu, Adil Hussain, Rafe Spall
Rating78% 3.9452653.9452653.9452653.9452653.945265
In Canada, novelist Yann Martel meets Pi Patel, an Indian immigrant with some knowledge from Pi's late father's friend, known to Pi as "Mamaji", for a good book. Pi tells Yann his life story.
Taking Woodstock, 1h55
Directed by Ang Lee
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, Political films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Imelda Staunton, Demetri Martin, Henry Goodman, Liev Schreiber, Edward Hibbert, Jonathan Groff
Rating66% 3.3464753.3464753.3464753.3464753.346475
Set in 1969, the film follows the true story of Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin), an aspiring Greenwich Village interior designer whose parents, Jake (Henry Goodman) and Sonia (Imelda Staunton), own the small dilapidated El Monaco Resort in White Lake, in the town of Bethel, New York. A hippie theater troupe, The Earthlight Players, rents the barn, but can hardly pay any rent. Due to financial trouble, the motel may have to be closed, but Elliot pleads with the local bank not to foreclose on the mortgage and Sonia delivers a tirade about her struggles as a Russian refugee. The family is given until the end of the summer to pay up.
Lust, Caution, 2h38
Directed by Ang Lee
Origin Taiwan
Genres Drama, War, Thriller, Action, Spy, Historical, Crime, Romance
Themes Spy films, Films about sexuality, Erotic films, Political films, Erotic thriller films
Actors Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tang Wei, Joan Chen, Carlo Chin, Anupam Kher, Wang Hui-Ling
Rating74% 3.747613.747613.747613.747613.74761
The film takes place in the 1940s, when Shanghai was under Japanese occupation. A young Chinese woman named Mrs Mai is sitting in a luxurious cafe. She makes a phone call, signaling a group of resistance agents to load their weapons.
Cinderella Man, 2h24
Directed by Ron Howard, Ang Lee
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography, Documentary, Historical, Romance
Themes Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films, Le boxe anglaise
Actors Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Bruce McGill, Craig Bierko, Paddy Considine
Rating79% 3.9973153.9973153.9973153.9973153.997315
James J. Braddock is an Irish-American boxer from New Jersey, formerly a light heavyweight contender, who is forced to give up boxing after breaking his hand in the ring. This is both a relief and a burden to his wife, Mae; she cannot bring herself to watch the violence of his chosen profession, yet she knows they will have no good income without his boxing.
Brokeback Mountain, 2h14
Directed by Ang Lee
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Romance
Themes Films about sexuality, Bisexuality-related films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film
Actors Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid, Linda Cardellini
Rating77% 3.85083.85083.85083.85083.8508
In 1963, Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) are hired by Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid) to herd his sheep through the summer in the Wyoming mountains. After a night of heavy drinking, Jack makes a sexual pass at Ennis, who is initially reluctant but eventually responds to Jack's advances. Though he informs Jack that it was a one-time incident, they develop a sexual and emotional relationship. Shortly after learning their summer together is being cut short, they briefly fight and each is bloodied.
Hulk
Hulk (2003)
, 2h18
Directed by Ang Lee
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Themes Hulk (comics) films, Superhero films, Super-héros inspiré de comics
Actors Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas, Nick Nolte, Stan Lee
Rating55% 2.799472.799472.799472.799472.79947
Scientist David Banner introduces the idea of creating super soldiers by introducing modified DNA sequences extracted from various animals to strengthen the human cellular response, making them effectively impervious to any weaponized agent, but General Thaddeus Ross denies him permission to use human subjects. Banner subsequently conducts the experiments on himself. After the birth of his son Bruce, he finds that his son may have inherited the effects and seeks a cure, but is stopped in the process. Bruce remembers nothing of the incident after a traumatic event, and has been raised by the Krenzlers. Years later, Bruce is a geneticist working with his ex-girlfriend Betty Ross, within the Berkeley Biotechnology Institute on nanomed research. The pair hope to achieve instantenous cell repair by using low level Gamma radiation exposure to activate the nanomeds once they are introduced into a living organism. During routine maintenance of their appropriated Gammaspectrometer, a circuit shorts and triggers the experiment's program sequence. Unable to prevent the machine from firing, Bruce throws himself in front of his colleague to shield him and is exposed to incredibly toxic levels of Gamma.
Ambush
Ambush (2001)
, 1h4
Directed by Ang Lee, Wong Kar-wai, John Woo, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Joe Carnahan, Guy Ritchie, Tony Scott, John Frankenheimer
Origin USA
Genres Action
Actors Tomás Milián, Forest Whitaker, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Adriana Lima, Madonna
Rating69% 3.494033.494033.494033.494033.49403
The plots of each of the films differ, but one constant remains: Clive Owen plays "The Driver," a man who goes from place to place (in BMW automobiles), getting hired by various people to be a sort of transport for their vital needs.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 1h59
Directed by Ang Lee
Origin Chine
Genres Drama, Martial arts, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Romance, Martial arts
Themes Psychologie, Sports films, Martial arts films, Kung fu films, Wuxia films
Actors Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen, Cheng Pei-pei
Rating78% 3.9472653.9472653.9472653.9472653.947265
The film is set in the Qing Dynasty during the 43rd year (1779) of the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-fat) is an accomplished Wudang swordsman. Long ago, his master was murdered by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei), a woman who sought to learn Wudang skills. Mu Bai is also a good friend of Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), a female warrior. Mu Bai and Shu Lien have developed feelings for each other, but they have never acknowledged or acted on them. Mu Bai, intending to give up his warrior life, asks Shu Lien to transport his sword, also referred to as the Green Destiny, to the city of Beijing, as a gift for their friend Sir Te (Sihung Lung). At Sir Te's estate, Shu Lien meets Jen (Zhang Ziyi), the daughter of Governor Yu (Li Fazeng), a visiting Manchu aristocrat. Jen, destined for an arranged marriage and yearning for adventure, seems envious of Shu Lien's warrior lifestyle.
Ride with the Devil, 2h18
Directed by Ang Lee
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Action, Adventure, Romance, Western
Themes Films about slavery, Films about racism, Political films
Actors Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, Jewel, Jeffrey Wright, Simon Baker, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
Rating66% 3.3479053.3479053.3479053.3479053.347905
Jake Roedel and Jack Bull Chiles are friends in Missouri when the American Civil War breaks out. During the mayhem, Chiles's father is murdered by Kansas pro-Union Jayhawkers. The two men join the First Missouri Irregulars, also known as the Bushwhackers; informal units loyal to Missouri in 1861. They later meet George Clyde and former slave Daniel Holt, whose freedom Clyde has previously granted.
The Ice Storm, 1h52
Directed by Ang Lee
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Films about families, Films about sexuality, Children's films
Actors Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Christina Ricci, Elijah Wood, Henry Czerny
Rating72% 3.64783.64783.64783.64783.6478
Ben, Elena, and their children, 16-year-old Paul and 14-year-old Wendy. And their neighbors, the Carvers, include Jim, Janey, and their children: Mikey and Sandy.