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Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi kick butt in ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' | 16843__11crouchingtiger_l

AS Yu Shu Lien (Yeoh, left) and Jen Yu (Zhang, right)
IN Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

WHO ARE THEY? Two of the fiercest martial-arts warriors ever to face off on film, in this case over a purloined sword called the Green Destiny

SKILLS Though Shu Lien is a veteran and Jen a rookie, they appear evenly matched at swordfighting, kung fu, and gravity-defying leaps between rooftops and tall trees.

BATTLE GEAR Ceremonial robes

MALE ADMIRERS Retiring warrior Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) raises Shu Lien's heart rate; Jen has a romp with desert bandit Lo (Chang Chen).

DROP-DEAD DIALOGUE ''I am the Invincible Sword Goddess, armed with the incredible Green Destiny... Lower your head and ask for mercy.'' (Jen)

CAN'T GET ENOUGH? Yeoh fights alongside Maggie Cheung and Anita Mui in the Hong Kong classic The Heroic Trio (1993) and alongside Pierce Brosnan's 007 in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). Zhang proves similarly deadly in Rush Hour 2 (2001) and in Zhang Yimou's martial arts epics Hero (2002) and House of Flying Daggers (2004).


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Posted Apr 16, 2004 | Order Article Reprints