Today In History: February 13 2001

Based on the traditional Chinese martial-arts genre known as wuxia, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon starred Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh as warriors in 19th-century China, during the Qing dynasty. Kept apart by honor, the two yearn for each other even as they become involved with a heated drama surrounding two younger lovers, played by Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen. The film went on to earn 10 Oscar nomination and become the first Asian film and only the seventh foreign-language film to be nominated for Best Picture. It became director Ang Lee’s biggest film.