Back catalogue: Soundtracks

Review: When Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon came out at the box office, it went some way to confirming we'd entered a new millennium, and a fresh era in cinema. Visually spectacular, despite being made on a small budget for epics even back then ($17million), the stunning tale of warring Chinese dynasties, told through battle scenes disguised as beautiful, entrancingly choreographed performance art, was an aesthetic landmark, and a more thoughtful take on the wuxia martial arts action canon. Picking up Golden Globes and Academy Awards, Tan Dun's soundtrack certainly contributes a lot to just how amazing the overall experience of watching CTHD is. Although losing out on its own nomination to the equally powerful Gladiator score - what a year it was for historic fanfares - the combination of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai National Orchestra, and Shanghai Percussion Ensemble makes for a classical masterpiece, from the drummiest war marches to the most serene, cherry blossom-hued harmonies.