Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the best movie of 2000, according to America’s Catholic bishops.
It topped a list of the year’s ten best films, ranked by the Office for Film and Broadcasting of the U.S. Catholic Conference (USCC).
The office reviewed 240 movies last year, according to a February press release, and classified them according to its own ratings system. A-I films are “suitable for the entire family,” A-II are “for adolescents and adults,” A-III are “for adults” and A-IV are “for adults, with reservations.” Movies classified as “O” are deemed “morally offensive.”
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon received an A-III classification from the USCC and a PG-13 from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Set in 19th-century China, the foreign film follows the trail of a warrior’s stolen sword.
“The film blends mesmerizing martial arts with stunning special effects into a script brimming with intrigue and suspense,” read the release.
Traffic, a “powerful thriller that intersects four stories concerning the international drug trade,” ranked second on the list. It received an A-IV from the USCC and an R from the MPAA.
Rounding out the top ten were Chicken Run, Butterfly, Billy Elliot, Best in Show, Remember the Titans, Cast Away, The Color of Paradise, and East-West.
“With all the talent and money movie makers have at their disposal, one would hope for more inspiring films that families might enjoy and that might lift the human spirit,” said Bishop Joseph A. Galante, chair of the Bishops’ Communications Committee, in the release. “Movies have the power to persuade, and it is incumbent upon movie makers to work for good.”
Cliff Vaughn is BCE’s associate director.
Media producer at Good Faith Media.
