Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Ang Lee's wuxia masterpiece swept the 2001 Academy Awards with 4 wins including Best Foreign Language Film and grossed $213 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing foreign-language film in US history at the time. Choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping, its gravity-defying wire-fu sequences including the iconic bamboo forest duel redefined what action cinema could achieve artistically.