Their first break is to arrest Mei (Ziyi Zhang), a blind dancer who has all sorts of tricks up her sleeves, most of them liable to cut your throat.

NEWYORKER: House of Flying Daggers

But then the teen-age Chiyo (Ziyi Zhang) is rescued by a good fairy, Mameha (Michelle Yeoh), a retired geisha who treats her kindly and teaches her the intricacies of her craft.

NEWYORKER: Memoirs of a Geisha

Athletic honors are shared between Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi, who plays a rebellious young noblewoman with a fiery past.

NEWYORKER: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actress Zhang Ziyi ranked No. 2 in the overall list, and international film star Gong Li was No. 5.

FORBES: Yao's The Man

Granted, the tale of the aristocratic Jen (played by Zhang Ziyi), her tangles with martial-arts masters Li Mubai (Chow Yun Fat) and Yu Shulien (Michelle Yeoh, fresh from her recent successful turn as a Bond girl), and her torrid romance with rough-hewn Lo (Chang Chen) is not that gripping.

CNN: From Our Correspondent: Movie with a Message

Tony Leung plays Chow, a writer who moves into a small Hong Kong hotel, befriends the daughter of the owner (Faye Wong), and gradually works his way through a number of equally beautiful women, including a neighboring call girl (Zhang Ziyi) and a gambler with a black glove (Gong Li).

NEWYORKER: (director: Wong Kar-Wai; 2005)