NEW YORK - Ang Lee, director of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," says he never considered dubbing his Oscar-nominated film.

The Mandarin-language movie, with English subtitles, is at the crest of a wave of well-regarded Asian films that are finding mainstream success in America.

Lee told reporters recently that 70 percent of an actor's performance comes from the tone of his voice.

"Even the slightest hum shows characters, shows where they're at in a very implicit way, the subtext, so I hate to use subbing," the Taiwanese-born director said.

The film is nominated for 10 Oscars, including best picture. It has already won two Golden Globes, for foreign film and for Lee's direction.

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