The Grandmaster (2013)

The story of martial-arts master Ip Man, the man who trained Bruce Lee.

Director:

Kar-Wai Wong (as Kar Wai Wong)

Writers:

Kar-Wai Wong (story) (as Kar Wai Wong), Kar-Wai Wong (screenplay) (as Kar Wai Wong)

Stars:

Tony Chiu Wai Leung, Ziyi Zhang, Jin Zhang

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 53 wins & 50 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tony Chiu Wai Leung	...	Ip Man
Cung Le	...	Iron Shoes
Qingxiang Wang	...	Master Gong Yutian
Elvis Tsui	...	Mr. Hung
Hye-kyo Song	...	Zhang Yongcheng
Chia Yung Liu	...	Master Yong
Chau Yee Tsang	...	Shorty (as Chiu Yee Tsang)
Hoi-Pang Lo	...	Uncle Deng
Shun Lau	...	Master Rui
Xiaofei Zhou	...	Sister San
Mancheng Wang	...	Master Ba
Ting Yip Ng	...	Brother Sau
Man Keung Cho	...	Cho Man
Tony Ling	...	Foshan Martial Artist
Tielong Shang	...	Jiang

Storyline

Ip Man's peaceful life in Foshan changes after Gong Yutian seeks an heir for his family in Southern China. Ip Man then meets Gong Er who challenges him for the sake of regaining her family's honor. After the Second Sino-Japanese War, Ip Man moves to Hong Kong and struggles to provide for his family. In the mean time, Gong Er chooses the path of vengeance after her father was killed by Ma San.

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Plot Keywords:

challenge | hong kong | china | martial arts master | martial arts | 

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Taglines:

In Martial Arts there is no right or wrong, only the last man standing.

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Genres:

Action | Biography | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, some smoking, brief drug use and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

Hong Kong China

Language:

Cantonese Mandarin Japanese

Release Date:

30 August 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Grandmaster

Filming Locations:

Chikan Movie and Television City, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$132,617 (USA) (23 August 2013)

Gross:

$6,594,136 (USA) (18 October 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Block 2 Pictures, Jet Tone Films, Sil-Metropole Organisation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min 108 min (cut) 122 min (international)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In some of the Hong Kong scenes, Ip Man practices on an apparatus made from a wooden post and dowels. This is the Wooden Dummy, used for Wing Chun open hand technique development and strength training. It also furthers the practitioner's understanding of angles, positions, footwork, and balance.

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Quotes

Gong Er: Every great age presents a choice: to go forward, or stay back. I prefer to stay back, in the happiest times of my life.

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Connections

References Es war einmal in Amerika (1984)

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Soundtracks

Feng Liu Meng
(uncredited)
Written by Hu Wensen
Performed by Xiao Ming Xing

User Reviews

Extremely beautiful to look at but also also a tad too hard to follow and uninvolving.

'THE GRANDMASTER': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Critically acclaimed Kung Fu epic about legendary Chinese martial-arts master Ip Man. Ip Man was the Wing Chun grandmaster and his most famous student was Bruce Lee. This film chronicles the years leading up to his success as a martial arts teacher. It stars Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Ip Man and Zhang Ziyi as Gong Er, his main love interest. Kar Wai Wong directed and co-wrote the movie (with Jingzhi Zou and Haofeng Xu). Wong is famous for directing and writing other popular Hong Kong period piece dramas like '2046' and 'IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE'. I'd rate this flick about the same as Wong's others; I thought it was extremely beautiful to look at but it's also a tad too hard to follow and uninvolving.

The story focuses as much on Gong Er (Ziyi) as it does Ip Man and follows a love story between the two as they keep in contact for many years following a fight for Gong's family's honor. Ip Man had defeated her father, Gong Yutian (Wang Qingxiang) in a battle that was as much about philosophical ideas as combat. The film follows Ip Man's years during the Second Sino-Japanese War, in 1938, struggling through poverty with his family. It also focuses on Gong Er's attempt at vengeance against the man who murdered her father, Ma San (Zhang Jin).

The story is told in a very disjointed way and it was really hard for me to keep up with what was going on in it. I often find these epic Hong Kong Kung Fu flicks to be dull anyway and wasn't too interested in seeing this one. It did get mostly good reviews from critics though and it's nominated for two 2014 Oscars (in Cinematography and Costume Design). It definitely deserves those award nominations and is very breathtaking to look at. I also think Zhang Ziyi is one of the more beautiful and sexy women in cinema today and she gives a great performance here. I'm not sure how I feel about Leung Chiu-Wai as an actor, he's not bad in this movie but I didn't really learn to care for his character much at all. The martial-arts scenes are grand and epic though and I'm sure fans of the genre will be more than pleased.

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