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November 6, 2012 3:02 AM   Subscribe

The Grandmaster (Chinese language trailer) - Wong Kar Wai returns with a martial arts film based on the life of Ip Man.
posted by Artw (34 comments total) 23 users marked this as a favorite
 
Yes!
posted by flippant at 4:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]


Great title - thanks for the laugh.
posted by kokaku at 4:17 AM on November 6, 2012 [4 favorites]


Seconding kokaku. I laughed.
posted by shortfuse at 4:26 AM on November 6, 2012


That's pretty soon after the Wilson Yip Ip Man franchise, which I think is still continuing (two films released, and another announced, I think). It's difficult to imagine Ip Man being played by someone other than Donnie Yen now. I'm sure Tony Leung trained really hard, but with Donnie Yen being an actual martial artist, and Sammo Hung doing the fight choreography for those earlier shows, I'm not sure if Grandmasters can hope to top it in that department. Ip Man (1 and 2) had amazing fight scenes.
posted by hellopanda at 5:00 AM on November 6, 2012 [10 favorites]


I agree about Donnie Yen, hellopanda, even though the real Ip Man looked so goofy (going by his Wikipedia pic). Those movies were just such perfect martial arts films, balancing so well between serious and cheesy. The incredible fervor of Chinese nationalism that runs through them is a little offputting, but not that much, really.
posted by adamdschneider at 5:13 AM on November 6, 2012


Wong Kar Wai returns with a martial arts film

I am still confused about this.
posted by shakespeherian at 5:15 AM on November 6, 2012


I hope they use Chow-mo Wan writing a novel about Ip Man as a framing device.
posted by griphus at 5:46 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]


I am still confused about this.

It's not his first martial arts film. Ashes of Time has some very interesting approaches to the fight scenes. It's certainly not the usual kind of wuxia film, though.
posted by Zetetics at 5:53 AM on November 6, 2012


Kitsch.
posted by nicolin at 6:22 AM on November 6, 2012


The incredible fervor of Chinese nationalism that runs through them is a little offputting, but not that much, really.

Nothing can be as bad as the end of Hero. BOOM! NATIONALISM TURD!

Weirdly I find the anti-foreign sentiments of the Once Upon a Tine films rather endearing.
posted by Artw at 6:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]


Considering that Ip Man never actually fought Japanese generals or British boxers, yes the nationalism was rather unnecessary. I'm sure it helped with the box office results though.
posted by hellopanda at 6:54 AM on November 6, 2012


Nothing can be as bad as the end of Hero. BOOM! NATIONALISM TURD!

Ahahaha, yeah. I still love that movie, though. I kind of want to play it all the time in slow motion without sound like one of those goldfish tank screensavers, though.
posted by adamdschneider at 7:02 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]


That's pretty soon after the Wilson Yip Ip Man yt franchise, which I think is still continuing (two films released, and another announced, I think).

Unless Mr Twister is gonna be in this retelling, I am not interested.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 7:07 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]


Nothing can be as bad as the end of Hero. BOOM! NATIONALISM TURD!

I'm guessing you've not seen IP Man 2, have you?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 7:08 AM on November 6, 2012 [3 favorites]


Ip Man 1 and 2 were the best, and I thought Donnie Yen had said that the wasn't interested in making any more Ip Man movies?
posted by daHIFI at 7:18 AM on November 6, 2012


First the shark tracking link, and now this! I loved Ip Man 1 so much (Ip Man 2 was just kind of weird), but man am I ever excited about this movie. What a great day today is, Novermber 6th.
posted by TheTingTangTong at 7:21 AM on November 6, 2012


I'm cool with the multiple retellings and the mythmaking. I'd be really happy if Ip Man became the next Fong Sai Yuk or Wong Fei Hong.
posted by hellopanda at 7:31 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]


I'm just looking forward to the inevitable Hollywood remake of Ip Man starring all white people so that Karl Urban can play this guy.
posted by adamdschneider at 7:39 AM on November 6, 2012


Every nation has had its chance to plaster nationalism all over its cultural exports. Why should China deserve any less?
posted by Apocryphon at 9:20 AM on November 6, 2012


Nothing can be as bad as the end of Hero. BOOM! NATIONALISM TURD!

It's hard for me to hold some kind of grudge against an overbearing jingoistic theme in foreign films when Hollywood pumps out at least half a dozen a year of AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!
posted by P.o.B. at 10:33 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]


Every nation has had its chance to plaster nationalism all over its cultural exports.

Ok, now I want a nationalistic action movies from *every* nation. Cayman Islands... I'm waiting.
posted by ennui.bz at 10:47 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]


The Donnie Yen Ip Man movies make very little sense. Even saying the movies are "loosely based on Yip Man" is a stretch.This looks like more of the same, except headed by Wong Kar Wai so that's puts it onto my shortlist.

The history of Yip Man is kind of interesting, but I think I would rather watch a film of his student Wong Shun Leung. If you look around you can find pictures where it shows cleaver scars from a fight on his arms.
posted by P.o.B. at 10:49 AM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]


Ok, now I want a nationalistic action movies from *every* nation.

Quentin Tarantino's SKANDERBEG
posted by griphus at 10:54 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]


IP Man files DMCA takedown requests with lightning speed!
posted by Yakuman at 10:56 AM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]


Cayman Islands... I'm waiting.

British Overseas Territory, not a nation-state. Sorry, they need to undergo a bloody revolution or a costly referendum first to qualify.
posted by Apocryphon at 10:59 AM on November 6, 2012


The Donnie Yen Ip Man movies make very little sense.

No love out there for the Herman Yau offering? Not that that made any more sense than the others, but it did feature some footage of IP Man's son, Ip Chun.

Also, was it Wong Shun Leung who accused IP Man of spending his tuition fees on opium? That's a telling of the IP Man story I'd definitely pay to watch.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 11:30 AM on November 6, 2012


I've heard different stories about Yip Man and opium attributed to different students. Wouldn't doubt it. Not because I think he was a degenerate junkie, but it seems like something of a non-sequitar for people who actually respected him to make up.
posted by P.o.B. at 11:39 AM on November 6, 2012


Also, was it Wong Shun Leung who accused IP Man of spending his tuition fees on opium? That's a telling of the IP Man story I'd definitely pay to watch.

Is there a cite for that? Because that sounds interesting and google is failing me.
posted by lumpenprole at 11:39 AM on November 6, 2012


Not because I think he was a degenerate junkie, but it seems like something of a non-sequitar for people who actually respected him to make up.

I feel the same way towards Tony Stark.
posted by Apocryphon at 1:13 PM on November 6, 2012


Well, there are also contextual and cultural ideas that overshadow simple comparisons between junkie/not junkie that are not really apparent and are not important here nor there.
posted by P.o.B. at 2:01 PM on November 6, 2012


It's hard for me to hold some kind of grudge against an overbearing jingoistic theme in foreign films when Hollywood pumps out at least half a dozen a year of AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!

Oh, American Movies poop eagles and star-spangled banners, to a degree that can be irritating to non-Americans, but Chinese ones can give them a run for their money.
posted by Artw at 3:09 PM on November 6, 2012


Is there a cite for that? Because that sounds interesting and google is failing me.

Not a very good one.

http://www.fiveimmortalskungfu.com/documents/36.html
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/KE16Ad02.html


Well, there are also contextual and cultural ideas that overshadow simple comparisons between junkie/not junkie that are not really apparent and are not important here nor there.


If that were completely true, why would his students even bother to mention his opium consumption? Clearly there's some degree of disapproval, either about his levels of consumption or expenditure on same. Nobody bitches about how much Bruce Lee's Ibuprofen habit was costing him.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 10:07 AM on November 7, 2012


The assumption you're making is that it was implicitly a 'bad thing', and if it wasn't a 'bad thing' then why would anyone avoid it as if it was? So again if we look at context, I've never ever heard the story as one of the students "bitching" about his use, but rather as a matter of fact story about Yip Man. Even more so, if you look at context AND culture, right there in one of your links it talks about how it was not uncommon for some men to develop an opium habit.
Call me crazy, but I'm not about to go back 100 years into a different culture and start placing my values on what those people are doing when I don't understand the culture or context in the first place.
posted by P.o.B. at 10:51 AM on November 7, 2012




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