the grandmaster

THE GRANDMASTER Will Get A 3D Re-Release This October

Fun fact: martial arts action auteur Yuen Woo-Ping is awesome, a given fact for any martial arts action cinema fan familiar with his name and stellar credits, most notably the long-awaited release of director Wong Kar-Wai‘s biopictoral martial arts action romance epic, The Grandmaster. Starring actor Tony Leung in the prolific role of late martial arts pugilist and Wing Chun master, Ip Man, the film is Wong‘s most expensive project to date, following an arduous production between its announcement in 2008 and its installment of three different versions for China and Hong Kong, its premiere at the 63rd annual Berlin International Film Festival and finally in North America between January and August 2013. The film has been the recipient of dozens of awards and nominations ever since, and has been the subject of a 3D conversion by Vancouver-based top-tier Hollywood conversion company, Gener8 Media Corp. in conjuntion with distribution by […]

Zhang Ziyi Officially Retires From Kung Fu Movie Roles

Lee B. Golden III

Reports are being forwarded from Chinese media with breaking news that actress Zhang Ziyi, star of director Wong Kar-Wai’s latest martial arts epic, The Grandmaster, is announcing her retirement from kung fu movies, citing longstanding injuries dating back to filming director Ang Lee’s 2000 kung fu adventure, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. “I don’t believe there’s another role that can surpass this. And I’ve had so many injuries from a long time ago during Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon when I injured my neck.” she tells the public. “Those old injuries really bother me and after three years of this one, my body cannot take it any more. So I think this is a pretty good finale.” It was a year ago in January at the height of The Grandmaster movie’s promotion and film festival circulation prior to its theatrical and home releases thereafter, when Ziyi went on record in Chinese media, […]

SNOWPIERCER Director Bong Joon-Ho: "We're Talking A Lot About Keeping The Original Cut."

Lee B. Golden III

It was intially reported back in August that film distributors over at The Weinstein Company were going to release a version of director Bong Joon-Ho‘s latest science fiction action epic, Snowpiercer, which would have twenty minutes of the film removed. The initial report from IF Magazine quoted writer and film festival programmer Tony Rayns who said “TWC people have told Bong that their aim is to make sure the film ‘will be understood by audiences in Iowa… and Oklahoma,’”, further adding that TWC’s treatment of the film for the U.S., which would unnecessarily add opening and closing voice overs and remove a lot of the character development that was so elemental for the film’s success, was also reflection on other English-speaking areas for which they pre-bought the rights to the film earlier on. At this point, the film was already generating favorable reviews which only increased between its South Korean […]

Zhang Ziyi May Return In CROUCHING TIGER: HIDDEN DRAGON 2: THE GREEN DESTINY

Lee B. Golden III

It has been announced that actress Zhang Ziyi is back in the fray for a role in the Spring 2014 filming of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2: The Green Destiny. Entertainment Weekly reports the actress may reprise her role as Jen Yu, the youthful kung fu warrioress who takes a leap of faith off of the side of Wudang Mountain, spiriting herself away at the end of the first film, the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, directed by Ang Lee and released in 2000. The film will reportedly utilize Zhang‘s role in flashbacks to explain what happened to her character after the first film. Also returning to the set next year will be actress and international action star Michelle Yeoh reprising her role as noble swordswoman Yu Shu Lien, joined by fellow Wing Chun and Butterfly And Sword co-star, international action sensation Donnie Yen who will play the character, Silent […]

The New Trailer For THE GRANDMASTER Fuses Kung Fu, Hip-Hop And The RZA

Lee B. Golden III

A new poster and trailer were released this week for Wong Kar-Wai’s biopictoral kung fu epic, Martin Scorsese Presents: The Grandmaster. I began having some doubts about this movie when the first teaser came out back in April. It wasn’t crafted very well for its first foot into advertising the film for the U.S. market, leaving a real bitter taste in critics like myself. A new trailer was eventually unveiled to the public in July, and it was a huge improvement from the first, making it look like a film that I could invest in. Having said this, we now have a new trailer for Wong Kar-Wai’s latest film to make its way to a limited U.S. release on Friday, August 23, 2013. If you ask me, as much as I love martial arts action and hip-hop, I have to be honest with myself here; The trailer tries too hard […]

RISE OF A LEGEND Shoots This Week; Sammo Hung Attached To Co-Star

Lee B. Golden III

Asian Movie Pulse has reported via Filmbiz.Asia that director Roy Chow will begin filming his latest action adventure film, Rise Of The Legend, as early as Tuesday with action director Corey Yuen designing the sequences. The update comes as the anticipation looms over who will play the iconic lead role of the late, legendary martial arts master and healer, Wong Fei-Hung, whose life has been told and immortalized in multiple versions of TV and film over the past century. The film was made public in a previous report two weeks ago with Bill Kong producing, and True Legend and Fearless scribe Christine To Chi-Long providing the screenplay, detailing the story of Master Wong’s earlier life. It was also announced that Unbeatable stars Nick Cheung and Eddie Peng, and The Legend Is Born: Ip Man star Dennis To Yu-Hang were among those tapped for the lead role. Twitchfilm also confirms that […]

[UPDATED] Two New Trailers For THE GRANDMASTER

Lee B. Golden III

Director Wong Kar Wai‘s long-awaited and long since seen biopic of the late Wing Chun grandmaster, Ip Man, The Grandmaster, now has its own abundant shares of reviews and opinions online, with the film already available on DVD on several websites. The film is finally getting a North American release, in addition to a South Korean release this August, and in my opinion, unlike the U.S. trailer shot for TWC’s end, the Korean trailer here, though mostly loaded with action, is more to the point and less tacky. Youtube channel Thirty Toes has the short trailer which you can view below. The film stars Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Zhang Ziyi, Chen Chang, Song Hye-Kyo and Julian Cheung, with action choreography by Yuen Woo-Ping. SYNOPSIS: 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 […]