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The Grandmaster

Original title: Yi dai zong shi
  • 20132013
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 10m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
34K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Yi dai zong shi (2013)
A story inspired by the life and times of the legendary kung fu master, Ip Man, and set in the tumultuous Republican era that followed the fall of ChinaÂ’s last dynasty, a time of chaos, division and war that was also the golden age of Chinese martial arts.
Play trailer2:11
3 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Action
  • Biography
  • Drama
The story of martial-arts master Ip Man, the man who trained Bruce Lee.The story of martial-arts master Ip Man, the man who trained Bruce Lee.The story of martial-arts master Ip Man, the man who trained Bruce Lee.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
34K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Kar-Wai Wong
  • Writers
    • Kar-Wai Wong(story)
    • Jingzhi Zou(screenplay)
    • Haofeng Xu(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
    • Ziyi Zhang
    • Jin Zhang
Top credits
  • Director
    • Kar-Wai Wong
  • Writers
    • Kar-Wai Wong(story)
    • Jingzhi Zou(screenplay)
    • Haofeng Xu(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
    • Ziyi Zhang
    • Jin Zhang
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 155User reviews
    • 285Critic reviews
    • 73Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 68 wins & 72 nominations total

    Videos3

    Theatrical Trailer
    Trailer 2:11
    Theatrical Trailer
    Teaser Version
    Trailer 1:10
    Teaser Version
    Exclusive Clip
    Clip 0:57
    Exclusive Clip

    Photos671

    Chang Chen in Yi dai zong shi (2013)
    Tony Chiu-Wai Leung and Ziyi Zhang in Yi dai zong shi (2013)
    Tony Chiu-Wai Leung in Yi dai zong shi (2013)
    Ziyi Zhang in Yi dai zong shi (2013)
    Chang Chen in Yi dai zong shi (2013)
    Ziyi Zhang in Yi dai zong shi (2013)
    Tony Chiu-Wai Leung in Yi dai zong shi (2013)
    Kar-Wai Wong in Yi dai zong shi (2013)
    Tony Chiu-Wai Leung at an event for Yi dai zong shi (2013)
    Yann Yann Yeo at an event for Yi dai zong shi (2013)
    Jane Fonda at an event for Yi dai zong shi (2013)
    Ziyi Zhang at an event for Yi dai zong shi (2013)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
    Tony Chiu-Wai Leung
    • Ip Manas Ip Man
    Ziyi Zhang
    Ziyi Zhang
    • Gong Eras Gong Er
    Jin Zhang
    Jin Zhang
    • Ma Sanas Ma San
    Chang Chen
    Chang Chen
    • Razoras Razor
    Cung Le
    Cung Le
    • Iron Shoesas Iron Shoes
    Qingxiang Wang
    • Master Gong Yutianas Master Gong Yutian
    Elvis Tsui
    Elvis Tsui
    • Mr. Hungas Mr. Hung
    • (as Jinjiang Xu)
    Song Hye-Kyo
    Song Hye-Kyo
    • Zhang Yongchengas Zhang Yongcheng
    • (as Hye-kyo Song)
    Kar-Yung Lau
    Kar-Yung Lau
    • Master Yongas Master Yong
    • (as Chia Yung Liu)
    Chau Yee Tsang
    • Shortyas Shorty
    • (as Chiu Yee Tsang)
    Hoi-Pang Lo
    Hoi-Pang Lo
    • Uncle Dengas Uncle Deng
    Shun Lau
    Shun Lau
    • Master Ruias Master Rui
    Xiaofei Zhou
    • Sister Sanas Sister San
    Mancheng Wang
    • Master Baas Master Ba
    Ting Yip Ng
    Ting Yip Ng
    • Brother Sauas Brother Sau
    Man Keung Cho
    • Cho Manas Cho Man
    Tony Ling
    • Foshan Martial Artistas Foshan Martial Artist
    Tielong Shang
    • Jiangas Jiang
    • Director
      • Kar-Wai Wong
    • Writers
      • Kar-Wai Wong(story) (screenplay)
      • Jingzhi Zou(screenplay)
      • Haofeng Xu(screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The project was announced almost 10 years before its final release, due to director Kar-Wai Wong's endless perfectionism. Several other motion pictures about the Ip Man that were conceived after this announcement (most famously Ip Man (2008) and Yip Man 2 (2010)) were all released in the meantime.
    • Quotes

      Gong Er: Remember when I told you that there is nothing to regret in life? It's all bullshit. If life had no regrets it would be really boring.

    • Alternate versions
      The original version released in Asia removes a portion of Yi Xintian's subplot. The rain fight sequence between Xintian and Ip Man shown in the trailer, for example, was removed. However, Wong Karwai then recut the movie for a special Berlin Film Festival screening by incorporating the missing scenes back, but editing out several scenes from the original version including a fight sequence between Ip Man and a Hong Kong challenger. Both versions are missing crucial segments that made all three main characters' journey feel incomplete. The actual finished movie was rumored to be 4 hours long. Wong Karwai mentioned he had no intention of releasing the 4 hour version.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Oscars (2014)
    • Soundtracks
      Stabat Mater
      Written by Stefano Lentini

      Performed by The City of Rome Contemporary Music Ensemble

    User reviews155

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    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.

    Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTUUB4nMD6M
    helpful•17
    7
    • Hellmant
    • Feb 24, 2014

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 30, 2013 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Hong Kong
      • China
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Languages
      • Mandarin
      • Cantonese
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Nhất Đại Tông Sư
    • Filming locations
      • Foshan, Guangdong, China
    • Production companies
      • Block 2 Pictures
      • Jet Tone Production
      • Sil-Metropole Organisation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $38,600,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $6,594,959
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $132,617
      • Aug 25, 2013
    • Gross worldwide
      • $73,933,046
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 10 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • Dolby Atmos
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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