By A new Wong Kar-Wai film is always a reason for cheering, especially when it’ll see him venturing back into the Wuxia arena for the first time since 1994’s Ashes of Time.
So, huzzah! Beyond Hollywood comes bearing the first look at The Grandmasters, Wong’s biopic of Yip Man, the first master of Wing Chun and sifu to Bruce Lee. Wong regular Tony Leung (who was also part of the Ashes of Time ensemble) will take the lead role and sport a most excellent hat, with support from Ziyi Zhang and Chen Chang. Yip Man’s life seems to be a popular topic for filmmakers lately, having only in 2008 and 2010 been covered by director Wilson Yip and star Donnie Yen in two critically and commercially successful films that are definitely worth seeking out. However, where Yip’s films were straight martial-arts actioners, it’s a fair bet that Wong will be bringing a more artistic sensibility and magnificent visual style. Sadly Wong’s return to Cantonese language filmmaking doesn’t see the return of Christopher Doyle in cinematography though, Seven Pounds‘ Phillippe Le Sourd takes charge instead. However, anyone concerned about the chop-socky being sidelined only need take a glance at…
A new Wong Kar-Wai film is always a reason for cheering, especially when it'll see him venturing back into the Wuxia arena for the first time since 1994's Ashes of Time.
So, huzzah! Beyond Hollywood comes bearing the first look at The Grandmasters, Wong's biopic of Yip Man, the first master of Wing Chun and sifu to Bruce Lee. Wong regular Tony Leung (who was also part of the Ashes of Time ensemble) will take the lead role and sport a most excellent hat, with support from Ziyi Zhang and Chen Chang. Yip Man's life seems to be a popular topic for filmmakers lately, having only in 2008 and 2010 been covered by director Wilson Yip and star Donnie Yen in two critically and commercially successful films that are definitely worth seeking out. However, where Yip's films were straight martial-arts actioners, it's a fair bet that Wong will be bringing a more artistic sensibility and magnificent visual style. Sadly Wong's return to Cantonese language filmmaking doesn't see the return of Christopher Doyle in cinematography though, Seven Pounds' Phillippe Le Sourd takes charge instead. However, anyone concerned about the chop-socky being sidelined only need take a glance at the poster, where the great action choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping is given a prominent credit. As I said: Huzzah!
Another poster and some Ziyi Zhang action follow the jump.
[via Beyond Hollywood]{{page_break}}
