The Grandmasters (Wong Kar-Wai)

[Raiders]

Uh yeah, so apparently he's already started shooting this. I didn't see a thread about it.

Starring Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1462900/

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

Some (ioncinema) are trying to predict we could see something, certainly not the whole film, at Cannes (do they do trailers at Cannes?). I would guess Cannes 2011 will be the earliest this thing sees the light of day.

EDIT: The "Production Thread" in the comments section has a dude named JeffreyC999 who seems rather connected. It's a good read nonetheless.

[Qrazy]

Hmmm I hope he hires a second unit director and a good fight choreographer to help him film the action because whether it's an intentional stylistic choice or not I feel that's Wong's Achilles heel (i.e. Ashes of Time).

[D_Davis]

Hmmm I hope he hires a second unit director and a good fight choreographer to help him film the action because whether it's an intentional stylistic choice or not I feel that's Wong's Achilles heel (i.e. Ashes of Time).

Well, to be fair on AoT he had one of the best fight choreographers and units of all time - Sammo Hung and his team.

It was definitely more of an intentional stylistic choice on WKW's part, an attempt to capture more of the poetic feel of action, one that, IMO, backfired.

[Qrazy]

Well, to be fair on AoT he had one of the best fight choreographers and units of all time - Sammo Hung and his team.

It was definitely more of an intentional stylistic choice on WKW's part, an attempt to capture more of the poetic feel of action, one that, IMO, backfired.

Yeah, assuming it was intentional, it still didn't come together. I felt like he was always obscuring the view or cutting away when characters made contact with one another. Hero more successfully captured the poetic feel of action imo, and it did so by showing it's motion with clarity.

[Ezee E]

Uh yeah, so apparently he's already started shooting this. I didn't see a thread about it.

Starring Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1462900/



Some (ioncinema) are trying to predict we could see something, certainly not the whole film, at Cannes (do they do trailers at Cannes?). I would guess Cannes 2011 will be the earliest this thing sees the light of day.

EDIT: The "Production Thread" in the comments section has a dude named JeffreyC999 who seems rather connected. It's a good read nonetheless.

They've shown 20-30 minutes of movies as a "sneak preview" in the past, but it's usually something highly anticipated... like Dreamgirls.

I doubt we'll have something even that soon, unless he just shoots it like Miike.

[Raiders]

I doubt we'll have something even that soon, unless he just shoots it like Miike.

Yeah, definitely not. There's no telling when shooting will even end at this point with the production location issues, Zhang Ziyi's illness/injury/media-hatred and Tony Leung's recurring injury.

Then Wong has to edit the thing which could take years.

[D_Davis]

Yeah, assuming it was intentional, it still didn't come together. I felt like he was always obscuring the view or cutting away when characters made contact with one another. Hero more successfully captured the poetic feel of action imo, and it did so by showing it's motion with clarity.

I totally agree, as did countless other films from directors like Tsui Hark and Ching Siu Tung. Tsui's The Blade is probably the most successful in its attempt to capture the essence of combat without necessarily showing all of the moves in detail. It's all about the energy and the movement - the kinetics of fighting. Which is telling since that film was made as a direct response to Ashes of Time.

[dreamdead]

Off-topic, but is there any region 1 of The Blade available that you trust, DD?

Meantime, I'm gung-ho for this film. Love Leung and Wong together.

[D_Davis]

Off-topic, but is there any region 1 of The Blade available that you trust, DD?

Meantime, I'm gung-ho for this film. Love Leung and Wong together.

Not in any official capacity. However, this version is very, very good. Anamorphic, w/subs, and at a good price. It's very sad that one of the best films ever made has never been properly remastered and officially released on DVD, except for in a poor quality dub. It doesn't make any sense to me at all. There isn't even an official HK version of this on DVD; that is just bizarre.

I, too, am looking forward to this. The martial arts genre has really been a giant suck-fest the past few years. I'd like something to come along and invigorate the genre again, like Tsui did in the '90s with Once Upon a Time. It's time for the 4th wave!

[number8]

I dunno, I'm not too concerned about how good the action is, because I wouldn't look for that in a WKW film.

If you want solid choreography with the same story, you can watch Donnie Yen's Ip Man.

[Qrazy]

I dunno, I'm not too concerned about how good the action is, because I wouldn't look for that in a WKW film.

If you want solid choreography with the same story, you can watch Donnie Yen's Ip Man.

I just want an excellent film in every dimension. Ashes of Time had a lot going for it but I thought it fizzled out in the fight department.

[D_Davis]

A film about the jianghu and martial arts should have quality fight choreography and framing, regardless of who is directing.

Double so a film about a martial artist like Ip Man.

As for Donny Yen's Ip Man, unfortunately it's just not a very good film. Very mediocre on most levels.

Would you see a movie about a great ballet dancer that didn't feature good dancing?

It's not just about the "action".

A good martial arts film should display its action in context with the martial arts styles and philosophy being presented.

[Ezee E]

I dunno, I'm not too concerned about how good the action is, because I wouldn't look for that in a WKW film.

If you want solid choreography with the same story, you can watch Donnie Yen's Ip Man.

I'll be the third to say that's a weird comment.

[Qrazy]

I'll be the third to say that's a weird comment.

Who was the second, your imaginary friend Harvey?

[D_Davis]

Who was the second, your imaginary friend Harvey?

I'm not real?

[Grouchy]

Would you see a movie about a great ballet dancer that didn't feature good dancing?

I think this is pretty much an unbeatable point in the discussion.

[Qrazy]

I'm not real?

Which weird comment are we talking about here? I thought Ezee E was referring to my initial comment about WKW needing help with the action... but your interpretation makes more sense. Sorry E!

[Raiders]

A great blog for updates on the production (as well as other ancillary WKW news)...

http://wongkarwainews.blogspot.com/

Looks like production is at least going along quite nicely even if they haven't even wrapped shooting yet, which means it is likely we won't even see this next year at this pace.

[Fezzik]

As a newcomer to the WKW bandwagon, I cannot freaking wait for this.

I DO hope they get a decent fight choreographer, though. It'd be kind of silly for it to flop in that department.

[Sxottlan]

I DO hope they get a decent fight choreographer, though. It'd be kind of silly for it to flop in that department.

According to IMDB, it's Yuen Wo Ping.

ritch:

[number8]

Okay, that is pretty awesome.

[Fezzik]

According to IMDB, it's Yuen Wo Ping.

ritch:

ritch:

SWEET

[Raiders]

Not to mention the blog I linked states in one post that WKW has consulted with experts in the multiple fighting techniques being used in the film.

[Qrazy]

Awesome, in that case I'm totally psyched.

[soitgoes...]