The Grandmaster (DVD REVIEW)
The Grandmaster
DVD Review
by Kam Williams
Historical Epic Highlights Life of Legendary Martial Arts Master
Yip Oi-dor (1893-1972), aka Ip Man,
was a legendary martial arts teacher perhaps best remembered for some of the
prominent protégés who attended his kung fu school, most notably, Bruce Lee.
But this influential icon has finally been getting his due in recent years as
the subject of several reverential biopics.
The latest,
The Grandmaster, directed by Wong Kar-wai (In the Mood for Love), is a majestic
epic chronicling Ip Man’s life from the womb to the tomb. He’s very capably
played by Tony Leung who just happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to
President Obama, for what that’s worth.
At the
picture’s point of departure, we learn that Ip hailed from Foshan, a city in Guangdong province where
he started studying martial arts at an early age. By the time he was a young
man, he had already developed a reputation as a formidable fighter, and was
enlisted by his region’s elders to represent all of Southern
China in a match against Gong Yutian (Wang Qingxiang), the best
from the North.
Yip
prevails in a showdown more mental than physical by employing an innovative
combination of his trademarked “Spade,” “Pin” and “Sheath” techniques which
prove to be far simpler than the 64 moves relied upon by his aging opponent.
Soon thereafter, Gong finds himself dealing with dissension in the Northern
ranks, between being betrayed by a disloyal heir apparent (Zhang Jan) and
disappointed by his daughter’s (Zhang Ziyi) decision to practice medicine
rather than follow in his footsteps.
That
enables Yip Man to fill the void and eventually emerge as the greatest
grandmaster in all of China.
Director Kar-wai resorts to flying harnesses, slow motion and other
state-of-the-art trick photography to showcase his hero’s considerable skills.
If you’re familiar with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, then you have a decent
idea what to expect in terms of gravity defying kick and fisticuffs.
The
overly-ambitious production’s only flaw rests with its occasionally-confusing
editing, which unnecessarily resorts to flashbacks in recounting the
decades-spanning tale when the movie might have worked just as well if allowed
to unfold chronologically. Regardless, this comprehensive combination history
lesson, love story and action flick features all the fixin’s necessary to
entertain any fan of the martial arts genre.
Yip Man
lives!
Very Good
(3 stars)
Rated PG-13
for violence, profanity, smoking and brief drug use
In Mandarin,
Cantonese and Japanese with subtitles
Running time: 108 minutes
Distributor: Anchor
Bay/The Weinstein Company
Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Extras: The Grandmaster: From Ip Man
to Bruce Lee; A Conversation with Shannon Lee (daughter of Bruce); The
Grandmaster According to RZA; and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
To order a copy of The Grandmaster Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack,
visit:
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