The Grandmaster

Original Title: 一代宗师
Directed by: Wong Kar-wai
Written by: Wong Kar-wai, Zhu Jingzhi, Xu Haofeng
Cinematography: Philippe Le Sourd
Music by: Shigeru Umebayashi, Nathaniel Méchaly
Country: Hong Kong, China
Genres: Drama, Action, Biography
Duration: 130 min (Asia), 122 (Europe), 108 (America)
Release Dates: 8 Jan. 2013 (China), 7 Feb. 2013 (Berlin), 30 Aug. 2013 (USA)
Filming Dates: 21 November 2009 – June 2012
Filming Locations: China (Guangzhou, Foshan, Kaiping, Shenyang)

Synopsis:
With martial arts getting more popular in the Thirties, more people seek to learn them via the professionals at Foshan in Southern China. Some of the experienced masters like to challenge their counterparts and undergoing battles. To have their whole concentration, it is their practice to lock up the venues and no one is allowed to leave during battles. No food and no rest before reaching any results. Ip Man is a young rich man extremely talented in martial arts, but he chooses to keep a low profile. Yet this doesn’t keep him out of these troubles ahead. One day he is trapped in this battleground so he has to use every means in order to get out of there. The masters are amazed by his abilities. Master Kung and his daughter Kung Yi are amongst, and the latter is attracted to this newcomer. A high warlord is assassinated by his own guard Yi Xian Tian. All masters in Foshan vow to take Tian down no matter what. —American Film Market

Cast

Tony Leung
Yip Man

Zhang Ziyi
Gong Er

Chang Chen
The Razor

Song Hye-kyo
Cheung Wing-sing

Zhao Benshan
Ding Lianshan
Photos

Production stills

Captures

More pictures

Videos

Trailers

2:45 min   |   1312 views
2:37 min   |   1265 views
2:29 min   |   1324 views
2:18 min   |   1313 views
2:04 min   |   1293 views
1:31 min   |   1255 views
1:13 min   |   1298 views
1:51 min   |   1365 views
1:17 min   |   1317 views
1:43 min   |   1283 views

Making-of

17:35 min   |   1308 views
14:06 min   |   1384 views
3:37 min   |   1293 views
3:40 min   |   1273 views
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3:42 min   |   1189 views
2:46 min   |   1257 views
3:12 min   |   1252 views
1:44 min   |   1381 views
2:28 min   |   1271 views

More videos

Articles
Nov 21, 2014
Business Standard
Director Wong Kar Wai works without scripts: Zhang Ziyi
Aug 24, 2013
Front Row Features
Ziyi Zhang talks fight scenes of ‘The Grandmaster’
Aug 23, 2013
Screen Anarchy
Interview: Wong Kar-Wai, Tony Leung And Zhang Ziyi Talk THE GRANDMASTER
Aug 22, 2013
On The Red Carpet
Ziyi Zhang talks 'The Grandmaster' and more
Aug 22, 2013
NPR
'Grandmaster' Ziyi Zhang: 'I Can Do Better Than Just Kicking Ass'
Aug 21, 2013
EW
'The Grandmaster': Ziyi Zhang on her intense kung fu training schedule
Aug 19, 2013
Women Wear Daily
Ziyi Zhang’s Grand Gestures
Aug 18, 2013
New York Daily News
Ziyi Zhang opens up about starring in ‘The Grandmaster’
Aug 14, 2013
W
Ziyi Zhang Opens Up
Jan 08, 2013
Time Out Shanghai
Interview: Zhang Ziyi
More articles
Bonus

• Tony Leung Chiu Wai trained four hours a day for a year in preparation for his role as Ip Man.
• The filming took almost 2 years on and off to complete and like other Wong Kar Wai’s movie, the post-production wasn’t completed the day before. It was sent to Chinese censors a few hours before the premiere ceremony.
• The film was selected as the opening movie for February’s Berlin International Film Festival while Wong Kar Wai was the president of the jury the same year.
• ” For her role, Zhang trained under the teacher of kung fu star Jet Li, and said the movements were key to expressing the spirit of the characters. “She (Gong Er) is a combination of almost all the unique features and merits of women of that era,” Zhang said. “In terms of movements, we trained for such a long time because the director hoped when we went inside the world of the characters, we already carried their spirit in our bodies.” “- Reuters
• The film is: “the fruit of eight years of labor […] The concept of the movie hit Wong even before he released his most celebrated work, In The Mood for Love, back in 2000”. – Reuters
• The initial cut lasted for more than four hours, and the director expressed his wish to release the long version on DVD to let the audience see…
• On the first day after its release, the earned 29.8 million yuan ($4.8 million) on its opening day, which is a really great opening for a Wong Kar Wai’s movie.
• “Tony Leung revealed after the premiere that his heart ached the most over many “missing” scenes. Zhang Ziyi said that she thought a scene in which she expressed her inner loneliness was very sad but very powerful would be kept in the film. Her hope finally died when the end credits came up on screen as it was truly removed; however, she understood that with only 2 hours and 10 minutes, Wong Kar-wai indeed had a hard time with the decision. As an actor, she like the audience had no idea what Wong Kar-wai’s completed film would be until the very end.” – Mingpao, wongkarwai.net
• Ziyi said during the press conference in Beijing that this film will mark her last kung fu movie, described the production process as “getting on a pirate ship”.

Awards and Nominations

5th Huading Film Awards
Outstanding Achievement (2011)

10th Huading Film Awards
Best Actress (2013)

50th Golden Horse Film Festival
Best Actress (2013)

7th Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Best Actress (2013)

7th Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Best Actress (2013)

15th Huabiao Film Awards
Outstanding Actress (2013)

10th Phil on Film Awards
Best Supporting Actress (2013)

20th HK Film Critics Soc. Awards
Best Actress (2014)

26th HK Cinematog. Society
Most Charismatic Actress (2014)

25th HK Directors’ Guild Awards
Best Actress (2014)

8th Asian Film Awards
Best Actress (2014)

33rd Hong Kong Film Awards
Best Actress (2014)

4th Beijing Film Festival
Best Actress (2014)

32nd Hundred Flowers Awards
Best Actress (2014)

14th China Film Media Awards
Best Actress (2014)

4th Douban Film Awards
Best Actress (2014)

3rd Cinephilia Awards
Best Actress (2014)

3rd Baidu Awards
Best Actress (2014)

3rd Baidu Awards
Favourite Actress (2014)

19th Love HK Film Awards
Best Actress (2014)

Nominations: 20th Beijing Student Film Festival, 7th FIRST Youth Film Festival, 29th Golden Rooster Awards, 2013 To Ten Chinese Film Festival, Village Voice Awards (6th)

Ceremony Category Recipient Result
2011 Huading Film Awards Outstanding Achievements Zhang Ziyi Won
2013 Shanghai Film Critics Awards Film of Merit Won
2013 First Youth Film Festival Best Film Nominated
Best Director Wong Kar Wai Won
Best Actor Tony Leung Nominated
Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Nominated
2013 Beijing Student Film Festival Best Film Nominated
Best Director Wong Kar Wai Nominated
Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Nominated
2013 Golden Rooster Awards Best Director Wong Kar-wai Nominated
Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Wang Qingxiang Won
Best Art Direction William Chang Won
2013 Huading Film Awards Best Director Wong Kar-wai Nominated
Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Won
2013 Golden Horse Film Festival Best Film Nominated
Best Director Wong Kar-wai Nominated
Best Actor Tony Leung Nominated
Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Won
Best Cinematography Philippe Le Sourd Won
Best Visual Effects Pierre Buffin Won
Best Art Directon William Chang Won
Best Costume Design William Chang Won
Best Action Choreography Woo-ping Yuen Nominated
Best Editing William Chang Nominated
Best Sound Design Robert Mackenzie Nominated
Audience Choice Award Won
2013 Asia Pacific Screen Awards Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Won
2013 Asia Pacific Film Festival Best Picture Nominated
Best Director Wong Kar-wai Nominated
Best Actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai Nominated
Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Won
Best Cinematography Philippe Le Sourd Won
Best Editing William Chang Nominated
Best Sound Design Robert Mackenzie Nominated
Best Art Direction William Chang Nominated
Best Music Shigeru Umebayashi Nominated
2013 Huabiao Film Awards Best Co-produced Film Won
Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Won
Best Technical Achievement Nominated
2013 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Best Cinematography Philippe Le Sourd Won (2nd)
2013 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Awards Best Foreign Film Nominated
2013 National Board of Review Best Foreign Film (5) Won
2013 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Foreign Film Nominated
2013 St. Louis Film Critics Best Cinematography Philippe Le Sourd Nominated
2013 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Foreign Film Nominated
2014 USA Society of Cinematographers Best Cinematography Philippe Le Sourd Nominated
2014 Central Ohio Film Critics Awards Best Foreign Film Nominated
2014 Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Cinematography Philippe Le Sourd Nominated
2014 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Best Film Won
Best Actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai Nominated
Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Won
2014 Cinephilia Awards Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Won
2014 Motion Picture of Sound Editors Best Sound in Foreign Film Robert Mackenzie Nominated
2014 Academy Awards Best Cinematography Philippe Le Sourd Nominated
Best Costume Design William Chang Nominated
2014 Hong Kong Directors’ Guild Awards Best Film Wong Kar-wai Won
Best Director Wong Kar-wai Won
Best Actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai Won
Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Won
2014 Asian Film Awards Best Film Won
Best Director Wong Kar-wai Won
Best Screenplay Wong Kar-wai Nominated
Best Actor Tony Leung Nominated
Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Won
Best Cinematography Philippe Le Sourd Won
Best Production Designer William Chang Won
Best Music Shigeru Umebayashi Won
Best Editing William Chang Nominated
Best Visual Effects Pierre Buffin Nominated
Best Costume Design William Chang Won
2014 Hong Kong Film Awards Best Film Won
Best Director Wong Kar-wai Won
Best Screenplay Wong Kar-wai Won
Best Actor Tony Leung Nominated
Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Won
Best Supporting Actor Zhang Jin Won
Best Cinematography Philippe Le Sourd Won
Best Editing William Chang Won
Best Art Directon William Chang Won
Best Costume Design William Chang Won
Best Action Choreography Woo-ping Yuen Won
Best Visual Effects Pierre Buffin Nominated
Best Music Shigeru Umebayashi Won
Best Sound Design Robert Mackenzie Won
2014 Asian Film Critics Association Awards Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Won
Best Music Shigeru Umebayashi Won
Best Visual Effects Pierre Buffin Won
2014 Beijing Film Festival Best Director Wong Kar-wai Won
Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Won
Best Cinematography Philippe Le Sourd Won
2014 Hundred Flowers Awards Best Film Won
Best Director Wong Kar-wai Nominated
Best Screenplay Wong Kar-wai Nominated
Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Won
Best Supporting Actor Zhang Jin Nominated
2014 China Film Media Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Director Wong Kar-wai Nominated
Best Actor Tony Leung Chiu-Wai Nominated
Best Actress Zhang Ziyi Won
Best Supporting Actor Zhang Jin Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Wang Qingxiang Won