Yip Man (2008)

Director:

Wilson Yip

Writer:

Edmond Wong (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 December 2008 (China)

Genre:

Action | Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

The celebrated Kung Fu master of Bruce Lee.

Plot:

A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. |

Plot Keywords:

Master | Martial Arts | Reward | WWII | Sifu

Awards:

11 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Donnie Yen	...	Ip Man
Simon Yam	...	Zhou Qing Quan
Siu-Wong Fan	...	Jin Shan Zhao
Ka Tung Lam	...	Li Zhao
Yu Xing	...	Master Zealot Lin
You-Nam Wong	...	Shao Dan Yuan
Chen Zhi Hui	...	Master Liao
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lynn Hung	...	Zhang Yong Cheng
Hiroyuki Ikeuchi	...	Miura
Yu-Hang To	...	Hu Wei

Also Known As:

Ip Man (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
Grandmaster Yip Man (International: English title) (working title)
Yat doi chung si Yip Man (Hong Kong: Cantonese title) (working title)
Ye Wen (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Yi dai zong shi Ye Wen (Hong Kong: Mandarin title) (working title)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | Mandarin | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | New Zealand:M | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | UK:15

Company:

Beijing ShengShi HuaRei Film Investment & Management Co.

Quotes:

Ip Man: [Facing the Northerner Ip Man adopts his combat stance with an unsettling mixture of mettle and serenity] Wing Chun, Ip Man.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Yip Man 2: Chung si chuen kei (2010)

One of the best martial art films of this decade

Excellent direction, photography and set design enliven this account of Wing Chun instructor Yip Man's life before he moved to Hong Kong. Every Wing Chun instructor today tries to make a lineage connection to Yip Man to legitimize their teaching so he is a very important figure in Kung Fu. Donnie Yen portrays the master with intense reserve and is possibly the best acting in his career. It surprised me for sure.

The story line of this film is invented as historical accounts show Yip Man to have been a police officer in the time frame this film covers, not staying at home and only practicing kung fu as depicted here. Also the film claims that he refused to teach anybody but that is also not true. He left for Hong Kong a few years after WW2 not in the middle of it as this film presents. The plot with the Japanese army seems invented although they did ask him to teach the troops which he refused.

However the film muddies up the historical record, that is not to say it isn't a great film. Sammo Hung's choreography is exceptional and a throwback to his great kung fu films of the early 1980's. The martial arts are done with great respect to traditional styles although some wire work is used to assist the actors with the difficult acrobatic moves. No flying across the room in this film.

Although the ending is a little abrupt, this is one kung fu film that can be recommended to people who don't like these films. Highly recommended.