Annual Top Films Lists

Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2013: #22. Wong Kar-Wai’s The Grandmaster

Published on January 15, 2013

The Grandmaster

Director: Wong Kar-Wai
Writer(s): Jingzhi Zou, Haofeng Xu
Producer(s): Kar-Wai and Jacky Pang Yee Wah
U.S. Distributor: Annapurna Pictures
Cast: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Ziyi Zhang, Chen Chang

First reviews are out: here is Variety’s take: “Venturing into fresh creative terrain without relinquishing his familiar themes and stylistic flourishes, Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar Wai exceeds expectations with “The Grandmaster,” fashioning a 1930s action saga into a refined piece of commercial filmmaking. Boasting one of the most propulsive yet ethereal realizations of authentic martial arts onscreen, as well as a merging of physicality and philosophy not attained in Chinese cinema since King Hu’s masterpieces, the hotly anticipated pic is sure to win new converts from the genre camp. Wong’s Eurocentric arthouse disciples, however, may not be completely in tune with the film’s more traditional storytelling and occasionally long-winded technical exposition.”

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

Release Date: Chinese release last week, followed by world preem at the Berlin Film Festival followed by a release via Annapurna Pictures (their first ever theatrical launch).

Related Topics:Chen Chang, Haofeng Xu, Jacky Pang Yee Wah, Jingzhi Zou, The Grandmaster, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Wong Kar-Wai, Ziyi Zhang

Eric Lavallée

Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's This Teacher (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022 he served as a New Flesh Comp for Best First Feature at the 2022 Fantasia Intl. Film Festival. Current top films for 2022 include Tár (Todd Field), All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells).