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The Grandmaster (2012)


Milkyway

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Actually, THE GRANDMASTER is nominated for Best Cinematography (Philippe Le Sourd) at the Oscars.

The US Blu-Ray is coming out on March 4. I got an advanced copy from Anchor Bay Entertainment...just reviewed the Blu-Ray's special features on the main site.

I will say, I have a higher level of respect for Wong Kar-Wai and the preparation he went through with the film...I can see why he took his time with this one.

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Actually, THE GRANDMASTER is nominated for Best Cinematography (Philippe Le Sourd) at the Oscars.

The US Blu-Ray is coming out on March 4. I got an advanced copy from Anchor Bay Entertainment...just reviewed the Blu-Ray's special features on the main site.

I will say, I have a higher level of respect for Wong Kar-Wai and the preparation he went through with the film...I can see why he took his time with this one.

What cut of the film is on disc? The US or International cut?

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What cut of the film is on disc? The US or International cut?

I was going to ask Albert the same thing.

I take it this is only the US re-edit version on this Blu-ray? :squigglemouth:

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I was going to ask Albert the same thing.

I take it this is only the US re-edit version on this Blu-ray? :squigglemouth:

The reason I ask is that various sites with it advertised has it either listed as 103 min or 130. Not both. I am not holding my breath of them doing the decent thing and putting both cuts on there. But one can dream.

I just want to confirm before buying the International cut.

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The reason I ask is that various sites with it advertised has it either listed as 103 min or 130. Not both. I am not holding my breath of them doing the decent thing and putting both cuts on there. But one can dream.

I just want to confirm before buying the International cut.

Really?

I wonder if they are releasing two different versions? Though that seems unlikely.

Albert was sent the advanced copy, so hopefully he'll have the answer for us soon.

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Ah, I knew you'd be back with the info bro. Thanks.

Though I may give that version a look someday, I saw the original cut, loved it, and that's what I'll be buying on Blu-ray.

I waited patiently on purchasing it, and gave them a chance to earn my patronage here in my country. But they blew it. :neutral:

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OK, can anybody clarify for me what this talk of an additional fight scene in the rain the US version is supposed to have, is all about? I've read multiple reviews/comments stating that there is a fight in the rain that only the US version (haven't seen it) has, and not the HK version. well, the HK version does open with a big fight in the rain, so maybe they are mistaken? of course, there is a 2nd fight in the rain in the HK version as well (Chang Chen), so where is this other supposed rain fight? is it just additional footage from the opening scene? I've read claims that Tony vs Cung Le was not in the HK version, but it's there. Perhaps maybe the fight in the US version is longer, or is there no other rain fight footage going on here? thanks

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OK, can anybody clarify for me what this talk of an additional fight scene in the rain the US version is supposed to have, is all about? I've read multiple reviews/comments stating that there is a fight in the rain that only the US version (haven't seen it) has, and not the HK version. well, the HK version does open with a big fight in the rain, so maybe they are mistaken? of course, there is a 2nd fight in the rain in the HK version as well (Chang Chen), so where is this other supposed rain fight? is it just additional footage from the opening scene? I've read claims that Tony vs Cung Le was not in the HK version, but it's there. Perhaps maybe the fight in the US version is longer, or is there no other rain fight footage going on here? thanks

I don't think that's the case. The only scene of martial arts the US cut has that the HK cut doesn't is, apparently, another sequence of Gong Er training in the snow. Although, even that sounds like it's actually the one in the HK cut.

You can find an entire breakdown of what was added, removed, modified and moved here...

http://www.film.com/movies/wong-kar-wai-the-grandmaster-ruined-by-american-cut

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OK, I figured people were just confused. I don't really have any desire to see the US version, but were the narrations they added in English by some random person, or done by original cast members in Cantonese/Mandarin?

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OK, after backtracking, I found the poster on IMDB who stated that the US version has "extra footage" of the opening fight scene. has anybody on here seen both versions and could confirm, for sure, whether or not this is true?

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One Armed Boxer

Twitch has recently reported that Wong Kar Wai isn't through with 'The Grandmaster' yet. On top of the Berlin Film Festival cut, the Hong Kong version, & the US version....coming soon to cinema screens in mainland China is - the 3D version! & yes, I'm serious. -

http://twitchfilm.com/2014/08/the-grandmaster-in-3d-yes-says-wong-kar-wai.html

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Twitch has recently reported that Wong Kar Wai isn't through with 'The Grandmaster' yet. On top of the Berlin Film Festival cut, the Hong Kong version, & the US version....coming soon to cinema screens in mainland China is - the 3D version! & yes, I'm serious. -

http://twitchfilm.com/2014/08/the-grandmaster-in-3d-yes-says-wong-kar-wai.html

WTF ?! I'm not sure what that film would look like in 3D...

I haven't checked which version was on the BD/DVD set I bought. Guess it must be the same as the theatrical version, which is (IIRC) the HK version.

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Hi, one more request, if anyone has the Mei Ah HK BD (not steelpak, but regular version) of The Grandmaster, could you please post a photo of the inside artwork. I'm curious to see whether it has that beautiful photo of Tony and Zhang Ziyi at the table that I saw the steelpak has, which unfortunately the HK dvd does not. thanks again!

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Just got around to watching this, as I'm usually at least a year behind on keeping up with new martial arts movies. Totally loved it. I just got the US bluray, so I guess it's the shorter cut, but it worked for me. I could see where some might find this a bit overwrought and pretentious compared to Donnie Yen's Ip Man, but I always like Wong Kar Wai's artsy approach. Enough fights to satisfy, the action generally looked quite good---and the cinematography was gorgeous.

I had to chuckle---the last two martial arts movies I watched were Jimmy Wang Yu's "A Man Called Tiger" and then "Grandmaster". Talk about going from lowbrow to highbrow. :wink: That's what I love about the genre, though--there's plenty of room for both.

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Just watched this tonight. I liked the fights and I felt a little emotional when Gong Er confessed to having forgotten the "64 Palms" style. Unfortunately, the Portuguese subtitles did not adequately convey the film's principal philosophical underpinnings and I can't figure out the point to Chang Chen's character, since he nevet fights Ip Man in the version I saw.

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Thought I'll use the waiting for Ip Man 4 and watch this instead. I'm almost ashamed to admit that somehow this flew under my radar. It's a beautiful movie and a wonderful hommage to Martial Arts. Some amazing fight choreography as well. Although these are few and far between, when they finally hit they do hit hard and leave a certain impact on the viewer. It's almost a philosophical or artistic experience. What I noticed is that the movie has a more mature feel to it. And I don't mean this as an insult but if I compare it to Yen's Ip Man the latter almost feels a bit comical. Nevertheless both are to be enjoyed on their own merits. To give it the finishing touch the movie is accompanied by a stunning soundtrack. I highly recommend it. My biggest issue with it is my personal gripe that I wasn't able to catch this on the big screen.

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