Ip Man (2008)
“Yip Man”.
Action, Biography, Drama |
Ip Man is a Hong Kong biographical martial arts film based on the life of Ip Man, a grandmaster of the martial art Wing Chun and teacher of Bruce Lee. The film focuses on events in Ip’s life that supposedly took place in the city of Foshan during the Sino-Japanese War. The film was directed by Wilson Yip, and stars Donnie Yen as Ip Man, with martial arts choreography by Sammo Hung. The supporting cast includes Simon Yam, Lynn Hung, Lam Ka-tung, Xing Yu, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi and Tenma Shibuya.
Ip Man is the first film in the Ip Man film series. It premiered in Beijing on 10 December 2008, and was released theatrically in Hong Kong on 19 December 2008, receiving widespread acclaim from critics and audiences. Before the film’s release, Raymond Wong announced that there would be a sequel; a second installment titled Ip Man 2, was released in April 2010, a third installment titled Ip Man 3 was released in 2015, and Ip Man 4 was released in 2019.
In the 1930s, Foshan is a hub of Southern Chinese martial arts, where various schools actively recruit disciples and compete against each other. Although the Wing Chun master Ip Man is the most skilled martial artist in Foshan, he is unassuming and maintains an almost invisible profile. As an independently wealthy man, he feels no need to accept any disciples and instead spends his days training, meeting with friends, and spending time with his family. However, his wife is often resentful of the time he spends training and discussing martial arts with friends and colleagues. Though not a professional martial artist, Ip is respected in Foshan due to the abilities he displays in friendly, closed-door competitions with local masters. Ip’s reputation is further enhanced when he defeats an aggressive, rude, highly skilled Northern Chinese martial arts master, Jin Shanzhao, thus upholding the regional pride of fellow Southern stylists and others in Foshan.
Director: Wilson Yip
Writers: Edmond Wong (screenplay), Tai-lee Chan
Stars: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan, Lynn Hung, Lam Ka-tung, Xing Yu, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Tenma Shibuya
►Cast:
Donnie Yen | … | Ip Man |
Simon Yam | … | Quan |
Lynn Xiong | … | Cheung (as Xiong Dai Lin) |
Hiroyuki Ikeuchi | … | Miura |
Ka Tung Lam | … | Li (as Lam Ka Tung) |
Siu-Wong Fan | … | Jin (as Fan Sui Wong) |
Xing Yu | … | Lin |
You-Nam Wong | … | Yuan (as Wong You Nam) |
Yu-Hang To | … | Wei (as To Yue Hong) |
Calvin Ka-Sing Cheng | … | Yao (as Calvin Cheng) |
Zhi-Hui Chen | … | Master Liu (as Chen Zhi Hui) |
Tenma Shibuya | … | Colonel Sato (as Shibuya Tenma) |
Li Chak | … | Zhun (as Li Ze) |
Deqiang Shi | … | Southern Master |
Zhong Zhou | … | Southern Master |
Bo Zhang | … | Jin’s Underling (as Zhang Bo) |
Kong Kam | … | Jin’s Underling (as Jin Gang) |
Lu Kai | … | Jin’s Underling |
Siu-Hung Leung | … | Green Dragon Club Master |
Hanhao Zhong | … | Cotton Mill Owner (as Zhong Han Hao) |
Siu-Kwan Chan | … | Waiter |
Yilan Ding | … | Cotton Mill Worker |
Yu-Lam Fan | … | Cotton Mill Worker |
Chen Ka-Da | … | Uncle Wong |
Qilong Li | … | Master Lei |
Ming Zhe Liu | … | Righteous Club Master |
Mei-Fang Lu | … | Cotton Mill Worker |
Zheng Wang | … | Cotton Mill Worker |
Xu-Feng Yang | … | Cotton Mill Worker |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia