The Grandmaster (film)

The Grandmaster
Theatrical release poster
Traditional Chinese一代宗師
Simplified Chinese一代宗师
Literal meaningAncestral teacher of a generation
Hanyu PinyinYīdài Zōngshī
JyutpingJat1 Doi6 Zung1 Si1
Directed byWong Kar-wai
Screenplay byWong Kar-wai
Zou Jingzhi
Xu Haofeng
Story byWong Kar-wai
Produced byNg See-yuen
Megan Ellison
Wong Kar-wai
StarringTony Leung
Zhang Ziyi
Chang Chen
Zhao Benshan
Song Hye-kyo
Wang Qingxiang
CinematographyPhilippe Le Sourd
Edited byWilliam Chang
Music byShigeru Umebayashi
Stefano Lentini
Nathaniel Méchaly
Production
companies
Distributed byLark Films Distribution (Hong Kong)
China Film Group Corporation (China)
Release dates
  • 8 January 2013 (2013-01-08) (China)
  • 10 January 2013 (2013-01-10) (Hong Kong)
Running time
130 minutes
CountriesHong Kong
China
LanguagesMandarin
Cantonese
Japanese
Budget¥240 million (US$38.6 million)
Box officeUS$64.1 million

The Grandmaster (Chinese: 一代宗师, Yi dai zong shi) is a 2013 martial arts drama film based on the life story of the Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man. The film was directed and written by Wong Kar-wai. A Hong Kong-Chinese co-production, it was released on 8 January 2013 in China, and screened as the opening film at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2013. It was selected as part of the 2013 Hong Kong International Film Festival. The Weinstein Company acquired the international distribution rights for the film. The film was selected as the Hong Kong entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards, making the January shortlist, but ultimately did not receive the nomination. Despite this, the film was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design.

Although The Grandmaster was not as popular as others of Wong Kar-Wai's works in the western world, this film was highly-praised and applauded in the Chinese-speaking world for its profound philosophical depth, historical perspective, and break-through of the Kung-Fu film genre, further cementing Wong's "Grandmaster" Status in Chinese cinema. The film received a record-breaking 12 awards in the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards, most wins for a single film in history. Zhang Ziyi also received an unprecedented 12 different Best Actress awards for her performance.