Directed by Wilson Yip (Flash Point; Dragon Tiger Gate; SPL) and starring Donnie Yen (An Empress And The Warriors) in the title role, the award-winning wartime period action drama Ip Man brings to the screen the fascinating life of the celebrated Chinese martial artist who famously became martial arts master to Bruce Lee and was the first person to teach the close range combat techniques of Wing Chun openly.
Providing a dream role for Yen, who has always been an outspoken Bruce Lee fan and has gone on record hailing him as one of the greatest Chinese figures in history, the story of Ip Man and his importance in the development of modern martial arts cannot be overstated. In fact, Bruce Lee was so devoted to his master that he would often sit outside the dojo before classes started looking sullen, pretending that lessons had been cancelled so that, once the other students had gone home, he could enjoy personal oneon-one training sessions with Master Ip.
The year is 1935 and Foshan in Guangdong province is a hive of martial arts schools each competing against each other for superiority. The area's undisputed Wing Chun master is Ip Man (Yen), an independently wealthy and unassuming character who refuses to give classes and only fights behind closed doors in order to protect his challengers from the embarrassment of defeat.
Ip Man (cert. 15) will be released as a two-disc DVD (£15.99) and single-disc Blu-ray (£19.99) by Cine Asia on 26th October 2009.
