The Grandmaster (Hong Kong Cut)

Nearly 10 years in the making and the culmination of Wong Kar Wai’s seven-film partnership with Tony Leung, The Grandmaster is his most ambitious project: a propulsive action epic inspired by the life of legendary kung fu master Ip Man, played by Leung, who trained for four years—enduring injuries along the way—to bring the role’s physical and philosophical rigor to life with effortless precision and cool. The story spans the tumultuous Republican era following the fall of China’s last dynasty, a time of chaos, divided loyalties, and war, but also the golden age of Chinese martial arts. Filmed across snow-swept northern landscapes and the subtropical South, this original 130-minute Hong Kong cut features exquisitely staged action and virtuosic performances by Leung and Ziyi Zhang, who lends a transfixing allure to the fictional Gong Er, Ip’s friend and fellow martial artist.