Donnie Yen is the great Ip Man

I have been a passionate follower of Chinese-language martial arts cinema for most of my life. Though I have learned the chronology of martial arts cinema and have seen many films in the genre from the 1930s to the present, in terms of my own chronology, I fell in love with this type of film as a New York kid in the 1970s. This was, of course, the start of the golden era of martial arts motion picture production, with films from the Shaw Brothers (邵氏片場) and Cathay (國泰) dominant and prolific, the emergence of new production powerhouses such as Golden Harvest (嘉禾娛樂有限公司), and with stars like the one-and-only Bruce Lee (李振藩; Li Zhenfan). My dad took me to see poorly-subtitled versions of these films in crusty old 42nd Street movie theaters -- dodging hookers, drug dealers and other such characters en route -- where they would play as double-features with a bad, American exploitation flick. I can't even remember the exploitation movies; all I wanted to see were the Hong Kong action pictures.

Later, my dad, mom and I would go to the Music Palace theater in New York's Chinatown to watch martial arts cinema with subtitles in "Chinese"--typical of New Yorkers of my generation and many before that, I was not cognizant at the time that there was a difference between the Mandarin and Cantonese languages, or that hundreds of other Chinese languages/dialects existed. Our movie houses of choice -- all of them are now closed -- were the old Shaw Brothers-owned, Music Palace on the Bowery, which was one of the oldest of the Chinatown theaters but was one of the last to be torn down, and the Pagoda Theater. I just couldn't get enough of the lore, the values and the fast-paced action of these films.

For the past 30+ years, I've followed the career and work of hundreds of martial arts actors, directors, choreographers, and more. Today, the greatest martial arts actor is, in my opinion, Donnie Yen (甄子丹; Zhen Zidan)--one of the best I've seen of any generation. A choreographer and director in his own right, Donnie Yen's most spectacular work is in front of the camera when he brings all of his powers as a martial artist to the screen. He is a fine actor aside from his martial arts work. He is also a strong presence in films where his martial arts are either not employed or where the films themselves are more stylized and his combat work is not as direct -- e.g. as Sky, Jet Li's (李連杰; Li Lianjie) first opponent in Zhang Yimou's (張藝謀) Hero (英雄; Yingxiong), as the heroic Chu Zhaonan in Tsui Hark's (徐克; Xu Ke) Seven Swords (七劍), etc. However, it is when he demonstrates his true martial arts prowess on screen, without body doubles, without the need -- though they are sometimes present -- for wires, simply showing his skill or his study.

Donnie Yen is almost one year older than me to-the-day--he was born in late July 1963; I was born in mid-August 1964 (both Leos). He was born in Guangdong and was raised in the Boston, MA area, the son of martial arts master (his mother), Bow Sim Mark (麥寶嬋; Mai Bao Chan). One can see that, with martial arts in his blood, he has true dedication to that discipline. While he got his first big film break as the Manchu general in 1992's Tsui Hark-directed, Wong Fei-Hung (黃飛鴻; Huang Feihong) story, Once Upon a Time in China II (黃飛鴻之二男兒當自強), it was, for me the 1993 film, Iron Monkey (少年黃飛鴻之鐵馬騮) -- surrounding Wong Fei Hung's father, Huang Qi-Ying (黃麒英), that shows him off to his greatest advantage. Iron Monkey was directed and action-choreographed by the legendary Yuen Woo-Ping (袁和平; Yuan Heping), and shows Donnie Yen in spectacular fight scenes. Most impressive is his incredible attention to detail in capturing the Hung Ga 洪家 fighting style of Huang Qi-Ying and Wang Fei-Hung, but blending it with brilliant, updated, foot fighting while keeping it fully blended to classical technique. There are many other fine films in Yen's cinematic canon -- produced by Hong Kong, China and U.S. filmmakers -- but another extraordinary standout is 2005's SPL: Sha Po Lang (殺破狼; Kill Zone in English). This film, co-starring and co-choreographed by the great Sammo Hung (洪金寶; Hong Jinbao), takes painstaking steps to show Donnie Yen in full combat, in extended fight scenes that, I believe, should go down for the ages. His extended baton/knife contest with another strong film martial artist, Wu Jing (吳京), is a martial arts lesson; one of the most exciting fight scenes I've ever watched.

Donnie Yen's latest film is a biopic on Bruce Lee's martial arts teacher, Ip Man (葉問; Yip Man). Ip Man was, reportedly, the first to "openly teach" the long-secret Wing Chun (詠春; Yong Chun) martial arts style which, previously, was passed down through generations through oral tradition and no documentation, and became one of the principal parts of Bruce Lee's fighting technique--though Lee, later, incorporated different elements to create his own style. Ip Man brings back SPL's team of Donnie Yen, choreographer Sammo Hung, and director Wilson Yip (葉偉信; Yip Wai-Shun). The film chronicles Master Ip's life from his earlier, prosperous adulthood -- he was educated and well-to-do in then-prosperous Guangdong -- through the 1930s and the Japanese Occupation. (There is discussion about a sequel, going from the war era to Ip Man's late life when he taught Bruce Lee--he died in 1972.) The film does not take events of Ip Man's life with complete historical accuracy, but it captures the essence of his philosophy, his skill, his family and the struggles of the war years. Knowing human being behind the legend was not hard for the filmmakers--Ip Man's eldest son, Ip Chun (葉準) was a consultant on the film (and is featured in interviews on the Blu-ray disc that was just released). This is one of the best martial arts films I've ever seen. It is well acted--the always-wonderful Simon Yam (任達華; Yam Tat-Wah, or Ren Dahua) has a small but crucial part, and the rest of the cast is very strong, It is also beautifully shot, and the direction, writing and the music -- by Kawai Kenji (川井 憲次), the Japanese composer of scores for such important films as Ghost in the Shell (攻殻機動隊; Gosuto In Za Sheru) and Avalon (アヴァロン; Avaron), and the original Japanese Ring (リング; Ringu) horror films -- are superb. But martial arts are at the core of the plot rather than being ancillary elements, and the fight scenes are breathtaking. Donnie Yen has long been an admirer of Bruce Lee, and trained for months in the Wing Chun style to ensure authenticity in demonstrating the technique.

Ip Man is a no-miss for lovers of martial arts action cinema, and fine Chinese-language cinema in general. It is nominated for 12 awards (!) in the 28th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards, including: Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (the terrific Lam Ka-Tung: 林家棟; Lin Jiadong), another for Best Supporting Actor (the powerful Fan Siu-Wong: 樊少皇), Best Cinematography, Best Original Film Score, Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Action Choreography, Best Sound Design, Best Visual Effects.

VISIT THE OFFICIAL IP MAN WEBSITE TO SEE THE TRAILER AND GET MORE INFORMATION