Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen
Wong Kar-wai
IIA (Cantonese & Putonghua) His first film, As Tears Go By (1988), was a drama about a triad; he also produced The Eagle Shooting Heroes (1993) and directed Ashes of Time (1994), based on characters from the Louis Cha Leung-yung martial arts novel. But Wong Kar-wai is usually looked upon as an auteur whose films feature more talk than action.
So it can come as a shock to discover his much-anticipated The Grandmaster - first mooted in 2002 - features more action than dialogue.
Originally conceived as a biopic about Ip Man, the wing chun martial arts exponent whose students included Bruce Lee, the film starts off as planned. But while Ip (played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai) is the movie's main man, it soon becomes clear The Grandmaster has another prominent character in Gong Er (Zhang Ziyi), the proud daughter of northern martial arts master Gong Yutian (Wang Qingxiang). The film's original title was The Grandmasters.