REVIEW: ‘Ip Man’ (DVD – Cine Asia)

Our new U.K. contributor Gazz Ogden checks in with a review of Cine Asia’s DVD release of IP MAN, director Wilson Yip’s award-winning kung fu actioner starring Donnie Yen as famed Wing Chun master Yip Man. Cine Asia’s release is also available on Blu-ray.

Donnie Yen kicks a rather large amount of ass in IP MAN. Inordinate amounts. He kicks so much ass that his feet will forever by synonymous with asses. I’m also sure that he kicks far more asses than the real (Y)Ip Man ever did. This fact is one of the two main flaws inherent in IP MAN, the other being that I’m 95% sure that Ip Man couldn’t fly, or at least defy gravity to the extent that Donnie does in this movie. That is where the problems end however, as Ip Man is a truly breathtaking film.

IP MAN follows Ip Man (or Yip Man), a wing chun master in the 1930s, and the various trials and hard-times that he faces throughout this tough period. Many of you will know that Ip Man trained Bruce Lee, but the film is based before these events and focuses on Ip Man’s life before he became more recognized throughout the media. On the whole, the film is rather unrealistic and there’s clearly a tad more than a pinch of artistic license, but consider any film featuring Wong Fei Hung or Huo Yuanjia and the idealistic and fantastic elements of the film seem to fall into place. Regardless of this elaboration, the film remains a fantastic work of cinema and Donnie Yen has possibly never been better

Fortunately, it’s also been given a fittingly decent UK DVD release courtesy of Cine-Asia, who it seems are the worthy successors to the sadly missed Hong Kong Legends. The region 2 release of IP MAN comes with an extra disc full of special features (even though it probably doesn’t need a WHOLE disc) and it’s refreshing to see a DVD distributor taking care over providing a fully comprehensive DVD experience to the fans.

Along with the AMAZING film, we’re treated to a huge amount of interviews featuring pretty much all the main players and crew, the usual bunch of trailers and small featurettes but the main attractions are a medium length ‘making-of’ and an in-depth documentary about Wing Chun and Jeet-Kune-Do. The ‘making-of’ is pretty standard stuff and I assume was made to be shown before the film’s release because at the end, all the stars urge you to see the movie. This would be pretty pointless for a DVD-only feature as everyone has already bought the movie (I doubt anyone would watch the making-of and then not watch the movie).

The ‘exclusive’ feature FROM IP MAN TO BRUCE LEE: TRACING THE LEGACY pertains to track Ip Man’s history down to Bruce Lee but in reality focuses more on Dan Inosanto demonstrating the influences of Wing Chun on JKD. However, without knowledge of either martial art, these sequences are pretty difficult to understand and don’t serve much purpose, but for those with a keen or informed interest this feature will probably be quite fascinating.

Overall it’s a neat DVD package that offers some unique features and in-depth information but the lack of a more thorough insight into the fight scenes is unfortunate as the martial arts sequences are by far the most impressive element in this film. In spite of this, the DVD is still a worthy addition to any collection; if not just for the film alone, which is certainly one of the most impressive true martial arts films of recent times.

Related Topics: Cine Asia, DVD, Ip Man (2008)