Ip Man Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Ip Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 24, 2009

Impressive as a Wing Chun action film, but somewhat underwhelming as an elaborate autobiographical film about the life of Bruce Lee's mentor, Wilson Yip's "Ip Man" (2008) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Universe Laser & Video Co. English-friendly. Region-A "locked".

Tested

Wilson Yip’s latest film tells the story of Bruce Lee’s legendary martial arts master Ip Man (Donnie Yen, Flash Point). The film opens up in 1930s Fosham, Guangdong where the young man lives a peaceful life with his wife. He often visits the street where the city’s martial arts masters run their schools, but rarely shows what he is capable of in front of the masses.

Things change dramatically when a powerful Kung-Fu fighter (Fan Siu-wong, The Butterfly Lovers) arrives in Fosham and begins challenging the local masters. He defeats everyone and announces that he will be opening his own school. Of course, he hasn’t fought Ip Man and the locals quickly remind him of it.

Ip Man welcomes the foreigner into his home and teaches him a lesson he won’t forget. Fosham’s residents proclaim his love and respect for the best of the best and beg him to teach them the secrets of Wing Chun. Ip Man is moved but unwilling to set up his own school.

The story then focuses on the Japanese invasion of China. We see the Imperial Army take over Fosham and Ip Man and his family struggling to make ends meet. In order to provide for his wife and son, the Wing Chun master becomes a miner. Soon, he also gets involved in a dangerous tournament where Japanese and Chinese Kung-Fu fighters challenge each other. Eventually, Ip Man unites the locals and encourages them to stand up against the Japanese aggressors.

If you aren’t particularly interested in martial arts, Ip Man could be a very difficult film to like. This is an ambitious concept-project where action, history and philosophy are all integral parts in a somewhat entertaining but ultimately underwhelming story about a very special man. Furthermore, the creators of Ip Man have also taken a very liberal approach in their depiction of the Japanese invasion of China, which, in my opinion, affects the film’s aspirations for authenticity quite negatively.

Donnie Yen’s portrayal of Ip Man is also controversial to say the least. In the Making-of featurette provided on this Blu-ray disc, the action-guru reveals that he spent a great deal of time studying Ip Man’s Wing Chun legacy as well as his views on Kung-Fu in general. Unfortunately, aside from the very impressive fighting sequences, Ip Man and Donnie Yen offer little towards understanding the philosophy and credo of the man who taught the legendary Bruce Lee the secrets of Wing Chun.

Technically, Ip Man looks polished to perfection. Wilson Yip’s camera is very effective in following Donnie Yen as well as providing the audience with a number of terrific vistas from the bustling city of Fosham. One could easily tell, however, how inconsistent the script is; the more the story progresses, the more difficult it becomes to regard Ip Man as the type of film its creators intended it to be.

As it stands, Ip Man will certainly divide more people than it will unite with its message. Aside from the expertly choreographed fights, there is little here that we haven’t already seen done better in other genre films. More or less, Ip Man strikes me as a missed opportunity rather than as a memorable celebration of a man with an impressive legacy.

Ip Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Wilson Yip's Ip Man arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Hong Kong-based distributors Universe Laser & Video Co.

Ip Man, the latest HK disc to reach my desk, looks gorgeous. I watched this film last night and while I wasn't smitten by its story, I was seriously impressed by how good it looks. Contrast and clarity here are superb. One could literally see even the tiniest wrinkles on the faces of the main protagonists as well as even the smallest flowers from the beautiful garden in Ip Man's home. Furthermore, the color-scheme is so lush and vivid, that during selected scenes I almost felt as if I was watching a painting; Universe Laser's Blu-ray encoders have really outdone themselves. Furthermore, what makes this transfer so special is the fact that there are no traces of DNR-manipulation whatsoever. On the contrary, Ip Man looks very natural and free of artificial sharpening, Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are also not a serious issue of concern. In fact, the only flaw that I was able to detect with this transfer was a minor aliasing-like effect that occurred prior to one of the fighting scenes in the first half of the film (before the Japanese invasion). Truth be told, however, I think that very few people would be able to see what I am referring to. Finally, I must note that the actual print is in terrific condition; there aren't any debris, scratches, or stains that I could detect. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" release which you will not be able to play on your Region-B PS3 or SA. In order to access the HD content on this Blu-ray disc, you have to have a native Region-A or Region-Free player).

Ip Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Wow! Ip Man is every audio enthusiast's dream come true! The disc has the following audio tracks: Cantonese: PCM 7.1, Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Cantonese Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 and Mandarin: Dolby Digital 5.1.

I opted for the Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track and later on I did a few random comparisons with the rest of the audio tracks. To make a long story short, the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track is simply phenomenal. There is an enormous amount of activity in the rear channels (the big fights in the Japanese compound sound fantastic) and the bass is as potent as I hoped it would be. There is so much power and depth in this track, that I must warn you to be very careful when you watch Ip Man so you do not damage your home system. On the other hand, the dialog is crystal clear and very easy to follow. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissing.

As I mentioned above, I did a few random comparisons between the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track and the PCM 7.1 and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 tracks (the Cantonese tracks). Frankly, I could not detect any major discrepancies in the dynamic amplitude each track boasts. It seems like the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track is slightly louder, but as far as rear-channel activity and bass potency are concerned, I must confess that all three tracks sound identical to me. I also tested the Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track. In my opinion, the track appears to be as strong as the Cantonese tracks addressed above. Finally, the Blu-ray disc offers optional English and traditional Chinese subtitles.

Ip Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

In addition to the theatrical trailer, on this Blu-ray disc you will also find a Making-of featurette, with optional English and Simplified Chinese subtitles, where the cast and crew share their thoughts on the history of the film, the preparation that was needed as well as technical difficulties everyone had to overcome. In Pre-Production you will see plenty of footage from the shooting of IP Man without any dialog. Shooting Diary is a collage of images from the actual film without any dialog. In Major Scenes you will learn about specific locations from the film and how they were built from the ground up (there is plenty of technical information here). Next is a gallery of interviews, once again subtitled in English and Simplified Chinese, with the following cast and crew members: Wilson Yip (director), Sammo Hung Kam-Bo (action director), Donnie Yen (actor), Simon Yam (actor), Hiroyuki Ikeuchi (actor), Lam Ka-tung (actor), and Fam Siu-wong (actor). Ip Chun-Director-Sammo offers more on the history of the film (English and Simplified Chinese subtitles are once again available). Next is a gallery with five deleted scenes subtitled in English and Simplified Chinese. About The Movie offers the following three text-format essays: "The History of Wing Chun"," Master IP Man" and "Cast and Crew Profiles" (the essays are available in English and Simplified Chinese). Finally, there is a Photo Gallery with stills from the actual film.

Ip Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ip Man follows the story of Bruce Lee's mentor while it also recreates the Japanese invasion of China from the early 1930s in a distinctively flashy manner. Fans of martial arts cinema will surely be impressed with Donnie Yen's terrific fighting skills, but those of you expecting to see a serious autobiographical film will likely be disappointed. I personally found the supplemental features on the Blu-ray disc to be far more informative about Ip Man and his legacy than the actual film was, but I do understand that the presence of Donnie Yen can be a good enough reason for many to embrace this film. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Hong Kong-based Universe Laser & Video Co., is of top-notch quality. Frankly, Ip Man looks as good, if not better, than Mei Ah's Red Cliff. Recommended.