Actor Tony Leung and actress Zhang Ziyi in The Grandmaster 3D Photos: CFP

Two years after the 2D version of The Grandmaster was released on January 8, 2013, director Wong Kar-Wai is bringing a new 3D version of this great movie to audiences in China.

The movie, set in the chaotic and poetic era of 1930s China, tells the life story of martial arts master Ip Man (also spelled Yip Man, played by Tony Leung), who would later in life become a teacher to Bruce Lee.

The 3D version of The Grandmaster isn't a simple conversion of the previous 2D film as Wong also went back and re-edited the film. Unlike the previous 2D version, which has been criticized for its fragmented storytelling and focus on heroine Gong Er (played by Zhang Ziyi), the new 3D version of The Grandmaster mainly focuses on its main character: the film's many plots serve to tell a clear life story of Ip, while all the other characters and their stories are introduced from Ip's perspective.

Additionally, the movie's length is cut to 111 minutes, which means the pace of the storytelling in the 3D version is much faster. Some never-before-seen footage has also been added, including Gong Er's mysterious martial art style "Gong's 64 palms."

High-quality conversion 

"After watching the 2D version many times, I start to wonder what this movie would be like if it was in 3D," Wong said in an interview. "It would have to be more enjoyable." Wong's first attempt at 3D, he said that transforming The Grandmaster from 2D to 3D has improved not only the cinematic feeling of the film, but also helped emphasize some of the more subtle parts of the film.

Cooperating with a leading 3D film conversion company in Hollywood, Gener 8, which has a good reputation for making impressive 3D movies such as Godzilla and The Amazing Spider-Man, Wong aimed to preserve the "Eastern presence" in the movie. The team took an entire year for the conversion, which is said to have cost as much as it did to shoot the original.

To meet Wong's stringent requirements, Gener 8 arranged a team of 200 professionals to polish the 3D version of The Grandmaster. Every tiny rain drop was drawn very carefully, so as to achieve a realistic effect. As a result, Wong is very satisfied with Gener 8's work, particularly with the conversion of scenes involving rain or snow, as well as the fight scenes in the movie.

Fighting in the rain

The rainy fight scenes in The Grandmaster 3D are very impressive. A classic trope in Hong Kong marital arts films, this type of scene is seen in director Tsui Hark's Once Upon a Time in China V, in which Huang Feihong's first fight when he comes back in Guangzhou takes place on a rainy night. Director Chan Ho-san also shot a fight scene in the rain for his film Swordsman.

 During these rainy fights, the entire screen is filled with splashing rain drops capturing the unique Chinese-painting-like beauty of light and shadow, the virtual and the real.

Using 3D to great effect, these vivid rain drops make the scenes more dramatic and immersive. Specifically, a lot of close-ups are used in these rainy fight scenes, which helps magnify certain details. Wong successfully uses these fight scenes to show the characters' inner emotions, without which these fights would just be well choreographed yet boring action scenes.

Childhood memories

The Grandmaster can be seen as an echo of Wong's childhood memories, as there were many martial arts school on the street where Wong grew up. As a little boy, Wong found those martial arts schools very mysterious. He grew up listening to stories about established martial arts masters which he found greatly appealing. He once said in an interview, "This childhood memory is one of the reasons why I want to make this film."

In the movie, there is a scene of a little boy standing outside Ip Man's school, implied to be Bruce Lee. However, it is also a symbol of the director himself. As he said, "When I was a boy, I was always wondering what was happening inside those dark martial arts schools." With this movie, Wong finally gets a chance to walk through the door and find out.

The author is a PhD candidate from the University of Hong Kong