Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar-Wai is one of the world’s most visionary stylists and storytellers. However, despite making Chungking Express and In the Mood for Love – two titles that are pretty much admired universally by film fans – he has made some lackluster films as of late.
2013’s long-delayed The Grandmaster received a mixed reaction from critics and audiences (including We Got This Covered’s Sam Woolf), although it did impress enough people to earn Oscar nominations for costume design and cinematography. However, those who missed Wong’s latest title in theaters and on DVD are in luck, as the director wants to re-release the title in 3D for Chinese audiences – and a run in North American cinemas may not be far behind.
The Grandmaster, a biopic of influential martial arts mentor Ip Man, will see a release in China in mid-October. Kar-Wai had reportedly wanted to release his film in 3D originally, so this could be a more essential director’s cut version. North Americans complained that the film they saw was a chopped up version of a much longer cut. According to the film’s co-producer, this version will have more footage than the 108-minute U.S. cut.
“We had originally planned to film The Grandmaster in 3D not only for the cinematic sensation, but also for the subtlety of the expression of this beautiful story,” the director told Variety. “We now have the opportunity to show the film as it was always intended – searching for a brand new aesthetic or cinematic language in the 3D format.”
While this re-release is just for mainland China, which has seen a boom in 3D films over the past few years, distributor Bona Film Group says that if it is successful, the film could come out in other markets. However, The Grandmaster was a much bigger hit in China than it was in the United States (it made a paltry $6.6 million stateside), so we should wait and see before anything is confirmed.
Would you be interested in seeing a revised, 3D version of The Grandmaster? Let us know in the comments section below.
