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The Legend Is Born - Ip Man (DVD) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All

Sammo Hung (Actor) | Yuen Biao (Actor) | Dennis To (Actor) | Fan Siu Wong (Actor)
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Customer Rating: Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10 (3)
All Editions Rating: Customer Review Rated Bad 9 - 9.2 out of 10 (5)
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YesAsia Editorial Description

The tremendous success of Ip Man gave birth to a lucrative kung fu franchise. In the first half of 2010, the highly anticipated sequel Ip Man 2 was released back to back with The Legend is Born: Ip Man, a compelling new chapter that deals with the younger-day exploits of the Wing Chun grandmaster. Versatile Hong Kong director Herman Yau takes the helm of the prequel while some of the original cast members come back in new roles. The legendary Sammo Hung returns along with action star Fan Siu Wong and To Yue Hong, the youngest martial arts world champion Hong Kong has ever produced. Playing minor parts in the original films, To is asked to take over as the young Ip Man here. Yuen Biao, Huang Yi, Bernice Liu, Rose Chan, Xu Jiao, and Lam Suet are among the new cast members, but the film's most surprising performance probably belongs to the 86-year-old screen novice Ip Chun, the real-life Ip Man's son who curiously plays the master of his father!

In his childhood, Ip Man was initiated into Wing Chun under the tutelage of Master Chan Wah Shun (Sammo Hung). After Chan's death, Ip Man follows senior schoolmate Ng Chung So (Yuen Biao) as his new mentor alongside his brother Ip Tin Chi (Fan Siu Wong) and good friend Lee Mei Wai (Rose Chan). Later, the teenage Ip Man (To Yue Hong) opts to leave Foshan to pursue education in Hong Kong, where he meets his third teacher Leung Bik (Ip Chun), a master of an unorthodox school of Wing Chun. When he comes back to Foshan, Ip Man falls in love with the mayor's daughter, his future wife Cheung Wing Shing (Huang Yi). Meanwhile, Ip Man is confronted by Ng Chung So and faced with the dilemma of whether to follow through with his training under Leung Bik. And, unbeknownst to everyone, Tin Chi seems to harbor a secret that threatens to put the whole nation in jeopardy...

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Technical Information

Product Title: The Legend Is Born - Ip Man (DVD) (Hong Kong Version) 葉問前傳 (DVD) (香港版) 叶问前传 (DVD) (香港版) 葉問前傳 (香港版) The Legend Is Born - Ip Man (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Artist Name(s): Sammo Hung (Actor) | Yuen Biao (Actor) | Dennis To (Actor) | Fan Siu Wong (Actor) | Bernice Liu (Actor) | Crystal Huang (Actor) | Xu Jiao (Actor) | Wen Jun Hui (Seventeen) | Ip Chun (Actor) | Rose Chan (Actor) | Liang Xu Hui (Actor) | Lee Lik Chi (Actor) | Erica Li | Lee Kwok Lun (Actor) | Hins Cheung (Actor) | Kenya Sawada (Actor) | Lam Suet (Actor) | Louis Cheung (Actor) | Ma Sai (Actor) 洪金寶 (Actor) | 元彪 (Actor) | 杜 宇航 (Actor) | 樊少皇 (Actor) | 廖 碧兒 (Actor) | 黃奕 (Actor) | 徐嬌 (Actor) | 文俊輝 | 葉準 (Actor) | 陳 嘉桓 (Actor) | 梁 旭輝 (Actor) | 李力持 (Actor) | 李敏 | 李國麟 (Actor) | 張敬軒 (Actor) | 澤田謙也 (Actor) | 林雪 (Actor) | 張 繼聰 (Actor) | 馬 賽 (Actor) 洪金宝 (Actor) | 元彪 (Actor) | 杜 宇航 (Actor) | 樊少皇 (Actor) | 廖 碧儿 (Actor) | 黄奕 (Actor) | 徐娇 (Actor) | 文俊辉 | 叶准 (Actor) | 陈 嘉桓 (Actor) | 梁 旭辉 (Actor) | 李力持 (Actor) | 李敏 | 李国麟 (Actor) | 张敬轩 (Actor) | 泽田谦也 (Actor) | 林雪 (Actor) | 张 继聪 (Actor) | 马 赛 (Actor) 洪金寶(サモ・ハン・キンポー) (Actor) | 元彪(ユン・ピョウ) (Actor) | 杜宇航 (デニス・トー) (Actor) | 樊少皇(ルイス・ファン) (Actor) | 廖碧兒 (バーニス・リウ) (Actor) | 黄奕(ホァン・イー) (Actor) | 徐嬌 (シュー・チャオ) (Actor) | ジユン JUN | Ip Chun (Actor) | Rose Chan (Actor) | Liang Xu Hui (Actor) | 李力持(リー・リクチー) (Actor) | 李敏 | 李國麟(リー・クォックルン) (Actor) | 張敬軒(ヒンズ・チャン) (Actor) | 澤田謙也 (Actor) | 林雪(ラム・シュー) (Actor) | 張繼聰(ルイス・チョン) (Actor) | 馬賽(マー・サイ) (Actor) Sammo Hung (Actor) | 원표 (Actor) | Dennis To (Actor) | 번소황 (Actor) | Bernice Liu (Actor) | Crystal Huang (Actor) | Xu Jiao (Actor) | Wen Jun Hui (Seventeen) | Ip Chun (Actor) | Rose Chan (Actor) | Liang Xu Hui (Actor) | Lee Lik Chi (Actor) | Erica Li | Lee Kwok Lun (Actor) | Hins Cheung (Actor) | Kenya Sawada (Actor) | Lam Suet (Actor) | Louis Cheung (Actor) | Ma Sai (Actor)
Director: Herman Yau 邱禮濤 邱礼涛 邱禮濤(ハーマン・ヤウ) Yau Lai To
Action Director: Leung Siu Hung 梁小熊 梁小熊 梁小熊 (トニー・リャン) LIANG XIAO XIONG
Producer: Checkley Sin 冼國林 冼国林 Checkley Sin Checkley Sin
Release Date: 2010-08-26
Language: Cantonese, Mandarin
Subtitles: English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese
Place of Origin: Hong Kong
Picture Format: NTSC What is it?
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen
Sound Information: Dolby Digital EX(TM) / THX Surround EX(TM), 6.1, DTS Extended Surround(TM) / DTS-ES(TM)
Disc Format(s): DVD, DVD-9
Region Code: All Region What is it?
Rating: IIA
Duration: 100 (mins)
Publisher: Universal Studio
Package Weight: 120 (g)
Shipment Unit: 1 What is it?
YesAsia Catalog No.: 1023036474

Product Information

* Special Features:
- Commentary of Director & Master Ip Chun
- Trailer
- Making Of

Director: Yau Lai To

After the death of the Foshan Great Wing Chun kungfu master Chan Wah Shun, little Ip Man continued learning Wing Chun under his senior fellow apprentice, Ng Chun Sui. When Ip Man grew up, he left his adopted brother Ip Tin Chi to study in HK alone. Foreigners took this chance to insult and discriminate him. At that time, he met his 3rd Wing Chun master Leung Bik. Ip Man learnt different Wing Chun theories from Leung Pik which greatly improved his Wing Chun kungfu. After his return to Foshan, Ip Man fell in love with Wing Shing and confronted with great barriers. Meanwhile, Ng Chun Sui found that Ip Man's Wing Chun deviated from his traditional style which is totally unacceptable to a man strictly sticking to "origin". How can Ip Man solve such dispute amicably without any disgrace to Ng Chun Sui? In addition, Ip Man discovered the top secret of Tin Chi...
Additional Information may be provided by the manufacturer, supplier, or a third party, and may be in its original language

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Awards

This film has received 1 award nomination(s). All Award-Winning Asian Films

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YumCha! Asian Entertainment Reviews and Features

Professional Review of "The Legend Is Born - Ip Man (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)"

September 13, 2010

Given the huge success of Ip Man, it was inevitable that audiences would soon be hit not only by an official sequel, but by all manner of spinoffs. And so, fast on the heels of Ip Man 2 comes The Legend is Born - Ip Man, a prequel charting the early years of the Wing Chun grandmaster to be. Thankfully, the reins were handed to Herman Yau, surely one of Hong Kong's best and most underappreciated directors, known for consistently churning out works of quality. Although the idea of an Ip Man film without the inimitable Donnie Yen may be cause for concern, stepping into his shoes is the talented To Yue Hong, the youngest ever martial arts champion from Hong Kong. Backing him are a returning Sammo Hung and Fan Siu Wong, along with franchise newcomers Yuen Biao, Huang Yi, Bernice Liu, Rose Chan, Xu Jiao, and the ever reliable Lam Suet. Of special note is the fact that Ip Man's real life son, the now 86 year old Ip Chun also makes an appearance, and in a fitting twist even gets to play his own father's master.

The film follows Ip Man (To Yue Hong) during his childhood years in Foshan, as he and his adopted brother Ip Tin Chi (Fan Siu Wong) are trained in Wing Chun by Master Chan Wah Shun (Sammo Hung), and then by Ng Chung So (Yuen Biao) after he dies. Although Lee Mei Wai (Rose Chan) takes a shine to Ip Man, he only has eyes for the deputy mayor's daughter Cheung Wing Shing (Huang Yi), destined to be his future wife. After leaving to attend school in Hong Kong, Ip Man meets and is mentored by Leung Bik (Ip Chun), formerly of Wing Chun, who teaches him an unorthodox version of the style. When he returns to Foshan, his new techniques greatly anger Ng Chung So, who still blames Leung Bik for causing a painful split in the school. However, personal differences soon have to be put aside, as the nation is threatened by an evil Japanese plot and the presence of a mysterious traitor in their midst.

If there's one director viewers should trust with an Ip Man prequel, it's Herman Yau. A great storyteller, he shows his usual engaging efficiency, and the film works well as an interesting mini biopic, moving quickly and without too much melodrama or fuss through the various stages of Ip Man's young life. As such, although nothing new is really learned about his character, the film doesn't feel too unnecessary, providing a neat first chapter as well as a few pointers as to how he developed his martial arts style. A lot of the film's themes are instantly recognisable from its bigger brothers, as Ip Man comes across rude (and badly acted) Westerners, bullies, and wicked Japanese villains, though Yau avoids throwing in too much obvious nationalism, and the film benefits from being a leaner and less flag waving affair.

Of course, the big question was always going to be how the film would get around the absence of Donnie Yen, and the prequel approach does at least justify having another actor in the role which he so effectively made his own. Whilst not as charismatic as the one and only Yen, To Yue Hong does a very decent job as the young Ip, not least since he bears a notable resemblance to him. For the most part he manages to exude the same air of righteousness and pulls off all the right poses, and this gives the film a reasonable sense of continuity, making it feel less like a cash-in. Although Sammo Hung doesn't appear for long, his presence, along with that of Yuen Biao similarly add a touch of genre legitimacy, and both fit very comfortably into their older master roles.

To Yue Hong also shows himself to have the requisite skills, being fast and fleet, and Yau gives him plenty of chances to show off his talents. The film is pretty action packed, with an impressive number of well handled duel scenes scattered throughout, as well as the expected training montages, all of which have a nicely old school, CGI-free feel, thanks in part to some good production values. As the Japanese plot takes centre stage during the last half hour or so, the film really picks up pace and gets more exciting, building to a rousing final series of battles as Ip Man takes on a horde of ninja opponents - thankfully without pausing to give a lengthy pro-China speech.

Though perhaps inevitably it will be seen as the poorer cousin of the original and sequel, The Legend is Born - Ip Man with the ever dependable Yau at the helm it holds its own and in no way disgraces the series. A great martial arts film in its own right that is more enjoyable than a lot of the more bloated big budget genre epics of late, it also provides a good introduction to To Yue Hong, who will hopefully be showing up more on screens in the future.

by James Mudge - BeyondHollywood.com

This original content has been created by or licensed to YesAsia.com, and cannot be copied or republished in any medium without the express written permission of YesAsia.com.

Customer Review of "The Legend Is Born - Ip Man (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)"

Average Customer Rating for this Edition: Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10 (3)
Average Customer Rating for All Editions of this Product: Customer Review Rated Bad 9 - 9.2 out of 10 (5)

Yasar
See all my reviews


September 18, 2011

This customer review refers to The Legend Is Born - Ip Man (VCD) (Hong Kong Version)
Good prequal film Customer Review Rated Bad 8 - 8 out of 10
I was not disappointed by this movie and certainly was entertained.but this is not as close match to the sequals with Donnie Yen.The actor who plays the young Ip man is good but not a close match to Donnie Yen.I understand that this prequal was an early period of Ip man's life so it had to be played by another actor,but I am also guessing that I am not the only one who would like to see on more sequal with Donnie.I was also surprised that Summo Hung was only in this one for a short period of time.
All in all pretty good acting and entertaining martial arts action.
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Rhoda
See all my reviews


November 21, 2010

1 people found this review helpful

KUDOS!!!! Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10
WHEN ITS IP MAN,IT MUST BE GOOD.

THE YOUNG IPMAN DID A WONDERFUL YOUNG DONNIE YEN. THE WAY HE ACTED, HIS FACIAL EXPRESSIONS ARE THE SAME. THIS PREQUEL IS SOMETHING THAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS. YOU WILL UNDERSTAND NOW WHERE HE CAME FROM. HOW HE MARRIED A RICH WIFE BUT LIVE A POOR LIFE WITH HIM. HOW HE BECOME A MASTER OF A DOJU.

ITS MOVIE TO WATCH. WORTH YOUR TIME
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jasmine
See all my reviews


October 11, 2010

Bravo!! Encore********* Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10
I enjoy this prequel very much more to Ip Man 2 because the script is better, more realistic and more substance. Director Herman Yau did a great job.

We know Sammo & Biao are practitioners of Wing Chun and their presence added more weight and legitamacy to the movie as Sammo resume his role of Chan Wah Shun and Biao as Ng Chung So respectively.

A great find in young Dennis To Yue Hong as the young Ip Man who, I predict, has the ability to carry on more martial arts movies. All the action and fighting sequences were superbly handled by the old pros and newcomers alike.
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jasmine
See all my reviews


September 8, 2010

This customer review refers to The Legend Is Born - Ip Man (Blu-ray) (Hong Kong Version)
That's What I Want Customer Review Rated Bad 8 - 8 out of 10
This Ip Man version is far superior to Donnie's Ip Man-2 as I felt the latter has gone 'commercial' and with two of my top faves, Sammo & Yuen Biao's support in this movie, that's the icing on the cake.

I cannot say if the script is 100% truth of Ip Man's real life but it's still a very compelling story, with good action choreography to keep you wanting more and wondering what's next on the agenda. In any case, the movie title is very appropriate because it traced Ip Man's life as a young boy to where he established himself later in life.

Story started with middle-aged sifu Chan Wah Shun (Sammo) running his martial arts school when Ip Man and his older adopted brother Ip Tin Chi (Fan SW) were taken in as students. The 2 young boys and Lee Mei Wai (Rose) were the best of pals with Fan already developing a crush on Rose. With Sammo's sudden death, oldest 'si heng' Yuen Biao takes over and later on sent Ip Man to further his education in Hong Kong. Over the years, Fan's crush on Rose turns into secret love but Rose prefers Ip Man.

This is also a time when the Japanese invaded China and every citizen lived in fear of their tyrannical ways. In the meantime, a teenage Ip Man in Hong Kong, had a chance meeting with Leung Bik when he seeked medical help from Leung's medicinal store. They discovered much in common after Ip Man revealed that his first Wing Chun sifu was Chan Wah Shun . Leung Bik gave Ip Man many pointers about Wing Chun and revealed that he himself was once a student of Wing Chun. Leung even introduced Ip Man to some unorthodox movements - these very incorporated movements which resulted in himself being banned from practising Wing Chun as they're not the 'true form'. However, Ip Man, being a very intelligent and open-minded person, accepted and incorporated these movements into his own training as they appear to improve some basic Wing Chun forms.

Back in Foshan, Ip Man met and fell in love with his future wife Cheung Wing Shing, the mayor's daughter. Rose is heartbroken over Ip Man while Ip Tin Chi still tries to win her love . However, trouble's brewing in the form of adopted older brother Ip Tin Chi and the Japanese who insisted that their comrades be upgraded in their combat skills, i.e. being taught Wing Chun. What a preposterous idea!! With a dark secret known only to himself and the Japanese, Ip Tin Chi agreed but will this happen??
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John Steve Yap
See all my reviews


September 4, 2010

A Prequel of the IP Man Story Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10
Donnie Yen's look alike actor.
He's not bad, but I prefer The Previous 2 IP Man movies.
Actually I bought this DVD just to complete my IP Man collection, because it is the Prequel of the two IP Man movies.
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  • Region & Language: Hong Kong United States - English
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