The Master (师父) two different films

[Jimbo]

Greetings,

The following scene is from the above subjected film. I find the choreography to be a little different from what I am accustomed to. I am curious as to how this style of choreography will evolve. There is a newness about it. The choreographer seems to de emphasize violence and steps forward towards introducing conflict as ritual, as something we must all go through at some point in our lives. If this is the case, there will definitely be an increasing following for movies choreographed by him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a88A_1PSZ1s


mickey

I agree that the choreography is a bit different. Almost a little like old-school, but not. I recognized Chen Kuan-Tai as his last KF opponent (with the oversized sword-knife). What I didn't like was how easy the opponents he kills die. Too easy and too 'clean'. Like shutting off a battery-powered robot. Even many of the most unrealistic old-school KF movies had more convincing death scenes. But I suspect those types of scenes might be considered 'too graphic' and would be restricted in mainland China.

But at least they are doing something onscreen with KF, and I give credit for that. I, too, would like to see how this choreography style develops over time. Hopefully it'll become more expressive and more natural. IMO, it has more possibilities than the post-Crouching Tiger slow-mo, dancey, floaty, fantasy CGI wirework choreography as seen in so many MA/wuxia-related movies out of China.

[mickey]

Greetings Jimbo,

After taking the time to figure out the movie that comes closet to The Final Master in terms of choreography, I wouls have to say that it was Killer Constable. It was choreographed by Huang Pei Chi and Yasuhiro Shikamura (Lu Chuen). Huang Pei Chi was known for accurate portrayals of weapons usage. He also worked on The Opium and Kung Fu Master. I think he took it up a few notches for this movie. The fight scenes were not incredibly drawn out.

mickey

[GeneChing]

The Final Master



Coming Soon

Synopsis
Determined to pass down his art, the Final Master of Wing Chun is caught in a power struggle with malicious local officials and ultimately must choose between personal honor and his master's dying wish.

Genre Drama
Director Xu Haofeng
Cast Liao Fan, Song Jia
Release Date
June 3, 2016

Tempted to split this thread, but it would spoil some of the integrity of the past posts...

[GeneChing]

It's just too amusing to keep this thread together as is.

Xu Haofeng's Award-Winning Martial Arts Movie THE FINAL MASTER Hits U.S. Theaters 6/3
May 9 9:33 2016



THE FINAL MASTER, from award-winning director Xu Haofeng will be hitting theaters on June 3, 2016 via United Entertainment Partners. The beautifully choreographed action-packed film stars Liao Fan, Song Jia, Jiang Wenli, Jin Shi-Jye, Song Yang and Huang Jue. Before opening in theaters, it will be making its US Premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 28th.

In THE FINAL MASTER, follows a Wing Chun practitioner's ambitious journey to open a martial arts school in the Northern Center to fulfill his master's dying wish of passing down the art. In order to gain the rights to achieve this, he has to send an apprentice to secretly challenge and defeat eight martial arts schools.

Unbeknownst to him is that he is merely a pawn being played in the power game within the martial arts community. In the end, he must choose between what is right and what is expected to achieve his destiny. THE FINAL MASTER is a story of deception, tradition, BETRAYAL and revenge that all culminates to a masterfully choreographed climatic ending.

Watch the trailer below:

[GeneChing]

We were offered the opportunity to interview Xu Haofeng, but sadly it came in during the middle of TCEC & KFTCD, so we didn't have the bandwidth to do it.

I should really split these threads now that the English titles are different.

‘Final Master’: Script is as good as the fighting
By G. Allen Johnson Updated 9:24 am, Thursday, June 2, 2016


Photo: United Entertainment Partners
Liao Fan stars in Xu Haofeng‘s fast-paced “The Final Master."

Wing Chun knife fighting takes center stage in Xu Haofeng’s wall-to-wall martial arts action film “The Final Master,” but the deepest cuts come from the games of sexual politics and political intrigue in this unusual, compelling and even humorous thriller.
Take, for instance, the scene in which Wing Chun master Chen Shi (Liao Fan) and his wife, Zhao Guohui (Song Jia), sit on a bench and have a tender discussion about the state of their marriage — all while Chen calmly disposes of 20 challengers from a rival martial arts academy.
Set in the 1930s, “The Final Master” has more meat than the usual martial arts film, and perhaps that’s because Xu is not only a director but also a screenwriter, novelist and martial arts expert. The film is based on Xu’s own novella, called “The Master.”
It can’t have hurt that Xu also was a scriptwriter for Wong Kar-wai in the great 2013 film “The Grandmaster” — talk about learning from a master.
Chen’s plan in the “The Final Master” is to fulfill his master’s dying wish to establish a martial arts school in Tianjin, a port city in northeastern China. In the complicated world of honor among the martial arts community, which in Tianjin consists of 19 schools, Chen can establish himself as a power if he and his apprentice defeat eight of the schools.
Apparently, by any means necessary. Hand-to-hand combat, fights with bamboos poles and lots of knife wielding are on display, although very little killing — defeat is a kind of death itself for these guys — and some female fighters, too.
“The key to martial arts is not to duck,” Chen says at one point. “Because heads are heavier than hands; hands move faster.”
Well, to paraphrase Shakespeare, heavy lies the head that wears a crown, because as Chen gets closer to his ultimate goal, he finds himself becoming a pawn in the Tianjin’s elite martial arts power game.
The fight climax and very interesting resolution cap off an exhilarating two hours of entertainment — and suggest a sequel to come. Hope there is one.

G. Allen Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ajohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: BRfilmsAllen

The Final Master
WILD APPLAUSE
Martial arts action. With Liao Fan, Song Jia. Directed by Xu Haofeng. In Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles. (Not rated. 109 minutes.)
To see a trailer, go to https://you.tube/sm35mEBsqQM

[GeneChing]

I caught this The Final Master trailer on a Well Go USA DVD and figure we should give it proper face and split it off the confusing The Master (师父) two different films thread. Still haven't seen The Final Master, only the other Master film.