Notícias

Haofeng Xu (screenwriter of The Grandmaster) writes and directs the action-packed martial arts drama The Final Master, available on digital,

Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD July 25 from Well Go USA Entertainment. Liao Fan (Let the Bullet’s Fly), Jiang Wenli (Farewell My Concubine), Chin Shi-Chieh (The Guillotines), Song Jia (Falling Flowers) and Song Yang (The Sword’s Identity) star in the story of a Wing Chun master who must defeat eight martial arts schools in order to open his own school, but he becomes a chess piece in the local power dynamics. Bonus content includes a featurette on the Director and a look at “The Weapons” used in the film.

The Final Master won Best Action Choreography at the 2015 Golden Horse Film Festival and was named a Film of Merit in 2016 from the Shanghai Film Critics Awards.

In 1930s China, unrest rules the nation. Chen, the last Wing Chun master,...

Adapting a script based on the life of the last Wing Chun master’s quest to pass down his art in pre-wwii China, Xu Haofeng (the writer of “The Grandmaster) decided to use an original style of narrative in order to separate his film from the plethora of similar productions coming out of Hong Kong at the moment. Let us find out if he succeeded.

“The Final Master” is part of the Asian selection at Fantasia International Film Festival

Wing Chun grandmaster Chen is the last practitioner of the art after his master died. As he tries to keep Wing Chun alive, he also tries to fulfill his master’s dream, to open a dojo in Tianjin, the “capital” of the martial worlds in the 1930’s Shanghai. In his mission, he has the help of Master Zheng, a board member of the Tianjin Martial Art’s Committee, who is considered...

Director: Xu Haofeng

Cast: Liao Fan, Da Song Jia, Jiang Wenli, Huang Jue, Jin Shijie

Genre: Drama, Action, Thriller

Release Date: 11th Decemeber 2015

“The Master”, is based on Haofeng Xu’s award-winning book of the same name, who also wrote the screen play for “The Grand Master“, “The Sword Identity” and “Judge Archer” (Which he also Directed).

Liao Fan is one of China’s rising stars, appearing along side Chow Yun Fat in (Let The Bullets Fly), The Master will be his first movie where he portrays Martial Arts. But looking at the trailer, Liao Fan looks great in this role and i look forward to seeing the overall result.

Here is the trailer for The Master, also i have added a few more pictures for you to view underneath also.

Haofeng Xu is likely best known for writing the screenplay for Wong Kar Wai’s “The Grandmaster” — starring Tony Leung as Wing Chun master Ip Man, who also taught a young Bruce Lee the form while he grew up in 1950s Hong Kong — but he is starting to build a reputation as a visionary auteur with a unique directorial voice all his own. In 2011, Xu helmed (and penned the screenplay for) “The Sword Identity” - more of a slower-paced and deliberate tribute to the martial arts films of King Hu - and in 2012 Xu wrote and directed “Judge Archer”, a gorgeously shot film filled with practical fight scenes instead of flashy wire-worked based numbers. Perhaps its because he is also a novelist, martial arts scholar and practitioner that his martial arts films are infused with a deeper love and respect for Chinese martial arts - not just the physical or theatrical aspects,...

Director: Kar Wai Wong; Screenwriters: Kar Wai Wong, Jingzhi Zou, Haofeng Xu; Starring: Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi; Running time: 108 mins; Certificate: 15

There's plenty to recommend about Wong Kar-wai's martial arts drama, the Hong Kong auteur's long-awaited return to cinema after the disappointment of his first English language feature My Blueberry Nights in 2007. Yet The Grandmaster still falls far short of its potential, with the mesmerising visual sequences counterbalanced by the muddled and self-defeating narrative structure.

The sprawling tale is based on the true story of Ip Man (Tony Leung), the famous practitioner of close-range Chinese combat style Wing Chun, who once trained the great Bruce Lee. It chronicles his battles amidst the turbulent 1930s, rife with conflict between North and South China, through his flight to Hong Kong and relationship with the hugely skilled female fighter Gong Er (Zhang Ziyi).

Bursting with thematic potential about the dueling paths of happiness and vengeance,...

Stars: Yang Song, Yu Chenghui, Yuanyuan Zhao, Ma Jun, Xu Fujing, Ma Ke, Zhexin Liu, Yao Weiping, Ou Keqin, Li Guisheng, Bing Bo | Written and Directed by Haofeng Xu

Haofeng Xu, writer of the still-to-be-released (at least in the UK) The Grandmaster, makes his directorial debut with The Sword Identity, a Chinese martial arts film adapted from his own novel.

During the Ming dynasty, four fighting schools exist in the city of Guancheng and anyone who wishes to set up a new establishment must prove their worth in battle. When Liang Henlu (Yang Song) tries to form a fifth school so he can pass on his master’s teachings, the martial arts masters mistake his sword for a forbidden Japanese weapon and believe him to be a pirate. After witnessing the power of the sword in combat, however, they begin to realise it could be the legendary weapon that was...

The Grandmaster

Directed by Kar-Wai Wong

Written by Kar-Wai Wong, Jingzhi Zhou, and Haofeng Xu

China, 2013

In the last several years, Hong Kong cinema has had a fascination with legendary Wing Chun martial artist Ip Man that borders on manic obsession, to the point where it wouldn’t be surprising to find out that Hong Kong cinema spent a week secretly living in Ip Man’s pool house and going through his garbage.

After the Donnie Yen movies, the quasi-prequel and this year’s Ip Man: The Final Fight, Hong Kong auteur Kar-Wai Wong (or Wong Kar-Wai to Westerners) seems to have stepped in and thrown his hat into the increasingly widening Ip Man ring with The Grandmaster, which acts as a somewhat broad biography of Ip Man’s life, told in Kar-Wai’s trademark fragmented narrative style. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai stars as Ip Man, with Zhang Ziyi...

An epic action deserves an epic poster, right? Actually, we’re talking about two (mondo) posters for The Grandmaster, which opens in limited theaters this month. Directed by Wong Kar Wai, the movie will tell us the story of martial-arts master Ip Man (aka the man who trained Bruce Lee), and as you already had a chance to see from the official trailer – it definitely looks promising. Head inside to check out the latest posters… Wong Kar Wai, Haofeng Xu and Jingzhi Zou stand behind the script which chronicles the life of the Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man from the 1930s in Foshan, his flight...

Click to read original and full article: Check Out: 2 Great Mondo Posters For The Grandmaster (In Theaters This Month!) on http://www.filmofilia.com...

The Grandmaster

Director: Wong Kar-Wai

Writer(s): Jingzhi Zou, Haofeng Xu

Producer(s): Kar-Wai and Jacky Pang Yee Wah

U.S. Distributor: Annapurna Pictures

Cast: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Ziyi Zhang, Chen Chang

First reviews are out: here is Variety’s take: “Venturing into fresh creative terrain without relinquishing his familiar themes and stylistic flourishes, Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar Wai exceeds expectations with “The Grandmaster,” fashioning a 1930s action saga into a refined piece of commercial filmmaking. Boasting one of the most propulsive yet ethereal realizations of authentic martial arts onscreen, as well as a merging of physicality and philosophy not attained in Chinese cinema since King Hu’s masterpieces, the hotly anticipated pic is sure to win new converts from the genre camp. Wong’s Eurocentric arthouse disciples, however, may not be completely in tune with the film’s more traditional storytelling and occasionally long-winded technical exposition.

Director Haofeng Xu (who last year brought us the big budget martial arts fest ‘The Sword Identity’) is back with another period actioner titledJudge Archer after plenty of looking we’ve finally dug up a reasonable summary of the plot. The movie premiered at 7th Rome Film Festival in Italy last month, but no word yet on a release date, but we’re guesstimating it’ll summer 2013. plotline below with a teaser trail thrown in for good measure. Synopsis: After witnessing his sister being raped by a nobleman, Shuangxi flees into the mountains. There, he meets a legendary old man named Judge Archer who presides over disputes between various martial arts schools. Before his death, the old man trains Shuangxi in the art of archery for three years and passes on his esteemed title. The new Judge Archer soon comes to the attention of the martial arts world and is...

Montreal’s Fantasia Fest has one of the most gargantuan lineups of genre titles of any film festival in the world. Its diverse roster of foreign and domestic crowd-pleasers is an absolute marvel, and we’ve been covering it with gusto. Today, we bring you a selection of these films in a capsule format we like to call the 3-View. This time around we’ve got two period martial arts films and a classic, if maybe a touch underseen, 70s ghost story starring Mia Farrow. Just think of it as a Mia Farrow sandwich. Oh, and could someone please get Mia Farrow a sandwich? The Sword Identity (2011) Dir: Haofeng Xu During the Ming Dynasty, two strangers bearing exceedingly large swords wander into a village with the hope of teaching their particular brand of swordsmanship. The welcome they receive from the village leaders and military is less than hospitable. Mistaken for Japanese pirates, the...

The Sword Identity

Directed by Haofeng Xu

Written by Haofeng Xu

China, 2011

Wu xia can be a fantastically exciting movie genre when done correctly. The costumes, the melodrama, the grand scale action set pieces, even the more intimate but no less impressive one-on-one combative contests. Directors frequently take the opportunity to present the thousands of individuals who engaged in such warfare, from the generals to the most common of foot soldiers, seem quite heroic and worthy of special commemoration. With a little bit of the proverbial ‘thinking outside the box’, a writer and director can find some comedic value inherent in the traditions and discipline exercised by these battalions. Haofeng Xu, an accomplished screenwriter, brings forth his directorial debut, The Sword Identity, a film which poses a different look at the world of these mighty, nearly mythic figures.

In a slowly developing scene, two unknown warriors creep and crawl their...

We are now a week into the three week long Fantasia Film Festival, and while we admittedly have been a little behind due to some technical issues with our website, we still managed to get a dozen film reviews published. Keep coming back to our site as we promise twice the amount of articles by the end of week two. In the meantime, here is a round-up of what we’ve seen and written about so far.

Black Pond

Directed by Tom Kingsley and Will Sharpe

Written by Will Sharpe

U.K., 2011

Comedy, in its nature and its presentation, has morphed dramatically over the past decade or so, both in North America and in Europe, in particular the United Kingdom. From the more overt, on the nose comedy of yesteryear we have now live in an era in which the comedy is delivered with a completely different version of wit.

The Sword Identity

Directed by Haofeng Xu

Written by Haofeng Xu

China, 2011

Wu xia can be a fantastically exciting movie genre when done correctly. The costumes, the melodrama, the grand scale action set pieces, even the more intimate but no less impressive combative contests. Directors frequently take the opportunity to present the thousands of individuals who engaged in such warfare, from the generals to the most common of foot soldiers, seem quite heroic and worthy of special commemoration. With a little bit of the proverbial ‘thinking outside the box’, a writer and director can find some comedic value inherent in the traditions and discipline exercised by these battalions. Haofeng Xu, an accomplished screenwriter, brings forth his directorial debut, The Sword Identity, a film which poses a different look at the world of these mighty, nearly mythic figures.

In a slowly developing scene, two unknown warriors creep and crawl their way...

There's a great scene early in Haofeng Xu's The Sword Identity which beautifully sets the tone for the rest of the film. Liang, a young and handsome wushu master, lays on his back barely paying attention as a beautiful gypsy dances provocatively. She begins to complain that he's not paying attention and that she wants to go to some event happening in town. He throws a handful of coins at her feet which quiets her for a few minutes until her friends come rolling in to pick-her up and she explains that she can't go because he paid too much. While most of the gathered crowd let nervous giggles escape from behind covered mouths, I burst into laughter. I couldn't help it - the pout on the woman's face as her friends gleefully took off was hilarious.

Continue reading...

With his screenplay for The Grandmasters coming to the big screen next year by Wong Kar Wai, writer/director Haofeng Xu gives us the first taste of his creativity with an adaptation of his own novella, Wo kou de zong ji [The Sword Identity]. A mix of comical playfulness and serious martial arts, the script has some impressive camera compositions to allow for intriguing visuals, acting that is consistently earnest throughout, and fight choreography that’s a joy to experience. All those things do little to help from wondering why the plot is so elaborately sprawling, though, a contentious point lessening the film’s effectiveness by assaulting us with never-ending diversions. The press notes for the Vancouver International Film Festival do describe it as a ‘deconstruction of classic martial arts cinema traditions’, so perhaps I’m just missing something in the translation.

Listening to the plot will help to understand how crazy it...

"Xu Haofeng's debut feature is a mysterious wuxia film that is both an homage to and an elegant, comic deconstruction of the classic Chinese and Japanese martial arts cinema traditions," writes Shelly Kraicer in Cinema Scope. "The final master vs swordsman showdown is refined to a pure philosophy of swordplay, where age faces youth and non-action vies with action. Paying tribute to King Hu's aesthetic of ultra-fast, barely glimpsed action, Xu succeeds in injecting a fresh combination of both idealism and realism into the classic wuxia visual language. With brilliant sound design and strong inventive cinematography, this is an utterly up-to-date classic, a comic-epic swordplay film for a postmodern age."

"Written and directed by the screenwriter for Wong Kar Wai's The Grandmasters — Xu also handles fight choreography here — The Sword Identity announces the arrival of a significant and unique new talent," finds Twitch's Todd Brown. "Xu presents...

Here’s something for all martial arts fans out there. I’m a little bit afraid of you, so I’m gonna be nice this time. Xu Haofeng‘s The Sword Identity is fascinating debut from the acclaimed novelist and co-writer of Wong Kar Wai, and one of the titles that had some good time at Venice Film Festival [...]

Continue reading Tiff 2011: The Sword Identity by Xu Haofeng on FilmoFilia

Related posts:Ip Man 2 Trailer #2 New Ip Man 2 Trailer Tiff 2011: Cut by Amir Naderi Photos and Clips...

Everything old is new again in Xu Haofeng's The Sword Identity. Written and directed by the screenwriter for Wong Kar Wai's The Grandmasters - Xu also handles fight choreography here - The Sword Identity announces the arrival of a significant and unique new talent. Xu presents a fascinating fusion of influences with a film that owes as much to the classical styled Japanese chanbara films of the 70s and the austerity of the vintage American western - right down to the strategically placed screeching eagles scattered throughout the sound design, though they're never seen on screen - as it does to Chinese masters like King Hu. Though the tale of a wandering swordsman looking to create a legacy for his dead master is a...

Roughly assembled; order within tiers based chronologically on viewing date.

01:

Cut (Amir Naderi, Japan), Anna (Alberto Grifi, Massimo Sarchielli, Italy), Faust (Aleksandr Sokurov, Russia), Louyre - This Our Still Life (Andrew Kotting, UK), Century of Birthing (Lav Diaz, Philippines)

02:

Vieni, dolce morte (dell’ego) (Paolo Brunatto, Italy), A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg, Canada), Whores’ Glory (Michael Glawogger, Austria), A Simple Life (Ann Hui, Hk), Il potere (Augusto Tretti, Italy), Himizu (Sono Sion, Japan), Conference (Norbert Pfaffenbichler, Austria), 4:44 Last Day on Earth (Abel Ferrara, USA), Die Herde des Herrn (Romuald Karmakar, Germany), Life without Principles (Johnnie To, Hk), Late and Deep (Devin Horan, USA), Iz Tokio (Aleksej German Jr., Russia)

03:

Il canto d’amore di Alfred Prufrock (Nico D’Alessandria, Italy), Carnage (Roman Polanski, France/Germany/Poland ), Black Mirror at the National Gallery (Mark Lewis, UK), Meteor (Chrisoph Giraret, Matthias Müller, Germany), Il villaggio di cartone (Ermanno Olmi,...

Perhaps the biggest disappointment with Tiff is that Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmasters is still not ready to be seen. However its screenwriter Xu Haofeng has his own film titled The Sword Identity is set to premiere. Haofeng calls it “inner martial arts“ presented visually and aurally. Xu Haofeng is a multi-talented artist, not only a filmmaker but a novelist, Taoist scholar and martial-arts connoisseur.

Synopsis: In a martial arts event during the Ming Dynasty, a young swordsman must use not only his exquisite swordplay technique, but also his wits, when competing against the masters of four different philosophies of combat… Fascinating debut from the acclaimed novelist and co-writer of Wong Kar Wai’s upcoming The Grandmasters.

Three clips have arrived from the film which you can watch below. Enjoy!

-

Previous Next...

First teaser and several clips for Xu Haofenh’s directorial debut The Sword Identity showing a martial arts film without quick cuts, hectic mass battle scenes or extensive use of wires.

Xu Haofeng is also the author and screenwriter of Wong Kar-Wais Ip Man biopic The Grandmasters.

Clip #1

Visit Wildgrounds for two more clips…

Synopsis:

In a martial arts event during the Ming Dynasty, a young swordsman must use not only his exquisite swordplay technique, but also his wits, when competing against the masters of four different philosophies of combat…

[via Wildgrounds & Film Press Plus]...

Xu Haofeng - script writer for Wong Kar Wai's The Grandmasters - is about to premiere his directorial debut The Sword Identity in Venice and Toronto and Twitch is proud to premiere the film's English subtitled international teaser.Once upon a time in the Southern Chinese city of Guancheng, there lived four families, each of them faithful keepers of martial arts. Anyone who wanted to establish a new school, or a new form of kung fu, had to fight his way through the family's gates.Two swordsmen enter the city to request a competition and start their own school, their strange new weapons are mistaken for Japanese swords and therefore forbidden by purist Chinese masters as a foreign fighting device. They are accused of being Japanese...

Though Wong Kar Wai's The Grandmasters may not be be in Toronto or Venice, its screenwriter Xu Haofeng is in both with his directorial debut The Sword Identity.In a martial arts event during the Ming Dynasty, a young swordsman must use not only his exquisite swordplay technique, but also his wits, when competing against the masters of four different philosophies of combat... Fascinating debut from the acclaimed novelist and co-writer of Wong Kar Wai's upcoming The Grandmasters.A trio of clips have arrived from the film and, surprisingly, with their use of long takes and minimal dialogue they feel almost like clips from a classic western though the content is obviously quite different. Production design and staging is excellent and this looks to be an...

#19. The Sword Identity Director: Xu Haofeng Cast: Yu Chenghui, Song Yang , Zhao Yuanyuan Distributor: Rights Available Buzz: Multidisciplinarian Xu Haofeng is not only a newbie filmmaker but happens to be a novelist, Taoist scholar, martial-arts connoisseur and co-writer for Wong Kar-wai’s The Grand Master. The word on this Venice Film Festival invited title is that it takes the genre into a completely different realm - we Haofeng calling this “inner martial arts“ presented visually and aurally. Count me in! The Gist: Set during the Ming dynasty, when Japanese pirates had long been eliminated from China, a swordsman tries to prove that his weapon was used by the famous General Qi’s regiment to resist Japanese pirates. While attempting to prove the sword’s identity, a top martial arts master finally obtains inner peace. Tiff Schedule: Sunday September 11 AMC 10 9:30pmMonday September 12 AMC 5 3:00pmSaturday September 17 Scotiabank Theatre 11 1:00pm...

Remember the name of Xu Haofeng, you will be hearing it a lot in coming months.Xu was a script writer on Wong Kar Wai's The Grandmasters - insert obligatory Wkw script joke here - but while his contribution on that film will certainly be overshadowed by its famed director The Sword Identity is his and his alone.Soon to premiere in Venice, The Sword Identity is written and directed by Xu and promises a somewhat new take on the swordplay genre.In a martial arts event during the Ming Dynasty, a young swordsman must use not only his exquisite swordplay technique, but also his wits, when competing against the masters of four different philosophies of combat... Fascinating debut from the acclaimed novelist and co-writer of Wong...

Dueling festival lineups! It seems that for every announcement for the Toronto International Film Festival lineup comes a competing (and often overlapping)  one from Venice.  Here we're collecting the finalized Venice lineups so far. (Above image: Philippe Garrel's A Burning Hot Summer.)

Competition

The Ides of March (George Clooney, USA) (opening night) 4:44 Last Day on Earth (Abel Ferrara, USA) Alps (Yorgos Lanthimos, Greece) A Burning Hot Summer (Philippe Garrel, France) Carnage (Roman Polanski, France/Germany/Spain/Poland) Chicken With Plums (Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, France/Belgium/Germany) A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg, Canada) Dark Horse (Todd Solondz, USA) The Exchange (Eran Kolirin, Israel/Germany) Faust (Alexander Sokurov, Russia) Himizu (Sion Sono, Japan) Killer Joe (William Friedkin, USA) Life without Principle (Johnnie To, Hk) Quando la notte (Cristina Comencini, Italy) Seediq Bale (Wei Desheng, Taiwan) Shame (Steve McQueen, UK) Terraferma (Emanuele Crialese, Italy) Texas Killing Fields (Ami Canaan Mann,...

#08. The Grandmasters Director: Wong Kar-Wai  Writers: Xu Haofeng and Kar-Wai Producers: Jacky Pang Yee Wah and Kar-Wai Distributor: Rights Available. The Gist: This will be a kung-fu movie about the life of Bruce Lee. The film will be set in the 1950's and will focus on the relationship between Bruce Lee and his master (Tony Leung). Gong Li will play the head of a martial-art clan. Zhang Ziyi - will play the wife of Ip Man.....(more) Cast: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Ziyi Zhang and Chen Chang List Worthy Reasons...: With auteur Asian filmmakers such as Jiang-Ke and Hou Hsiao-Hsien also making the leap into martial arts project, it may be Wkw who is stylistically challenging himself the most among the trio, first by going into biopic territory but also by enlisting a crew comprised of kick ass, action choreographer, Hong Kong action cinema specialist Yuen Woo-ping. Here...