After the tepid reaction to his last film, “My Blueberry Nights,” it’s no surprise that Wong Kar-Wai chose not to hold his latest “The Grandmaster” for Cannes. Instead, the auteur released the film at home in China and Hong Kong at the very end of last year, before giving the picture its international premiere at Berlin back in February.
From our own reaction there, and many others, there’s much to like about the film, but it doesn’t quite match up to Wong’s previous highlights like “Chungking Express” or “In The Mood For Love,” or indeed the impossible expectations caused by its extended, multi-year production. But still, given the martial arts elements of the film, Harvey Weinstein is still hoping that the film can prove to be something of a crossover hit, and a brace of new images from the film helps to highlight why; a cast including Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi and Chang Chen, stunning visuals, and some crunchy fight sequences.
The rest of us will get to catch up with “The Grandmaster” when it’s released on August 23rd, in the meantime, you can check out the stills below.
The reaction to MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS had nothing to do with why the film wasn't held for Cannes. The Chinese distributor (which was and is having cash flow problems) wanted a December 2013 release–December being the traditional blockbuster month in China, since Hollywood films are frozen out–and that wouldn't work with a Cannes premiere. Even an "international" premiere wouldn't have flown, since it would require forgoing the traditional near-simultaneous Southeast Asian release and allowed Chinese bootlegs to proliferate in those territories for five or six months before a theatrical run. In the end, the film got pushed back to January 8th, but the Film Bureau obliged by extending the Hollywood blackout through late January, so no harm done.
New pictures?? The moive isn't out yet all around the world? grandiose movie.