IP Man

Ip Man (traditional Chinese: 葉問; simplified Chinese: 叶问; pinyin: Yè Wèn; Cantonese Yale: Yip Man) is a 2008 Hong Kong martial arts biopic that is based on the life of Yip Man, the martial arts master of Bruce Lee, and the first to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun openly. The film focuses on events surrounding Yip that took place in Foshan between the 1930s to 1940s during the Japanese occupation of China.

Directed by Wilson Yip, the film stars Donnie Yen as Yip Man and features fight choreography by Sammo Hung. Yip Man's two sons and several Wing Chun practitioners also appear in the film. Ip Chun, Yip Man's eldest son served as a consultant for the film.

Ip Man is the first film to be based on the life of the martial artist. After a first attempt to portray Yip Man's life on screen went into development hell, producer Raymond Wong developed his own project with full consent from Yip Man's sons, and had filmmakers head to Foshan, to research Master Yip's life.

From March to August 2008, filming took place in Shanghai, which was used to architecturally recreate Foshan. Wong Kar-wai had planned his own Yip Man biopic, The Great Master (一代宗师), a film that has been in development hell for several years. During the filming of Ip Man, conflict arose between producers over the film's title, as Ip Man was originally titled Grandmaster Yip Man (一代宗师葉問), which bears a resemblance to Wong Kar-wai's film title. To settle the dispute, filmmakers decided to use their recent title.

Ip Man was released in Hong Kong on December 18, 2008, becoming a box-office hit in Asia alone, and receiving widespread acclaim from both critics and audiences. The film was also released in New Zealand at selected Skycity Cinemas on December 18, 2008 and was the first country to release it due to time zone differences.