The Master of Arms (movie, 2006)

The Master of Arms ( English : Fearless ) is an American – Hong Kong film directed by Ronny Yu , released in 2006 . The film is loosely based on the life of Huo Yuanjia , a martial arts master who defies foreign fighters in high – profile events, at a time when Chinese nationalism is emerging because of Japanese imperialism that erodes the country during last years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), before the birth of the Republic of China .

Synopsis

The film traces in a fictional way the life of Huo Yuanjia , authentic founder of the sports federation jingwu , nicknamed The Yellow-faced Tiger 1 . Great martial arts expert, he was known for having “understood the first essence of martial arts” and made at the beginning of xx th century, his pride in a Chinese nation, so humiliated by various foreign powers starting with Japan 2 . The Master of Arms, mixing reality and fiction, retraces his legendary challenge against foreign champions.

Technical sheet

  • Title: The Master of Arms
  • Original title: 霍元甲 (Huò Yuánjiǎ meaning Intrepid)
  • English Title: Fearless (Fearless)
  • Director: Ronny Yu
  • Scenario: Chris Chow
  • Country of origin: Hong Kong / United States
  • Genre: Action Movie
  • Duration: 104 minutes
  • Release dates in theaters:
    •  Hong Kong :
    •  France :

Distribution

  • Jet Li (VF: Frank Capillery ) : Huo Yuanjia / Fok Yuen Gaap
  • Michelle Yeoh : Miss Yang (cut scenes)
  • Betty Sun (VF: Cristina Corréa ) : Moon
  • Collin Chou : Father of Huo Yuan-jia
  • Hee Ching Paw (VF: Anne Plumet ) : Mother of Huo Yuan-jia
  • Anthony De Longis : Spanish fighter
  • Masato Harada : Mr. Mita
  • Nathan Jones : Hercules O’Brien
  • Somrak Khamsing : Thai Fighter (cut scenes)
  • Mike Leeder : Referee Randall
  • Jean Claude Leuyer : Boxer
  • Shidou Nakamura ( David Kruger ) : Anno Tanaka
  • John Paisley : English businessman
  • Ian Powers : Bellboy Dante
  • Brandon Rhea : German fighter
  • Darren Richardson : (voice)
  • Nan Sun : Yueci
  • Bobby White : Mita (voice)
  • Dong Yong (VF: Cédric Dumond ) : Nong Jinsun

Around the film

  • Nathan Jones actually broke several ribs to a stuntman during the shoot.
  • This is the seventh film in common between Jet Li and Yuen Woo-ping .
  • A worldwide hit, this film has generated more than $ 65 million in revenue.
  • The script is inspired by the life of Huo Yuanjia , but the biographical and legendary version on Hong Kong Cinemagic differs a lot 3 .
  • For reasons of censorship and film time, some passages in the original film were cut in the French film (the original film lasts 2h20 against 1h40 in French)

External links

  • (in) Fearless [ archive ] on the Internet Movie Database
  • The Master of Arms [ archive ] on Allociné

Notes and references

  1. ↑ nickname Huo Yunjia  [ archive ]
  2. ↑ “The Master of Arms”, shots for nothing, Libération, September 6, 2006  [ archive ] , Renault Gilles
  3. ↑ Biographical and legendary version on Hong Kong Cinemagic  [ archive ]

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