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