"The Grandmaster 3D" was officially released by Bona Film Group Ltd. on Jan. 8, 2015, in China's capital.
Wong Kar-wai, the director of "The Grandmaster," said during the Beijing premier on Monday that the remake of his film will be much closer to the hearts of the audiences.
Director Wong and his cast were all present at the Beijing premier of "The Grandmaster." Wong mentioned that the film is a reflection of seven-years' worth of efforts and that he wanted to share the intricate details of his work among the audiences by bringing them back into the kung fu martial arts world.
One of his actors, Tony Leung, also said that the whole shooting process was unforgettable. Actress Zhang Ziyi mentioned that she gained more than she gave for the film. She won 14 Best Actress awards from different film associations and festivals for her role in "The Grandmaster."
Director Wong said that he envisioned a different version of 3D film compared to the 2D one. For the 3D version, the primary focus of the movie's story was mainly on the life of the Ip Man (played by Tony Leung), the mentor of the legendary kung fu master Bruce Lee, and the love between the Ip Man and Gong Er (played by Zhang Ziyi).
The 2D version focused mainly on the heroes of the martial arts and their struggles, while the 3D version was based primarily on its American version that told the story more intimately using an individual's perspective which made the film more associable to the viewer.
The new version has a complete running time of 111 minutes compared to the previous 2D version that runs 130 minutes long. The version for the Berlin Film Festival is 115 minutes long and the Hollywood version is 108 minutes long.
"The Grandmaster in 3D" grossed a total of 281 million yuan ($45.21 million) since its official box office release in mainland China in the early months of 2013. It has received numerous prestigious awards, including 12 Hong Kong Film Awards.