I heard that you were injured while filming, but insisted on continuing. Was the injury very serious?
Sammo Hung: Yes, I continued filming with an injury. Whether she was serious or not does not really matter. From the very beginning, Darren Shahlavi refused to hit me. I forced him, but he still restrained himself. Therefore, the quality of the takes left much to be desired, and we continued to reshoot.
In the end, he hit me with all his might and I collapsed on the floor and lost consciousness. My mouth and nose were full of blood and I could not speak. We continued filming for the next five hours before I was rushed to the hospital where I received four stitches on my face. I also injured my kneecap and am still recovering from the injury.
Are you used to things like this?
Sammo Hung: Not really, but the work needs to be completed and not delay everyone else.
How is your health, how is your heart?
Sammo Hung: Now, after the surgery, I feel fine.
“Ip Man 2” depicts the state of things in Hong Kong's martial arts communities, such as the Hungg Clan and the collection of protection taxes. Was this for real?
Sammo Hung: Half true, half fiction. We were under British rule and had to collect protection fees for them. They oppressed us, and as a result there were many riots, but, nevertheless, no one dared to resist. That's why they showed it in the film, they put pressure on us for too long.
What can you say about Donnie Yen, who created a martial arts school in Hong Kong and had to fight with representatives of other clans?
Sammo Hung: In fact, there were similar unwritten rules back then: many people challenged you, but everything was not as difficult as it is shown in “Ip Man 2”, although such a tradition did take place.
The round table fight was particularly impressive, the kind of kung fu I haven't seen in many years. How did you come up with this idea?
Sammo Hung: Brainstormed. It is very difficult to explain exactly how. I thought through every small detail, where to place the table, etc. The idea was “raised” by director Wilson Yip. I thought about it, about how to fight on the table and how to make the fight look great. I also figured out how to arrange the inverted benches so that they form a certain structure.
What was the most difficult thing during filming?
Sammo Hung: There were no problems, I thought of everything, so I didn’t encounter any difficulties during filming.
Two more masters fought in front of you. What did Fung Hak On use? It looked a bit strange.
Sammo Hung: “Palm of the Eight Trigrams.” Frequent movements are a distinctive feature of the “Palm of the Eight Trigrams”. Plus, we've added a few dramatic touches to the combat.
Isn't this a mockery of this style of martial arts? Why put more emphasis on stances than on the realistic aspects of combat?
Sammo Hung: No, I wasn't mocking at all. In fact, each component of kung fu has its own purpose in battle. Even though this is a fight on a tiny tabletop, this is how the fighter needs to behave. Initially, he could move freely, but after several movements, Ip Man deprived him of this opportunity. This was done to achieve a dramatic effect. Therefore, when you film something, you need to give the audience the feeling that they have never seen anything like it before. By filming fights in this manner, you will please the audience, and they will accept the end result.
We filmed the fight between me and Donnie Yen for eight days, and everything went very smoothly. We were suspended from wires, and whenever the table wobbled, assistants helped us keep our balance. Donnie Yen is still in good physical shape. It was no more difficult than Stars of Destiny (SPL), except that Stars of Destiny was more modern. But here the style was different, and he had to play the role of a great master.
I got the feeling that the fighting in Ip Man 2 is more aggressive than in the first part.
Sammo Hung: I completely forgot about my views and feelings. My choreography depends on the director's intentions, on what he tells me, and I think in that direction, depending on the situation. Immersion in the drama is very important, otherwise, no matter how you fight, the audience won't feel anything.
Two fights against a boxer from the West are not as intriguing as Hunggar against Wing Chun. Is boxing more difficult to film?
Sammo Hung: Exactly. Boxing is more difficult to choreograph because it is limited to a small number of movements. It's all about the production.
In other words, compared to Chinese Kung Fu, boxing is not as valuable?
Sammo Hung: That's why you only see kung fu demonstrations. There are no such performances with boxing.
Liu Chia Liang said that the Wing Chun used in Ip Man was not authentic. Was he changed?
Sammo Hung: Everything was changed a little. The film is in some way a work of art.
I heard that you wanted to hire Liu Chia Liang as a consultant for this role. What did he advise you?
Sammo Hung: Unfortunately, he said he was busy working on Wong Kar Wai's The Grand Master, so I had to take it on myself.
Compared to your previous Wing Chun works, such as “Warriors Together,” the fights are quite different. Chain punches were never shown on screen before Ip Man.
Sammo Hung: Times have changed. Ip Man is closer to our modern age, less than a hundred years have passed, right? And Leung Tsang belonged to the early period, two hundred years ago. Different time periods, for example, our diction is not the same as it was 500 years ago. Therefore, the approach to fight scenes is also different.
Donnie Yen is an equally outstanding fight director, but in the credits of “Ip Man” and “Ip Man 2” next to the line “choreographer” only your name is indicated. Did you do everything yourself or did you consult with him?
Sammo Hung: He listened to me in everything.
Does it sometimes seem as if you are the only worthy on-screen opponent of Donnie Yen?
Sammo Hung: That's not entirely true. Anyone the director invites will have the opportunity to fight Donnie Yen. If the director hadn't invited me, I wouldn't have fought.
You've worked with Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen on several occasions. The three of you working together were often called the “iron triangle.” What do you think about it?
Sammo Hung: They are both wonderful people, good work partners, I hope to work with them again, I will be very happy.
You said that this is your last on-screen fight.
Sammo Hung: No, if I get a good script, with a full-fledged role, I will still fight.
Source: wu-jing.org
Translation: EvilDollaR
It will be a shame if he stops acting. Although I understand him... Age takes its toll... And not only that, excess weight and all that. This happens to such people. In the end, no one is safe from an attack.
Yeah, not a fountain...
Yes, but the quality is still DVDScreener...
Oh, the voice acting from Cube in the Cube is out.
Thank you, Slava, for the latest news. That means people are interested. This makes me happy. I'm looking forward to it. I have already found two reviews, but they are so boring that after the first paragraph I was already sleepy. "Lots of books" and most of them are not to the point. I'm waiting for the normal one to appear.
There is a ready-made review on Akira’s website, but the overall rating is a little low... But, as the KVN people said, you have to go here. :)
Comrades, there are already Russian subtitles! In my opinion, now everyone who is not too lazy has begun to translate and voice Ip Man. At least 3 or 4 people in their city are already doing this... :)
Hurray, the first fansubs have appeared!!
Cool, now we have to wait for a quality rip.
:) Yeah))
I can imagine the name of the film))) Man - Internet Protocol Two. ))))
Yes, in all DVDs (and there are already 3 of them) the hardsubs are cut off. As a result, the original image lost about 1/5 of its size. The best release in terms of video quality is considered to be the release from ViSiON.
The first auto-translated subtitles appear :)
Slava, are the hardsubs cut off or what?
The site rules do not allow posting links. But you can find a rip at yellowcinema.com.
By the way, another rip has appeared, they say that it is of even better quality, but he, the dog, is also cut off from the bottom... :(
post a link to dvdrip plzz
Cantono-Mandarin translators, where are you?!!
Moreover, you can already download a good DVDrip, albeit with the picture cropped at the bottom. Still no subtitles...
Meanwhile, the film appeared in TS and naturally in Mandarin with Cantonese subs.
So... who here understands Chinese? :)
Thank you for the interesting interview!!!!!!
My pleasure. :)