Wong Kar-Wai‘s long awaited "The Grandmaster" dropped last year, with the martial arts epic receiving a modest response, a couple of Academy Award nominations and some awards mostly from overseas, before ultimately drifting from memory. But it seems there’s enough interest (or enough extra dollars to be made) that a 3D version is coming. Why? Because.
Variety reports that "The Grandmaster 3D" will hit cinemas in China this October. And yes, Wong Kar-Wai himself looked over the conversion process, and claims this is the way he’s always wanted it to be seen. “We had originally planned to film ‘The Grandmaster’ in 3D not only for the cinematic sensation, but also for the subtlety of the expression of this beautiful story,” the director said. “We now have the opportunity to show the film as it was always intended – searching for a brand new aesthetic or cinematic language in the 3D format.”
And oh yeah, this cut will apparently have new material in it. You might recall that "The Grandmaster" was released in a much shorter version in the U.S. (in an edit put together by Wong Kar-Wai himself), and the 3D version is said to utilize that cut but with more added. “This is likely to be a special edition, probably resembling the so called U.S.-cut, but with added unseen footage,” said Jeffrey Chan of distributors Bona Film Group. “Now that many people have seen the film everyone can tell that that there is far more material, and a broken narrative.”
Right now, this 3D edition will only screen in China, but if other countries are interested, Bona will be open to that conversation. Do you need to see a different cut of "The Grandmaster" in 3D? Will it make that "broken narrative" any more fixed? Tell us below.