- Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
- Audio Codec: Cantonese Dolby TrueHD 5.1, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
- Subtitles: English
- Region: A
- Rating: Unrated
- Run Time: 100 Mins.
- Discs: 2 (1 x Blu-ray & 1 x DVD)
- Studio: FUNimation
- Blu-ray Release Date: December 13th, 2011
- List Price: $29.98
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BestBuy.com:
Purchase The Legend is Born: IP Man on Blu-ray+DVD at CD Universe
Shop for More Blu-ray Titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:2.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:3/5]
The Legend is Born: IP Man tells the story of IP Man (Yu-Hang To) during his earlier years and his rising from young pupil into an unstoppable force. When political corruption threatens his temple, his friends and his honor, Man singlehandedly decides to challenge a swarm of shinobi in an ultimate showdown. Add the standard female to the equation via a love triangle between Man, Mei-Wai (Rose Chan Ka-Wun) and Tin-Chi (Fan Siu-wong) and what results is the kind of film fans of the IP Man series will definitely want to watch as it tells the earlier tales of the famed hero.
For those that have seen the previous IP Man films, this Legend is Born: IP Man will be familiar material. They all share the similarities in their action, the way their dialogue is told and the overall impact the story has. Where both had a solid story, it’s the overall story that causes this one to lack the interest that others had. Both IP Man films, in particular IP Man 2, were great because they knew what they were (fast-paced action mixed in with solid story) and nothing more. They weren’t overly serious, but more were just entertaining. The Legend is Born certainly was enjoyable, but I couldn’t find the same thrills I found from the previous two. This isn’t necessarily a bad aspect as I still feel fans should definitely check this out as to find out more about the IP Man character. Perhaps I’m being too critical, but I had just hoped for something more.
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
The 2:35:1 framed, AVC/MPEG-4 encoded transfer features an overall solid transfer. The film’s color palette can tend to focus on more saturated, muted colors. Grays, light blues and browns dominate the initial opening sequences. Detail is strong throughout, whether character close ups that depict accurate flesh tones or wider exterior shots. There are a few instances where film grain is rather tacked on, but this is more during the flashback moments of IP Man’s youth. One can assume this was done on purpose, so I can’t really fault the transfer here. Other anomalies like artifacts and noise are pretty much absent throughout. All in all, this is a solid effort from FUNimation.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
The film’s provided Dolby TrueHD 5.1 is available in either the native Cantonese language or a dubbed English language track. I obviously chose the Cantonese track, of which the track sounded quite good. Dialogue is easy to read via the provided English subtitles. Atmosphere is fairly solid, although not what I might have initially expected. Discrete effects, in particular during the action sequences, are impressive. Whether background character dialogue or various swords creating a kind of ‘swoosh’ sound that rings past our ears, everything was well placed. Pans between rears were invisible as well creating a solid, nice aural experience. The only nitpick I may have, and this is a small one, is that some of the dialogue moments are recorded a bit lower so you may have to increase the volume just a tad. Otherwise, this is a fine effort from FUNimation.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1/5]
The provided supplements are shown in a mix of SD and HD:
- Making Of [SD] – This runs 13:21 and shows the varying locales used for shooting as well as a bit of behind-the-scenes action.
- Original Trailer [HD] – Running 1:58, the film’s original trailer is shown.
- Previews
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:2.5/5]
Fans will certainly find Image’s Blu-ray of The Legend is Born: Ip Man worthy of a spot in their collection. If you haven’t seen the previous films, check those out first to see if this kind of story holds your interest.
Additional Screen Captures
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[amazon-product]B005NQ5LSC[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase The Legend is Born: IP Man on Blu-ray+DVD at CD Universe
Shop for More Blu-ray Titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:2.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:0.5/5]
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