Stars: Kuan Tai Chen, Kam Kong, Chi Kuan Chun, Wilson Tong, Leung Kar-Yan

Director: Chen Kwan Tai

Summary: Iron Monkey is the nickname of a young gambler seeking vengeance for the massacre of his family.

Yuen Woo-Ping's exhilarating martial arts film stars Yu Rong Guang as Dr. Yang, a kind family doctor who charitably provides medicine and care to impoverished villagers, along with his assistant, Orchid (the lovely Jean Wang). Yang, however, also masquerades as the crime-fighting Iron Monkey, who robs gold from the rich and gives to it the poor, much to the dismay of the corrupt local governor (James Wong). When famed fighter and physician Wong Kei-Ying (Donnie Yen) and his young son, Wong Fei-Hung (crossdressed actress Tsang Sze-Man), wander into town, the cowardly ruler captures the boy and pits his father against the elusive Iron Monkey. Eventually, the heroes must unite to face an even greater foe--a renegade Shaolin master (Yen Yee Kwan) and his treacherous lackeys.
This Chinese variation on the legend of Robin Hood is a good-natured (and often funny) action movie that features numerous outstanding fight scenes (including a battle fought on poles over a raging fire) and a surprising amount of cooking (yes, cooking). The film is the prequel to Tsui Hark's ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA series, which follows the adventures of folk hero Wong Fei-Hung as an adult. IRON MONKEY is particularly revelatory due to the amazing action sequences directed by Woo-Ping, who went on to choreograph the intricate fights of THE MATRIX and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.

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Iron Monkeyis a thrilling 1993 adventure directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, now better known as the action director of The Matrixand Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Audiences who approach Iron Monkeyafter seeing the latter two Hollywood-produced hit movies will not be disappointed here, either by the physical prowess of the stars or the astonishing action set-pieces (especially an interlude atop a set of "Chinese poles"), which are staged for maximum dynamism. The story concerns the real-life Cantonese patriot Wong Fei-Hung, who is first introduced as an earnest boy travelling with his upright pugilist father (Donnie Yen) and drawing inspiration from the activities of the benevolent masked bandit known as the Iron Monkey (Yu Rong-Guang), a sort of Oriental Robin Hood. Ever since the late 1800s Wong Fei-Hung has evolved into an icon of Chinese pop culture and he's been a central figure in Hong Kong cinema since the 1950s, notably in Tsui Hark's Once Upon a Time in Chinaseries. Yuen Woo-Ping's fight sequences for his version of the legend are a powerful combination of the older, Baltic style of kung fu action and the newer body-slamming style pioneered by Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. If you thought you were allergic to martial arts but loved Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this is the perfect picture to continue your exploration of the genre. --David Chute, Amazon.com

On the DVD:This is a handsome-looking anamorphic (16:9) widescreen transfer, although the soundtrack is in mono. You can select either the dubbed English version or the original Cantonese with English subtitles. Extra features include trailers, photo galleries, biographies and interviews with both star Donnie Yen (in English) and director Yuen Woo-Ping (subtitled).

Main Language:	Cantonese, Chinese
Region:	Region 0
Special Features:	Deleted Fight Scene
Year:	1977
Release Date:	February 24, 2003
Runtime:	88 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D C 0004
Keywords:	Martial, Iron, Monkey, Arts
Genre:	Martial Arts