Jump to content

Iron Monkey (1993 film): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 93: Line 93:
On March 1, 2004, DVD was released the film in 2 Disc Platinum Edition.
On March 1, 2004, DVD was released the film in 2 Disc Platinum Edition.


One year later, The Epic Action Collection DVD were released on December 26, 2005 at 4 disc set including two martial arts films were: ''[[Wing Chun (film)|Wing Chun]]'' and ''[[Tai_Chi_Master_(1993_film)#Tai Chi Boxer (1996 film)|Tai Chi Boxer]]'' all three films directed by Yuen Woo-ping.
One year later, The Epic Action Collection DVD were released on December 26, 2005 at 4 disc set including two martial arts films were: ''[[Wing Chun (film)|Wing Chun]]'' and ''[[Tai_Chi_Master_(1993_film)#Tai Chi Boxer (1996 film)|Tai Chi Boxer]]'' all three films directed by Yuen Woo-ping.


Five months later, The Donnie Yen Collection DVD were released on May 29, 2006 at 4 disc set including two martial arts films were: [[New Dragon Gate Inn]] and [[Once Upon a Time in China II]].
Five months later, The Donnie Yen Collection DVD were released on May 29, 2006 at 4 disc set including two martial arts films were: [[New Dragon Gate Inn]] and [[Once Upon a Time in China II]].

Revision as of 13:24, 3 August 2011

Iron Monkey
Theatrical release poster
Directed byYuen Woo-ping
Written byTsui Hark
Produced byTsui Hark
StarringDonnie Yen
Yu Rongguang
Jean Wang
Angie Tsang
Yuen Shun-yi
CinematographyArthur Wong
Tam Chi-wai
Edited byMarco Mak
Angie Lam
Andy Chan
Music byRichard Yuen (Hong Kong)
James L. Venable (USA)
Johnny Yeung
William Hu
Chow Gam-wing
Production
companies
Golden Harvest
Long Shong Pictures Ltd.
Paragon Films Ltd.
Film Workshop Co. Ltd.
Distributed byGolden Harvest
Gala Film Distribution Ltd.
Release date
  • September 3, 1993 (1993-09-03)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film Hong Kong
LanguageCantonese
Box officeHK$6,977,084.00

Iron Monkey is a 1993 Hong Kong martial arts film written and produced by Tsui Hark and also directed by martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, starring Donnie Yen and Yu Rongguang. It was remake of the 1977's film of the same name.

The film is a fictionalized account of an episode in the childhood of Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung and his father Wong Kei-ying (Donnie Yen), and their encounter with the "Iron Monkey" (Yu Rongguang).[1] In 1995, a separate film entitled Iron Monkey 2 which was released. The film also starred actor Donnie Yen and Billy Chow. Yen portrayed the "Iron Monkey" in the film, but it was not a sequel to the 1993 film.[2]

Plot

The plot centers on a masked pugilist known as "Iron Monkey". Iron Monkey is actually the alter ego of a Chinese physician named Yang Tianchun. In the day, Yang runs his clinic and provides free medical treatment for the poor and overcharges the rich. At night, he dresses in black and travels around town to rob the rich and help the poor. Once, he breaks into the governor's residence and makes off with a hoard of gold. The guards and four Shaolin monks are unable to stop him. The governor orders the chief constable Fox to hunt down Iron Monkey. Fox is obsessed with catching the masked vigilante and anyone who is linked to monkeys in any way seems like a suspect to him. He is not aware that Iron Monkey is actually the physician who is treating his injured men who fought with Iron Monkey the previous night.

In the meantime, a physician-martial artist from Foshan, named Wong Kei-ying, arrives in town with his young son, Wong Fei-hung. Wong Kei-ying fights with street thugs who attempt to rob him and some soldiers who have been observing the fight nearby suspect that Wong is Iron Monkey and they arrest him and his son. During the trial, the governor orders Wong Fei-hung to be branded for defiance, but Iron Monkey shows up and disrupts the proceedings. Wong Kei-ying is eager to prove his innocence and he fights with Iron Monkey. Neither of them is able to defeat his opponent and Iron Monkey escapes. The governor is impressed by Wong Kei-ying's skill and he holds Wong Fei-hung hostage to force Wong Kei-ying to help him capture Iron Monkey in seven days.

The locals despise Wong Kei-ying for assisting the governor in capturing their hero, so they refuse to sell him food or provide him with shelter. Wong eventually arrives at Yang's clinic and is taken in by Yang, while he is still unaware of Yang's true identity. With help from Fox, Yang manages to bring Wong Fei-hung, who has fallen sick, out of prison and keeps him in his clinic. Wong Fei-hung learns new martial arts from Yang and his assistant, Orchid, during his stay with them.

Meanwhile, a Shaolin traitor named Hin-hung, who has become an imperial official, arrives in town with his followers. Hin-hung takes over as the new governor. Iron Monkey and Wong Kei-ying run into Hin-hung and his men in two separate encounters and they are severely wounded by him. They retreat back to the clinic, where Wong is surprised to discover that Yang is actually Iron Monkey. They assist each other and recover from their wounds quickly. Concurrently, Hin-hung orders his men to search the town for Iron Monkey and Wong Kei-ying, but Fox gets to the clinic first to warn Orchid. Hin-hung's men eventually find their way there and they engage Orchid and Wong Fei-hung in a fight. Although Fei-hung and Orchid are able to hold their own for a while, they are finally subdued and captured.

Iron Monkey and Wong Kei-ying (now wearing an Iron Monkey costume) break into the governor's residence to rescue the captives. They have a final confrontation with Hin-hung on top of burning wooden poles. After an intense fight, Iron Monkey and Wong defeat Hin-hung and knock him down into the inferno below. At the end of the film, the protagonists learn that a new governor has taken office and they hope that he will be a good official. The Wongs leave town for Foshan while Yang and Orchid see them off.

Cast

Reception

The film's domestic release was delayed due to producer Tsui Hark's insistence on filming some additional comedic scenes after Yuen Woo-ping had finished the film. According to an interview with Tsui on the Iron Monkey DVD, this delay may have had a negative effect on the film's box office returns.

The film was given a wide release in the United States by Miramax Films, backed by director Quentin Tarantino.[3] It opened in October 2001 on 1,225 screens earning just over $6 million in its opening weekend and more than $14 million overall. It received good reviews in America, and became the 11th highest-grossing foreign language film in the US.[4] [5] [6] The film received favorable reviews from critics, and it has a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[7] The film was ranked #99 in Empire magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.[8]

Numerous controversial edits and changes were made to the film for the US release, to the dismay of Hong Kong cinema fans.

Changes to the American version

In its release in 2001, Miramax made several changes that the company felt would make it more marketable to American audiences:[9]

  • Since most Americans are unfamiliar with the story of Wong Fei-hung, his name was removed from the title.
  • The subtitles were tailored to diminish the political context of the story.
  • Some scenes were trimmed to tone down the violence.
  • Originally, some fight scenes had been sped up in places through undercranking. The U.S. release slowed these scenes down to a more normal pace.
  • Several comedic scenes, particularly ones interspersed in the fight scenes, were removed to give the fights a more serious feel. Although such comedic devices are common in Hong Kong cinema, it was felt they might have seemed odd to an American audience.
  • A new soundtrack was composed that emulated the classical score to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but in doing so the famous Wong Fei-hung theme was eliminated.
  • New sound effects were dubbed for the fighting to make them more realistic (as opposed to the more traditional exaggerated Hong Kong sounds).

Home media

In Hong Kong the film was initially released by Megastar (later Deltamac) in a basic version. This version was released in the U.S. by Tai Seng. Later, it was re-released in Hong Kong by IVL in a digitally remastered edition in the Donnie Yen & Yuen Woo Ping Action Collection.

Miramax also released their version on DVD in the US and was also released on Blu-ray on Sept. 15, 2009 with the English audio in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and the Chinese audio in Dolby Digital 5.1.[10]

DVD release

On March 26, 2001, DVD was released in Hong Kong Legends at UK in Region 2.

On March 1, 2004, DVD was released the film in 2 Disc Platinum Edition.

One year later, The Epic Action Collection DVD were released on December 26, 2005 at 4 disc set including two martial arts films were: Wing Chun and Tai Chi Boxer all three films directed by Yuen Woo-ping.

Five months later, The Donnie Yen Collection DVD were released on May 29, 2006 at 4 disc set including two martial arts films were: New Dragon Gate Inn and Once Upon a Time in China II.

References

  1. ^ Donnieyen.com. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
  2. ^ Donnie Yen Filmography. Donnieyen.com. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
  3. ^ "Hidden No Longer". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  4. ^ "FILM IN REVIEW; 'Iron Monkey'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  5. ^ "Hong Kong's 'Iron Monkey' Finally Leaps Into U.S. Theaters". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  6. ^ Iron Monkey at Box Office Mojo, retrieved on November 28, 2006.
  7. ^ Iron Monkey at Rotten Tomatoes (retrieved on November 28, 2006).
  8. ^ "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema". Empire. {{cite web}}: Text "93. The Fourth Man" ignored (help)
  9. ^ "The Dragon Is Hidden No Longer". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
  10. ^ "Iron Monkey (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2011-01-31.


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iron_Monkey_(1993_film)&oldid=442842503"