Also Known As: 少年黃飛鴻之鐵馬騮
Year: 1993
Directed: Yuen Woo-ping
Genre: Action, Drama, Comedy, Kung Fu
Runtime: 1:26:31
Country: Hong Kong
Language: Cantonese
Subtitles: English
IMDB: : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108148/
Cast: Yu Rongguang as Yang Tianchun / Iron Monkey
Donnie Yen as Wong Kei-ying
Jean Wang as Orchid Ho
Angie Tsang as Wong Fei-hung
Yen Shi-kwan as Hin-hung
James Wong as Governor Cheng
Yuen Shun-yi as Chief Fox
Lee Fai as White Eagle
Hsiao Ho as Disfigured Swordsman (Twin Swords)
Source...............: Retail DVD
Type.................: not sure what this means?
File Format..........: AVI
Codec................: XviD
Resolution...........: 592x320
AR...................: 1.850
Video Bitrate........: 2,262 Kbps
Audio................: AC-3
Audio Bitrate........: 448 Kbps
Iron Monkey (1993)
This is the original DVD release with English subtitles. It seems like all the versions here are the American release (Miramax, Quentin Tarantino), and some comments indicate that some might appreciate the original version. I struggled to find a decent version; the dubbed version is painful to watch and most others are the 2001 Miramax edited re-release.
Original Media Asia release, Long Shong Pictures Limited Film Workshop
Cantonese audio w/ English subtitles (srt file)
Presented by: Raymond Chow and Wang Ying Hsiang
Traditional 少年黃飛鴻之鐵馬騮
Simplified 少年黄飞鸿之铁马骝
Directed by Yuen Woo-ping
Action directors: Yuen Cheung-yan, Guk Hin-chiu, Yuen Shun-yi
Produced by Tsui Hark, Celia Hallquist
Executive producers: Raymond Chow, Wang Ying-hsiang, Mary Stuart Welch
Written by Tsui Hark, Elsa Tang, Lau Tai-muk, Tang Pik-yin, Cheung Tan
Starring: Donnie Yen, Yu Rongguang, Jean Wang, Angie Tsang, Yuen Shun-yi
Music by Richard Yuen (Hong Kong), James L. Venable (USA), Johnny Yeung, William Hu, Chow Gam-wing
Cinematography Arthur Wong, Tam Chi-wai
Editing by Marco Mak, Angie Lam, Andy Chan
Studio Golden Harvest
Long Shong Pictures Ltd.
Paragon Films Ltd.
Film Workshop Co. Ltd.
Distributed by Golden Harvest
Gala Film Distribution Ltd.
Release date(s) September 3, 1993
Running time 90 minutes
Country : Hong Kong
Language Cantonese, Mandarin
Gross revenue HK$6,977,084.00
Iron Monkey is a 1993 Hong Kong action-martial arts film directed by action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping. 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.
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. Orchid and Wong are no match for Hin-hung's men and they are 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.