Iron Monkey (1 Viewer)

[Andres Munoz]

I rented this movie from Netflix a few days ago and finally got around to watching it last night.
Let me just say one thing...WOW! That was impressive. Martial Arts at its finest. And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, there comes the final fight on top of the burning poles. That rivals the bamboo fight scene of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. It even looked a little more realistic I think.
And it didn't hurt that the soundtrack was Dolby Digital.
Highly recommended for those of you looking for a good martial arts flick.
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Andres
http://home.earthlink.net/~coolvirus

 

[Richard_D_Ramirez]

That rivals the bamboo fight scene of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON

It's interesting how you compare Iron Monkey and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, since both films have at least one person in common: Woo Ping Yuen; Director in Iron Monkey, and Fight Coreographer in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
I'd have to disagree with you on the better fight scenes, however. I'm not sure which scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon you are referring to (Where Li Mu Bai beats Jen with a stick?), but I believe the fight scenes in this film are much better than in Iron Monkey.
The fighting in Iron Monkey were very good technically and physically, but in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, emotions and feelings (ie acting ) were much more evident between the fighters, thus making it that much more interesting to watch.
8^B
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[Andres Munoz]

Hi Richard.
Isn't Woo Ping Yuen the choreographer in the Matrix as well?
The fight scene that I'm referring to in CTHD is the one on top of the bamboo trees. I thought that the fight on top of the burning poles in Iron Monkey was a bit more realistic looking, although both of them are awsome.
And you're right about the emotions displayed by the actors in CTHD while fighting. But nonetheless, Iron Monkey is still up there in my Martial Arts movies book.
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Andres
http://home.earthlink.net/~coolvirus

 

[Neil Joseph]

Agreed. Iron Monkey is a classic. There was an older film with the same title. See if you can find it. It is also a Kung Fu classic.
orangeman
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[Reginald Trent]

The CTHD fight with the two ladies in the courtyard is the best martial arts fight PERIOD.
[Edited last by Reginald Trent on August 08, 2001 at 06:38 PM]

 

[ErikG]

Iron Monkey....Defiently my favorite wire-fu flick.
[Edited last by ErikG on August 08, 2001 at 11:13 PM]

 

[Matthew Brown]

Iron Monkey is definitely a classic. For an interesting post about Iron Monkey, check out this link. Link Removed
My only advice would be to get the DVD while you still can.
Matt

 

[Matt_Stevens]

Yup. Miramax is working their "magic" with this "work in progress." Oh joy, Oh rapture, thank God for HONG KONG LEGENDS!
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[Edited last by Matt_Stevens on August 09, 2001 at 09:17 AM]

 

[CoreyII]

Hey Andres,I'll second the notion, the fight scenes in
Iron Monkey are amazing and much better than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
As a matter of fact Iron Monkey is some of Woo Pings best work and it deserves to stand along side Drunken Master II and Fist of Legend. Although Im still extremely partial to Fist of Legend.
Hey Andres,if you haven't seen it yet you must rent
Storm Riders, this film runs circles around Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
And finally check out Bichunmoo. The title means Dancer in the Sky. Its a Korean martial arts film along the lines of Crouching Tiger, Hidder Dragon but much grittier. I'll admit Crouching Tiger's fight scenes were shot a little better than Bichunmoo's but the hero in Bichumoo is a badass, he whip Chow Yun -Fat, Michelle Yeoh, and Zhang Zi-Yi but with one hand tied behing his back. The edits in Bichumoo are a little quick and it doesn't have as much hand to hand combat as CTHD.

 

[Andres Munoz]

Corey, thanks for the heads up on those two movies. I just put them on my Netflix Queue. Will check them out as soon as possible.
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Andres
http://home.earthlink.net/~coolvirus

 

[Matthew Brown]

If you see this movie in the theaters, be prepared for a cut up movie with Rap music added.
If you have the DVD, watch it again instead of seeing it in the theater.
As mentioned before, there are scenes cut out. One that is fairly important.
The music has also been changed.
If Miramax did this with a Fellini movie, everybody would be crying. For some reason, it seems ok to take an Asian movie and do whatever they want with it.
Maybe they should put a disclaimer that this movie has been edited for American audiences.
I will be putting reviews of two of the three DVD versions of this movie on my web site this week.
Matt
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Honk Kong DVD Reviews and News
loveandbullets.com
[Edited last by Matthew Brown on August 25, 2001 at 02:56 PM]

 

[Richard Kim]

They showed a trailer of Iron Monkey when I saw Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. No doubt they'll use a crappy dub track like they did with Drunken Master 2.
Also, I went to a Best Buy that just opened and they were selling a Region 0 foreign DVD of Iron Monkey. Is is worth buying?
EDIT
I've read reviews stating that the DVD has an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The imdb listing doesn't list the OAR. Does anyone know if it really is 1.85:1 or did they crop it from 2.35:1?
[Edited last by Richard Kim on August 26, 2001 at 03:56 PM]

 

[Matthew Brown]

I think that is the original aspect ratio. If it's the Mega Star version, it's worth picking up. It most likely is since I don't think stores would be carrying the WA version. If you want to get a decent price, check www.hkflix.com and see the Hong Kong version.
You may want to make sure the movie is from 1993 as there is one that is older.
If you would like to see the DVD cover, here's a link with the specs. http://www.loveandbullets.com/ironmonkey.htm
If you have an all region player, the Hong Kong Legends one is excellent. The Mega Star DVD is very good too so I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Matt
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Honk Kong DVD Reviews and News
loveandbullets.com
[Edited last by Matthew Brown on August 27, 2001 at 07:30 AM]

 

[Matt Stone]

They also showed the trailer at J&SBSB here...and the entire audience was cracking up. We all thought that it was some sort of parody...and then when we realized it was a real movie, the place went into a 5 minite riot...haha. I'm sure it's a good film, but I'll never be able to hear the words Iron Monkey without rolling on the floor. Haha...

 

[Matthew Chmiel]

Was I the only one who wanted to start singing Beastie Boys' Brass Monkey during that trailer before J&SBSB?
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[JasenP]

I think the trailer for the Miramax relase is ummm I little misleading. I just didn't seem like they were advertising the same film that I know and love.
I must give Miramax credit for keeping the original title, especially when it prompted a few giggles in the theater when I saw it before J&SBSB.
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[John DeLuca]

Matthew, I've been singing that song since Sunday which is when I saw Jay and Silent Bob. Right when my wife and I saw that trailer, we both started with the song. The movie looks great though. I'm glad that I checked out this thread so I know it's on DVD as a better version.

 

[Matthew Brown]

I just heard they cut 6-7 minutes of Iron Monkey for the theatrical release. This will make the feature slightly longer than the trailer!
New music and totally new subtitles. Miramax should have just made their own movie!
Matt
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Honk Kong DVD Reviews and News
loveandbullets.com

 

[Allen Skurow]

Iron Monkey see - Iron Monkey doo.
All this movie needs to be complete is a man in a giant rubber monster suit tromping through paper-mache dojos in downtown Tokyo. Ridiculous, physics-defying, chop-socky wire effects every sixty seconds. Laughable dialog and embarassing mugging by ninty percent of the actors set a new low - even by junky Jackie Chan standards. CROUCHING TIGER fans should stay well HIDDEN when this 'gorilla in the missed' comes DRAGIN' into Blockbuster. A stinker from chimpan-A to chimpan-Z.

 

[Alex Prosak]

I have to agree that the CTHD fight scene between Jen and Li Mu Bai in the courtyard if absolutely fantastic and certainly one of the all time best. For me, the movie that takes the cake is Fist of Legend, it has so many great fights. I think Bruce would be proud of Jet Li's homage.