Iron Monkey – Shout! Factory (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1993
Director: Yuen Woo-ping
Writers: Tsui Hark, Cheung Tan, Tang Elsa, Lau Tai-Mok
Cast: Donnie Yen, Yu Rongguang, Jean Wang, Angela Tsang Sze-Man, Yuen Shun-yi

Release Date: February 14th, 2023
Approximate Running Time: 90 Minutes 23 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: PG-13
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo Mandarin, DTS-HD Mono Cantonese, DTS-HD 5.1 Cantonese, DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $32.98

"Directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, this martial arts classic is set against the end of the Qing Dynasty and tells the tale of a chivalrous robber, Iron Monkey (Yu Rong-Guang, Supercop 2), who robs the rich and gives to the poor in Zhejiang province. A famous kung fu master (Donnie Yen, Ip Man) is enlisted in the capture of Iron Monkey. He is thus torn between upholding the law and siding with this unknown hero…" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "2K restoration from the original film elements."

Iron Monkey comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 44.4 GB

Feature: 27.4 GB

For this release Shout! Factory uses the same source that Eureka Video used for their 2018 Blu-ray release. Flesh tones and colors look correct, black levels are strong, image clarity, contrast, and compression are solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD Stereo Mandarin, DTS-HD Mono Cantonese), 4.25/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 Cantonese), 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD 5.1 English)

This release comes with five audio options, a DTS-HD stereo mix in Mandarin, a DTS-HD mono mix in Cantonese, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Cantonese, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English. The Mandarin and Cantonese language tracks are noticeably more robust than the English language tracks. Included are English subtitles for the Mandarin language track and English SDH for the English language track. It should be noted that subtitles and audio can only be chosen via the audio setup menu, and they cannot be turned off while watching the main feature.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery (stills/poster), 7 TV spots (3 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer (5 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), footage of Li Fai and Angie Tsang Sze-Man Competing at the 2003 Wushu Championships (9 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival extra titled Shadow Boxing with Alex Yip (8 minutes 10 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Yuen Cheung-Yan titled Iron Fist: A Look Behind the Action of Iron Monkey (16 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actress Angie Tsang Sze-Man (20 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actress Li Fai (25 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Yu Rong-Guang (26 minutes 24 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an archival interview with producer Tsui Hark (24 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Donnie Yen (19 minutes 37 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Ricky Baker titled New from Monkey Business to the Big Time, he discusses Donnie Yen’s rise to stardom (12 minutes 36 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with writer Richard Epcar titled International Iron (18 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with composer James L. Venable titled Scoring A Fresh Take, he discusses his score for Iron Monkey’s American release (18 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Hong Kong filmmaker and academic Gilbert Po and film critic Sean Tierney.

Summary:

Yuen Woo-Ping directed Iron Monkey. He is also known for directing films such as Drunken Master, The Magnificent Butcher, and Tai Chi Master. Besides directing, he is one of Hong Kong cinema’s most acclaimed martial arts choreographers.

A masked bandit named Iron Monkey steals from the rich and gives to the poor, making the governor of a region look foolish and take excessive action to bring him to justice.

Hong Kong cinema during the early 1990s was going through a transition; many of its stars and directors were being lured away by Hollywood. While Yuen Woo-ping took his talents working as an action choreographer on The Matrix and Kill Bill, he never directed a film in Hollywood like most of his contemporaries. Throughout his career, Yuen Woo-ping directed several significant films in the careers of actors who would later achieve stardom, Jackie Chan (Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, Drunken Master); Sammo Hung Kam-bo (The Magnificent Butcher); and Donnie Yen, an actor he worked with four times before his breakout film Iron Monkey.

Iron Monkey is a period-set martial arts film that draws inspiration from Chinese and English folklore. The premise, a Robin Hood-like scenario in which a masked hero character and his accomplice take on a corrupt injustice system, is superbly realized. The narrative, which is a perfect balance of exposition and action, moves at a breakneck momentum that effectively builds to an exemplary action set-piece finale where all wrongs are righted.

All around, the performances are excellent. While Iron Monkey gives Donnie Yen a role that showcases his abilities to the fullest, the most memorable performance is Angela Tsang Sze-Man in the role of Wong Fei-hung, a Chinese martial artist and folk hero. Making her film debut in such an iconic role, she more than holds her own and delivers when it comes to her acrobatic fight sequences. Other performances of note are Yu Rong-guang (Taxi Hunter), who portrays Yang Tianchun, aka Iron Monkey, and James Wong (Tiger on the Beat) in the role of a corrupt governor named Cheng Pak-Fong.

While the premise and narrative are perfectly executed, when discussing martial arts films, the main draw is their action set pieces. It's not surprising that the action set pieces often exceed expectations, since Yuen Woo-ping is someone whose action choreography is inventive and features movements that one did not know were possible. There are several memorable action set pieces; the most notable are the scene that introduces Iron Monkey, a scene where Wong Fei-hung quickly dispenses with a gang of grown men trying to teach him a lesson, and a jaw-dropping finale that takes place on poles as fire rages on the ground below. Ultimately, Iron Monkey is a high-water mark of 1990s Hong Kong cinema, making it a must-see for fans of classic martial arts cinema.

Iron Monkey gets an excellent release from Shout! Factory that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of extras. Highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer