Iron Monkey
Iron Monkey
少年黃飛鴻之鐵馬騮
Overview
"In a corrupt 19th-century village plagued by famine and severe natural disasters, a mysterious, masked martial artist known as the Iron Monkey steals from the wealthy officials to feed the starving poor. When a traveling physician and his legendary young son, Wong Fei-hung, are unjustly arrested by the desperately humiliated governor, they are forced to hunt the Iron Monkey down."
Iconic Tracked Scenes
- ▶
A flawless, lightning-fast display of sword mastery used to instantly shave a renegade monk's head.
"shaving monk""sword haircut" - ▶
Young Wong Fei-hung fiercely defending himself against street thugs using acrobatics and a wooden umbrella.
"umbrella fight""child fighting" - ▶
The Iron Monkey fighting off numerous guards in the governor's heavily guarded treasury while disguised in black.
"masked fight""treasury fight" - ▶
An unbelievable, physics-defying final battle balancing on a series of fiercely burning wooden poles.
"burning poles""fire poles fight"
Why It's Remembered
- ★The lightning-fast monk head-shaving scene using only a sword.
- ★The incredibly tense final battle balancing atop a sea of violently burning wooden poles.
- ★Young Wong Fei-hung fighting off thugs in the streets using a traditional umbrella.
Cultural Context
- ◈Quentin Tarantino heavily championed this film, personally sponsoring its modernized, remixed theatrical release in the United States in 2001.
- ◈Features Donnie Yen playing the father of Wong Fei-hung, while the young Wong is famously played by a female actress, Angie Tsang, due to her incredible Wushu skills.
- ◈Directed by Yuen Woo-ping, utilizing some of the most dynamic, accelerated wire-work of the entire 1990s Wuxia boom.
About the Action Elements
Iron Monkey is widely celebrated among martial arts cinema fans for sequences involving shaving, monk, haircut, sword, precision. One of the most memorable sequences features Donnie Yen naturally executing shaving monk, where the choreography and unique set pieces become the unexpected highlight of the film.