Iron Monkey is a 1993 Hong Kong martial arts film written and produced by Tsui Hark and directed by Yuen Woo-ping, starring Donnie Yen, Yu Rongguang, Jean Wang, Angie Tsang and Yuen Shun-yi. It is not related to the 1977 Hong Kong film of the same title.
The film is a fictionalised account of an episode in the childhood of the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung and his father Wong Kei-ying, and their encounter with the "Iron Monkey". In 1996, a separate film entitled Iron Monkey 2 was released but it was not a sequel to this film.
Plot
The plot centers on a masked martial artist known as "Iron Monkey". "Iron Monkey" is actually the alter ego of a traditional Chinese medicine physician called Yang Tianchun. In the day, Yang runs his clinic and provides free medical treatment for the poor, which he subsidises by charging his rich patients. 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 and to arrest anyone who is linked to monkeys in any way. Fox appears to be a bungler who is not aware that Iron Monkey is actually the physician who is treating his injured men who fought with Iron Monkey the previous night.
Iron Monkey can refer to:
Iron Monkey 2 is a 1996 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Chao Lu-jiang and featuring action choreography by Yuen Woo-ping. This film starred Donnie Yen as "Iron Monkey", a role played by Yu Rongguang in the 1993 film Iron Monkey, which also starred Yen, but in a different role. The story in Iron Monkey 2 is not related to that of Iron Monkey.
Plot
The film is set in the final years of the Qing dynasty. A triad boss known as "Jade Faced Tiger" collaborates with foreigners to take over a town and exploit the residents. That night, while Tiger is watching a Chinese opera performance, the actors on stage suddenly attack him. The lead actor is "Iron Monkey", a masked fighter who helps the poor and punishes the wicked. Tiger narrowly survives the attack when his henchmen show up and drive away Iron Monkey.
Jin, a young peasant from the countryside, travels to the town in search of his father. He meets a pair of orphans, Xiaochun and Xiaoqian, who make a living by conning others. After seeing that he is very good in martial arts, they lie to him that they will help him find his father if he impersonates Iron Monkey. The naive Jin agrees and accepts a deal offered by a rich girl to help her avenge her father, who was murdered by Tiger. Jin's father is actually the blind old man who sings and plays songs on an erhu in town.
Iron Monkey (Tie ma liu aka "School of Shaolin (USA)", Bloody Monkey Master) is a 1977 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by, and starring Chen Kuan Tai, as a Shaolin Temple trained Monkey Kung Fu expert, fighting against the Qings.
Plot
Kam Kong plays an evil Manchurian General, who desires to crush the revolutionaries who have ties to the Shaolin temple. Chen Kuan Tai is Iron, a naive young man who is unaware that his father is a leader of this underground movement. An undercover operative named Ho Yeng, who conned his way into joining the rebellion, betrays Iron’s father. The entire family is captured (except for Iron) and the General schedules their executions the following day. Since the leader of the rebellion is now in his clutches, the General focuses on the capture of his enemy’s son, Iron. A witness to this heinous act warns Iron and he manages to escape the village and avoid capture from the Qing army. He becomes a wild, animalistic wanderer who survives by stealing food from a nearby Shaolin temple. He also watches the hopefuls who train in the martial arts there. A group of students eventually catch him breaking into the temple, and they comment on his monkey-like agility. One student (Chi Kuan Chun) follows him into the woods and suggests that Iron become a student of the Shaolin Temple. The Abbot is more than happy to accept him as a pupil, but he notices the look of anger in the young man’s eyes. Iron refuses to comment on his agenda or his identity, so the Abbott assigns him a new identity—that of Iron Monkey.