Iron Monkey
Short description
Set in 19th-century China, the story follows Dr. Yang, a healer who spends his nights as a masked bandit known as Iron Monkey. He robs corrupt officials and wealthy citizens to provide for the poor. To stop these thefts, a governor coerces a traveling physician and martial arts master into hunting down the outlaw by taking the physician's son hostage. Dr. Yang must eventually align with the physician to survive an encounter with a deadly Shaolin monastery master.
Directed by Woo-Ping Yuen, this production is the sixth of 13 films in the director's career, following Tiger Cage II and preceding Tai-Chi Master. The screenplay was written by Tsui Hark, Lau Tai-Muk, and Elsa Tang Bik-Yin, with Tsui Hark also serving as producer. The main cast includes Yu Rongguang, Donnie Yen, Jean Wang Ching-Ying, Angie Tsang Sze-Man, Yen Shi-Kwan, and James Wong.
The film was produced in Hong Kong and Taiwan with a budget of 11 million USD, eventually earning 15 million USD at the worldwide box office. It has received generally positive reception, with a rating of 7.5/10 on IMDb from 41 votes and 7.4/10 on TMDB from 339 votes. Film critics gave the movie a rating of 7.4/10 based on 96 reviews, which aligns closely with the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film's release in Hong Kong was delayed because producer Tsui Hark insisted on filming additional comedic scenes after Yuen Woo-ping had finished editing.
- Numerous changes were made to the film for its American release. Miramax Studios went to these lengths to make the film more accessible to American audiences. The following changes were made: the subtitles were specifically designed to reduce the political context; some scenes containing violence were cut; initially, some fight scenes were sped up. In the American release, these scenes were slowed down to a normal pace; several comedic scenes, particularly those inserted into fight scenes, were removed to give the fights a more serious tone. Although such comedic inserts are common in Hong Kong cinema, Miramax believed they might seem strange to American audiences; a new soundtrack was created; new sound effects were recorded for the fights to make them more realistic, replacing the traditionally exaggerated sounds typical of almost all Hong Kong films of that period.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
