Revenge, thy name is Sammo Hung!
The Iron-Fisted Monk is some good ol’ kung-fu delivered with all the grit and the glory one would expect from its talented cast. Produced by Raymond Chow (who was still licking the wounds made by Bruce Lee’s death) and made when Hong Kong cinema wasn’t sure of the path forward, The Iron-Fisted Monk is hand-to-hand combat at its finest as Sammo Hung, who directed the film, takes on some Manchurian bastards who like to rape women and punch kids!
Co-starring Chan Sing, Fung Hark-On and Lo Hoi-pang, The Iron-Fisted Monk starts out as a lighthearted affair as Rice Miller Luk (Hung) and San De (Chen Sing), who is training him, tease each other over their abilities. But the comedy is short-lived as, later, some Manchu Bannermen target his Uncle and kill him, putting Luk to shame as they beat the barnacles out of him. Focus, man!
San De agrees to keep training him but Luk must be patient with the Shaolin Temple. He is not. And leaves one day, not learning some valuable lessons which then must be beaten into him on the road to his revenge.
With the help of a corrupt official (Fung Hark-On), the Manchu gang has only become more powerful, unafraid to even tease kids and rape the women in a local town. These scenes - of which one is absolutely brutal and wince-inducing - are hard to watch, earning the film an ADULTS ONLY label at the time of its release.
Luk can take some of the villains down but there’s still a limit to his abilities. Teaming up with another man (Lo Hoi-Pang) who is also out for revenge after his sister is raped. Luk tries and tries again to beat the snot of the Manchus.
What he needs is a little San De, the Iron-Fisted Monk!
With strong fighting choreography throughout (which was co-handled by Jackie Chan), The Iron-Fisted Monk delivers plenty of cool action scenes and doubles down on the gore as guts are pierced by all manner of weapons in one showdown after another. It might have been Sammo’s first time directing but there certainly are no pacing issues. Everything is in place and snaps with fine tension.
The Iron-Fisted Monk is now on blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with a fine 2K remaster of the original 35mm print. This LIMITED EDITION release also features a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Mills, a double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Mills, and an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Brandon Bentley.
Time to get brutal, my brothers and sisters of Shaolin!
Limited Edition
Home Video Distributor: Arrow Films
Available on Blu-ray - October 24, 2023
Screen Formats: 2.39:1
Subtitles: English; English SDH
Video: MPEG-4 AVC
Audio: Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono; Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; Mandarin: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono; English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
Predating The 36th Chamber of Shaolin’s variation of the story of San De and Miller Luk by a year, and notorious for its uncensored version receiving a retroactive Category Iii rating in Hong Kong (the equivalent of the American Nc-17), The Iron-Fisted Monk pulls no punches, literally or figuratively, explosively marking the beginning for one of the greatest martial arts film directors of all time!
Video
The Iron-Fisted Monk arrives on Blu-ray from Arrow Video sporting an HD 2K remaster sourced from the original 35mm camera negatives and looks wonderful. Interiors are strong. Colors pop throughout, but it is the blood effects - burning bright in the transfer - which seal the deal on this one. It’s full of great atmosphere thanks to the quick-footed script and looks visually eye-popping due to the 1080- upgrade. Black levels are strong throughout, bringing out nice details in both the loud and quiet moments of this epic adventure. The tracking shots are glorious to behold in 1080p. Blacks are solid and shadows maintain their lines. Even the costumes are noted stitch by stitch.
Audio
Fans get a Cantonese Stereo track with English subtitles and two choices on the English dub.
Supplements:
Commentary:
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See below for the breakdown of this release.
Special Features:
Loaded with plenty of satisfying supplemental items, this two-disc limited release slaps with a lot of martial arts madness! You get 2K restorations by Fortune Star, four different versions of the film including a recently-assembled “hybrid” cut, a double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Mills, a reversible sleeve, and an illustrated collectors' booklet featuring new writing on the film by Brandon Bentley!
- 2k restoration from original film elements by Fortune Star
- High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the original uncensored version
- Original lossless Cantonese and Mandarin mono audio, plus lossless English dub mono option
- Two choices of English dubbed audio: the original export dub mono (first time ever in the Us) and the newer 5.1 dub created for international Dvd presentations
- Optional English subtitles
- Audio commentary by martial arts cinema expert Frank Djeng
- Two archival interviews with Sammo Hung
- Archival interview with Casanova Wong
- Original theatrical trailer
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Composite Blu-ray Grade
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MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 93 mins
Director: Sammo Kam-Bo Hung
Writer: Feng Huang; Pro Hung Ching; Yu Ting
Cast: Sammo Kam-Bo HungSing ChenHoi-Pang Lo
Genre: Action | Drama
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor:
Official Site: https://www.arrowvideo.com/blu-ray/the-iron-fisted-monk-limited-edition-blu-ray/14887484.html
Release Date: August 25, 1977
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: October 24, 2023
Synopsis: A lowly restaurant worker aims to take revenge on the Manchurian thugs who killed his boss by joining a Shaolin temple under the advise from a monk who rescued him from certain death.
