Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD EAN: 0601643332147 Format: Color Label: Tai Seng Video Marketing Manufacturer: Tai Seng Video Marketing Number Of Items: 1 Picture Format: Letterbox Publisher: Tai Seng Video Marketing Region Code: 0 Release Date: 2000-06-13 Running Time: 90 Studio: Tai Seng Video Marketing Theatrical Release Date: 1993
Since the late 1800s, the real-life Cantonese patriot Wong Fei-hung has evolved into an icon of Chinese pop culture, a sort of Asian Davy Crockett. He's been a central figure in Hong Kong cinema since the 1950s, most recently in Tsui Hark 's Once Upon a Time in China series. In this thrilling 1993 adventure directed by Yuen Woo-ping, we meet Wong as an earnest boy traveling with his upright pugilist father (Donnie Yen) and drawing inspiration from the activities of the benevolent masked bandit known as the Iron Monkey (Yu Rong-guang). The sheer physical prowess of the stars is often flabbergasting, and the action set pieces (especially an interlude atop a set of "Chinese poles") are staged for maximum dynamism. In effect, this is a powerful combination of the older, Baltic style of kung fu action and the newer body-slamming style pioneered by Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung. This is a perfect martial arts picture to screen for any genre skeptics in your midst. --David Chute
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Not worthy edition for Yuen Woo Ping's masterpiece in direction and coreography Comment: I rented this DVD edition in a local videostore years ago, thrilled after years of viewing this action and martial arts masterpiece on VHS. My final option in buying a worthy DVD edition is the one i own, posted right behind this one in the DVD edition list for this 1993 awesome classic. Unfortunately, this version is the only one available for now, in this store.
If you knew about this movie because of its reputation of being the best, most entertaining kung fu flick, with the most outstanding staged fights and choreografies ever filmed, i have a recomendation for you, future fan of this incredible masterpiece in action and martial arts: Rent this edition so you can meet with this awesome experience, and if you like what you are watching, go to a Martial arts DVD store, online or not, to get the edition i own. I take full responsability. But only if you like martial arts classics in their original full lenght uncut versions, with the original music score, both mandarin and cantonese languages, and more extra material about the movie instead of just trailers. For me at least, these great classics must be seen in their original versions, the ones that reflect the original feeling and the director's real intention. But you might know what happened to this martial arts DVD industry and specially Yuen Woo Ping films, after the international success of "crouching tiger, hidden dragon". This Edition is just another example.
Trust me, i will never forgive myself for giving this movie 3 stars, DVD edition or not. The movie is 4,5 at least. The characters are powerful with individual perfect fighting styles, the story is entertaining as it can be, the rapid-fire action is intense, the coreographies are out of this word... It's just too much! Watch out for the "Monk" with the buddist palm, the female assasin with the "eagle" style, The iron "monkey" with...you know. Donnie Yen is an athlete, no doubt. And master coreographer and art director Yuen Woo Ping, brings his best production since his all-time kung fu classic, "Drunken Master".
