Member BlackLamaFaction Posted November 2, 2009 Member Share Posted November 2, 2009 I realise these are two completly different films, but I wanted to get some opinions on which one people prefer. Since both films are classics I'm sure opinions could go either way. For me it's the earlier Chen Kuan Tai film. I always loved his stuff with Shaw especially Crippled Avengers and 3 Evil Masters.His Monkey fist looked great in this film as did most of the fighting, well choreographed. Not to mention great support from Lung Kar Yan and Tong Wai Shing. Chi Kuan Chun was kind of underused I thought but that would be my only complaint. The final fight with Kam Kong was a competant demonstation of eagles claw and made for a great finale. The better story and certainly better budget goes to the 93 film, but for strait kung fu I prefer the original. Any Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Markgway Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 1977 version ***/4 1993 version ***.5/4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member teako170 Posted November 3, 2009 Member Share Posted November 3, 2009 While the later film was rather enjoyable... I have to go with the CKT version which is old - school - cool ! As Stan the Man use to say .... Nuff Said! Posted this pic in an earlier discussion on the '77 film. (Right click for full size) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ThunderScore Posted November 3, 2009 Member Share Posted November 3, 2009 IRON MONKEY ('93) is one of the titles I'll show to friends to introduce them to MA Films... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member WhiteTiger1 Posted November 3, 2009 Member Share Posted November 3, 2009 I like the older version better. I don't no but the old school 77 version. Just had more of a real feel to it without all the special effects. my 2 cents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted November 3, 2009 Member Share Posted November 3, 2009 '77... CKT doing his thing! Not that insano undercranked wirefest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG Posted November 3, 2009 Member Share Posted November 3, 2009 The 77 version is the one I would choose. It is a close call. The other Iron Monkey took the kung fu movie experience to new heights. And as it was in the 90's it was a grand effort. It was also such a big hit. You still have to love this flick. But to me "Old School" is always my choice. The wire fu etc. gets a we bit old and over worked. And CCT is one of the genres great of greats. GD Y-Y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member shapes Posted November 3, 2009 Member Share Posted November 3, 2009 1977 version is one of the best kung fu films of all time ,def in my top 10. also Beardys intro to proper shapes the Donnie one was okay looked nice, but no monkey fist and the undercranking got sillly, the end fight was a total let down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Omni Dragon Posted November 3, 2009 Member Share Posted November 3, 2009 The 77 version is the one I would choose. It is a close call. The other Iron Monkey took the kung fu movie experience to new heights. And as it was in the 90's it was a grand effort. It was also such a big hit. You still have to love this flick. But to me "Old School" is always my choice. The wire fu etc. gets a we bit old and over worked. And CCT is one of the genres great of greats. GD Y-Y " It was also such a big hit" i heard Iron Monkey was too much like the other films of the time so it didn't do very well at the HK box office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member mwesley@morehouse.edu Posted November 3, 2009 Member Share Posted November 3, 2009 I like the one with Donnie Yen and Yu RonGong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member LittleDragon Posted November 3, 2009 Member Share Posted November 3, 2009 77' movie for me..!one of my fav's,love old skool..! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member rederror Posted November 4, 2009 Member Share Posted November 4, 2009 although i do like the old version, it's got to be Donnie Yen's version for me. absolute classic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member spearman lo tat Posted November 5, 2009 Member Share Posted November 5, 2009 as cool as it was to see Yen Shi Kwan, Hsiao Ho, and even Yuen Shun Yi in the 90s, i'll go with 'old-school' Chen Kuan Tai, Chi Kuan Chun, Beardy, Wilson Tong, Chen Mu Chuan and Kam Kong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member shaolin swords Posted August 12, 2010 Member Share Posted August 12, 2010 what one do you think is better........im going with the iron monkey that came out in 1977 im a really old school shaw brothers fan thought that the first 1 was better than the iron monkey that came out in 1993 but to each his own.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member shaolin swords Posted August 12, 2010 Member Share Posted August 12, 2010 im sorry i did not see that this section of the forum is only for movies that came out in 1928-1985 when the newer iron monkey came out in 1993 can some one put this in another section of the forum if it is a problem thanks......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member vengeanceofhumanlanterns Posted August 12, 2010 Member Share Posted August 12, 2010 shaolin swords, don't worry about it, this post is appropriate for this thread. Though, I must add Iron Monkey 77' blows the 93' release away. The beginnings of wire stoked, rapid editing, and sped up camera scenes filming could never out do the REAL thing. That movie is a new wave of martials filming (seems old now) spawing IMO a whole generation of ADD viewing. The original is an actual tribute and dedication to the actual technique of Monkey Fist and Eagles Claw. Besides newer generation actors are so sterile , fake, and way to pretty to be portrayed as real people. Kam Kong, Chen Kuan Tai, and the rest of such an talented and true cast actually deliver characters and a story you can identify with as a real person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Mai Chi Posted August 12, 2010 Member Share Posted August 12, 2010 The original version all the way. I also have a question fellow members. In the 80's my father bought it on VHS from Intercontinental Video Fullscreen English dub, but there was a scene with Chen Kwan Tai practicing in Shaolin with a sword that I don't recall seeing in other versions. Was anyone else aware of this scene? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted August 12, 2010 Member Share Posted August 12, 2010 I like the 77 version a lot, but 93 is my fav of the 2. One of my favorite things in movies is to see bodies flying through the air and crash into stuff after a powerful blow. It's a hard thing to do that correctly and not make it look stupid, but Iron Monkey 93 does it perfectly. I agree the ending is a letdown. The 77 version has a way better final fight. But as an overall movie I like the 93 version slightly more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kungfusamurai Posted August 13, 2010 Member Share Posted August 13, 2010 To me, the films are only comparable in name only. I mean, the original has the title character using monkey style kung fu, but the new one doesn't. Other than that, they're two completely different types of movie in terms of the action, and the style. I like both equally in the context of when they were made and for whom they were made. The original is a great Shaw Brothers-like revenge film, while the latter title is a wire-fu classic. I agree on the final fight. The 77 flick had a much better final fight, which was really a series of final fights leading up to the fight with the main bad guy. The 93 flick had a lot of great fights throughout, but that final fight with the burning poles was pretty lame. KFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yakuza954 Posted August 13, 2010 Member Share Posted August 13, 2010 The 1993 Iron Monkey gets an unfair rap sometimes. It's one of the best mixtures of comedy/kung fu I can think of, and while some think the final fight is weak, the rest of the movie is still full of good fights. Also a rare HK show-case for Yu Rong Guang, and even that young Wong Fei Hung girl is on fire. 1977 Iron Monkey on the other hand.. It has a really cool training sequence, and one of those "wtf!" moments with the eagle and monkey fighting at the beginning, but other than that, not much to differentiate it from other films at the time. Chen Kuan Tai was doing better work at Shaws, and the choreography isn't really all that special. Saw this once, enjoyed it, but forgot about it soon after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yang Wu Liang Posted August 13, 2010 Member Share Posted August 13, 2010 Much as I love the '77 Iron Monkey I think I'd prefer Donnie's. Whereas the the older version is just one of 100's of Shaolin / shapes films that came out in that era (albeit a good one!) Donnie's version is a modern take on the shapes genre which makes it a bit more interesting IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Iron Boat Posted August 13, 2010 Member Share Posted August 13, 2010 I love 1977 Iron Monkey, Chen Kuan Tai is probably my favorite martial arts star of the period and this movie is in my top 5 all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chia Ling AKA Judy Lee Posted August 13, 2010 Member Share Posted August 13, 2010 Co-sign what vengeanceofhumanlanterns said! I enjoyed the 93 film for what it's worth, but you just cannot mess with the Chen Bros monkey fist. Perhaps the best training scenes of all time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member LittleDragon Posted August 13, 2010 Member Share Posted August 13, 2010 my vote goes for the 77' version..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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