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1993's "Young Huang Feihong: Iron Monkey" is a classic Kung Fu film directed by Yuan Heping and starring Donnie Yen and Yu Rongguang. It is also a very representative work of Donnie Yen in his early days.
As Tsui Hark Jet’s version of "Once Upon a Time" became a big hit in Hong Kong and even throughout Southeast Asia, all of a sudden, follow-up works on the theme of "Once Upon a Time" swarmed, and this "Young Once Upon a Time" is also one of them. . Of course, the production level and literary drama of this film are far from Tsui Hark Jet’s version of "Once Upon a Time", but the martial arts scenes are very exciting, and some of the action scenes are not even inferior to Jet Li's version of "Once Upon a Time."
Needless to say, one of the leading actors, Donnie Yen, has always been half-red but not black, but his "can play" is recognized in the circle. In 1992's "Once Upon A Time 2-A Man Should Be Self-improvement", Donnie Yen (played as Nalan Yuanshu) also had a spark with Jet Li (played as Huang Feihong) in the film.
The other starring Yu Rongguang was born as a martial artist in Beijing opera in the Mainland. He was discovered by Hong Kong director Xu Xiaoming in 1982 and became popular with films such as "Kapok". Yu Rongguang was born in Wusheng, and his skills are quite good. He is a frequent guest in Hong Kong action movies. Later, he also starred in "The Resurrection of the Invincible in the East", "A Letter to Dad" (starring Jet Li), "The New Three Kingdoms" (playing Guan Yu) and other classic works.
The villain is played by an official who came from a family of martial arts. Ren Shiguan has outstanding skills and looks even more domineering, so he has won the appreciation of Zhang Che, Yuan Heping, Tsui Hark and other big directors, and specially starred in various big villains. Ren Woxing in "Swordsman II: Invincible in the East", Yan Zhendong in "Huang Feihong", Feng Xifan in "The Deer and the Tripod II: Dragon Cult", and Duke Chen in "The Three Heroes of the East" are all his Classic role.
The three masters of kung fu get together, naturally, a battle is inevitable. Especially Donnie Yen, as the director and action director of the film, Yuan Heping is naturally knowledgeable about the skill of his lover, so in this film, Yen Zidan's sharp leg skills are fully demonstrated.
Single leg continuous side kick N combo.
360-degree single-leg rotation for four consecutive kicks.
The iconic three consecutive kicks in the air. One of Donnie Yen's must-have show skills.
Half-turned and kicked six consecutive kicks alternately with both legs.
In the above shots, although the speed of the action is increased after fast release, it can still be seen that Yen Zidan's solid leg work is as strong as a spring and can be retracted freely. And some of the shots in the above group are shot to the end, without editing, relying on the real skills of the actors themselves, and it is difficult for ordinary stunt actors to achieve this effect.
It can be said that the "Zhen style shadowless feet" tailored by Yuan Heping for Donnie Yen in this film is not inferior to the "Li style shadowless feet" on some levels. The shadowless feet played by Jet Li's version of Huang Feihong are of course more beautiful in their moves, but the design of continuous diagonal kicks in mid-air will make the movements look a little "fuzzy".
On the other hand, in comparison, Donnie Yen’s body shape is more “tall and longer”, so leg work has always been the highlight of Donnie Yen’s action movies.
The film's other starring Yu Rongguang's performance is not bad. Whether it is a wooden stick.
It is still a nine-section whip.
The opening matchup with Yen Zidan was a match for opponents and talents.
The big boss is even more powerful as the official of the world, and the two heroes will get down one after another as soon as the strong vajra player comes out.
Flowing clouds and flying sleeves. "The World's No. 1 Wuzhi" Yuan Heping and Baye Yuan can always make you different new tricks.
The finale of the burning wooden stakes is even more exciting. The three of them hadn't beaten enough on the ground, and they had to run on the stakes and beat them in the sea of fire.
The horizontal horse on the wooden stake of Donnie Yen really shows the sky.
At that time, Yen Zidan and Yu Rongguang were both in their peak period, so various show operations in the film are not uncommon.
There are many ingenious detailed designs in the film. Although some of them violate objective laws, it can also be seen that the Hong Kong action filmmakers at the time were really striving for excellence in martial arts.
Double version balance beam.
Use your toes to "hook" your teammate back.
In terms of literary and opera, the music genius Uncle Zhan uses exaggerated performances to vividly interpret the image of a corrupt official who is greedy for money, lustful, bullying, and fearful of hard work. It can be called one of the masterpieces of Uncle Zhan's acting career.
The predecessor of Sister Zhiling, who was once the top model in Taiwan, Wang Jingying, also had quite eye-catching performances in the film.
Playing the young Huang Feihong is actually the female martial arts champion Zeng Simin of the Hong Kong children's group. Her performance in the film is extremely amazing, but unfortunately she no longer appears on the screen.
In 2001, with the help of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", Quentin re-edited and dubbed "Young Huang Feihong: Iron Monkey" and released it in North America. As a result, it won the sixth box office (6 million) in the first weekend. The film eventually won 14.68 million at the box office in North America, which can be regarded as triggering a niche viewing boom. It can be seen that Quentin, the "disciple of Hong Kong film", still has a good grasp of the taste of old beauty.
In contrast, "Young Huang Feihong: Iron Monkey" had a box office score of less than 7 million in Hong Kong that year, which is quite bleak. This also shows the fierce competition in the Hong Kong film industry that year. It's a pity that the golden age of Hong Kong movies has long gone, and we can only remember the glory of Hong Kong movies in these classic works!
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