Overview: Rice Miller Luk (Hung) is just a simple man trying to live a quiet life, until one day the Manchu Bannermen bully their way through town, killing his uncle in the process. When a nearby Shaolin monk, San De (Chen Sing, The Shaolin Plot), easily defeats them and sees the fallen Luk, he offers him a chance to learn martial arts at the Shaolin Temple.

However, Luk’s impatience with his training sees him return to his town to witness an even more ruthless organization of Manchus, led by a depraved official (Fung Hak-An, Warriors Two) who has a nasty and violent habit of taking whatever (and whoever) he wants. Will Luk’s incomplete Shaolin teachings, combined with the skill set of San De, be enough to put an end to the Manchu stronghold plaguing their people?

Blu-ray Verdict: In the years following the passing of Bruce Lee, the flame of Hong Kong action cinema was being kept alive via the masterful choreography of Sammo Hung in a multitude of films, typically under the direction of Huang Feng (Hapkido, The Shaolin Plot). However, in 1977, Hung would finally get his chance to fully take the directing reins, with his former director by his side as co-writer, paving the way for The Iron-Fisted Monk!

As noted, The Iron-Fisted Monk (1977) is Sammo Hung’s brilliant directorial debut. Though the revenge plot is average for kung fu films of the time, the martial arts action and choreography are extraordinary. Iron-Fisted Monk marked the beginning of Hung’s movie making prime. In the late 70’s and early 80’s Hung stared in and directed some of his best films including: Warriors Two, The Magnificent Butcher, The Prodigal Son, Knockabout and The Victim. The Iron-Fisted Monk was the film that got his directorial career rolling.

In the Iron-Fisted Monk, Sammo Hung plays Husker, a young civilian who is taken in and trained by Shaolin monks after his uncle was killed by the Manchus. Seeking vengeance he eventually leaves the temple. After a group of Manchu officials make trouble in a small town, Husker teams up with a local man named Liang and the iron fisted monk Brother Tak (Chan Sing) to finally bring justice to the evil Manchu officials.

The martial arts action and choreography in this film are unbelievable. The film features some of the hardest kung fu you will ever see in a Sammo Hung film. Sammo does a great job playing to his strengths, providing a good mixture of martial arts and acrobatics. When this film was made Sammo was young and very near his physical prime.

He is very fast and powerful and gives one of his better physical performances. Chan Sing also gives one of the most inspired physical performances of his career. Along with kung fu, the film features a lot of weapon fighting including: swords, spears, knifes and staffs.

The film was made by Golden Harvest studios, which means high production values and a talented stable of actors to work with. Notable appearances in the film include: James Tien as a Shaolin instructor, Casanova Wong as a young monk and Lam Ching-ying as an extra. Fung Hak-on (Warriors Two, Magnificent Butcher) plays the villain yet again and does a very convincing job. [K.C.]

Special Features:
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
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Mills
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Mills
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Brandon Bentley