Man of Iron (1972)

Chen Kuan-tai exuded incredible power on screen, which his directors used to great advantage in this fight-filled follow-up to the smash hit The Boxer From Shantung -- which culminates in ... See full summary »

Directors:

Cheh Chang, Hsueh Li Pao

Writers:

Kuang Ni (screenplay), Cheh Chang (screenplay)

Stars:

Kuan Tai Chen, Li Ching, Mu Chu

Cast

Credited cast:
Kuan Tai Chen	...	Chou Lien Huan
Li Ching	...	Shen Chu Fang
Mu Chu	...	Zeng Gen Bao (as Chu Mu)
Ching Tien
Chih-Ching Yang
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chi Ping Chang
Ching Po Chang
Shih-Ou Chang
Chuan Chen
Shao-Chia Chen
Ti-Ko Chen
Tien Lung Chen
Yi-Hsiung Chi
Tao Chiang
Chun Chin

Storyline

Chen Kuan-tai exuded incredible power on screen, which his directors used to great advantage in this fight-filled follow-up to the smash hit The Boxer From Shantung -- which culminates in an incredible climatic battle, choreographed by the legendary Liu Chia-liang and Chen Chuan.

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Plot Keywords:

body in river | slapping woman | anti hero | stabbed in the back | stabbed in the stomach | 

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Taglines:

No one could bend him...not even the KUNG-FU KILLERS!

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

12 October 1972 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Dirty Chan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shaw Brothers

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Kung Fu Mama (1973)

User Reviews

MAN OF IRON – good Shaw Bros. vehicle for kung fu star Chen Kuan Tai

MAN OF IRON (1972) was positioned as something of a follow-up to BOXER FROM SHANTUNG (1972), the rise-and-fall story of Ma Yung Chen (also reviewed on this site), and it reunites the directors and some of the cast in a similar but much slighter tale of a lesser gangster's rise and fall in Shanghai. While the opening narration specifically recalls the events and tragic conclusion of BOXER, this one is set 20 years later in the same section of Shanghai but otherwise has nothing to do with the events or characters of the previous film.

It's basically a tale of gang warfare in post-war Shanghai (although the sets and most of the costumes look much older) that begins when an "upstart," Chou Lian Huan, played by Chen Kuan Tai (also the star of BOXER), takes a liking to the socialite mistress (Ching Li) of the son of the city's reigning crime boss (Yang Chih-Ching). He even rides a motorcycle through the patio doors of her elegant house and into the parlor and fights off her bodyguards to get her attention. The old crime boss, disgusted with his own son's wastrel ways, actually takes a liking to Chou and lets him have the woman. This provides a wedge for another crime boss to start a war to take over the city's criminal network.

To make a not-so-long-story short, Chou finds himself battling dozens of henchmen wielding clubs and knives (apparently no one has any guns left over from the war) in a series of brutal kung fu fights that are more realistic than usual because of Chou's strategy of ruthless thrusts, punches, kicks and elbow blows designed to maim and disable his opponents as quickly and surely as possible. Fortunately, the film is filled with such fights and they keep one's interest throughout.

The on-screen chemistry between Chen Kuan Tai and his female co-star, Ching Li (a leading Shaw Bros. star who was also in BOXER), is quite strong and includes some tender and romantic scenes (after, of course, she gets over his initial rough treatment of her).