''The Iceman Cometh'' () Also Known as ''The Time Warriors'', is a 1989 Hong Kong martial arts fantasy film directed by

Clarence Fok Clarence Fok Yiu-leung (霍耀良) is a Hong Kong film director and actor from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He is perhaps best known for directing the international cult classic ''Naked Killer'' (1992). He was once asked by producer Mario Kassar t ...

, starring

Yuen Biao Yuen Biao (born Ha Lingchun; 26 July 1957) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist and stuntman. He specialises in acrobatics and Chinese martial arts and has also worked on over 80 films as actor, stuntman and action choreographer. He was one ...

, Maggie Cheung and

Yuen Wah Yuen Wah (born Yung Kai-chi; 2 September 1952) is a Hong Kong action film actor, action choreographer, stuntman and martial artist who has appeared in over 160 films and over 20 television series. Early life Born Yung Kai-chi on 2 September 195 ...

. The film was released in Hong Kong on 18 August 1989. Yuen Biao and Yuen Wah (alongside their opera school brother Yuen Tak) also served as action choreographers on the film. Similar to '' Highlander'' the film combines elements of

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

and historical

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

with a contemporary setting and action. The film was nominated for three

Hong Kong Film Awards The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, ...

in 1990. The film is not related to the Eugene O'Neill play. A remake, titled simply '' Iceman'', was released in April 2014 and a sequel to that remake, ''Iceman: The Time Traveller'' on November 2, 2018.

Plot

In 16th Century China, Ming guard Fong Sau-ching (Yuen Biao) relentlessly tracks the ruthless villain Feng San (Yuen Wah), who is notorious for raping and killing women. Feng San murders the princess and the emperor is furious that Fong Sau-ching wasn't able to save her. He gives Fong one last chance to capture Feng San within 20 days. After Feng San steals the priceless and magical Black Jade Buddha, a magical artifact that grants user the ability to time travel; Fong and Feng San are transported to 300 years in the future. Upon arrival, a titanic martial arts encounter atop a cliff ensues and is only ended when the two men tumble into a glacier where they are instantly frozen. Later being thawed out and awaken by scientists, Fong Sau-ching must continue his pursuit of his quarry although to survive in 1980s Kowloon with the confounding discovery of electricity, TV and toilets, he's going to need a little help from femme fatale Polly (Maggie Cheung). Polly hires Fong to be her servant and bodyguard since she knows of his martial arts expertise and in return she will help him get an ID card. Fong feels extremely shameful for not being able to capture Feng San and once a royal guard like himself is now a servant to a woman. Meanwhile, Feng San is still out and about and he's now a thief working for the local crime boss. He kills his boss after he was caught trying to rape his boss' girlfriend and a fight started. He then kills her in a brutal fashion of breaking her limbs. Later, Fong finds out that this whole time Polly was a prostitute and she's been using him the whole time, so he vows to not be her slave any longer. Around the same time, Fong reads a newspaper about a woman who's been murdered and her limbs are broken. He is instantly reminded of how Feng San kills his victims and now knows he's still alive. Feng San kidnaps Polly by pretending to be one of her clients. Fong goes to rescue her and is forced to admit that he loves Polly when Feng San has held her hostage. A big fight between Fong and Feng San ensues with Feng San being the victor and Fong severely injured but is able to recover after making it to the hospital. Feng San learns that the Buddha's wheel, the magical device that sent him to the future has been dug up and transported to a Hong Kong exhibit. He steals a load of firearms from the local arms dealer and plans to take the modern firearms back to the 16th century and conquer the dynasty. Fong is also aware of the Buddha's Wheel and predicts that Feng San will be there. He then trains for the upcoming battle and crafts a sword to combat Feng San. After finishing the sword he leaves Polly without her noticing because he doesn't want her to get involved. At the exhibit, Feng San finds a note on the wheel written by Fong that tells him to come up to the roof for the Black Jade, which he needs to activate the time travel device. On the roof top, Fong confronts Feng San and tells him that no matter what happens he will fulfill his duty to the emperor and take Feng San back to pay for his crimes. Fong eventually kills Feng San by impaling him on shards of broken glass. He takes Feng San's body and activates the Buddha's wheel. Polly arrives at the scene but was too late. She watches tearfully as Fong leaves. Some time later, Polly quits being a prostitute and is now working at a corner store. As she went to take out the trash, she runs into a man who resembles Fong (possibly a reincarnation). She shouts with joy that Fong is still alive and leaps onto him even though the man has no idea who she is.

Cast

as Fong Sau-ching / Fang Shou-zheng * Maggie Cheung as Polly *

as Feng San * Tai Po as Pimp (Chang's thug) *

Elvis Tsui Elvis Tsui Kam-kong (born October 12, 1961) is a Hong Kong actor and artist. Tsui is primarily known for his roles in erotic films and martial arts films, where he's more often cast as villains. Some of the famous characters he has portrayed repe ...

as Chinese Scientist * Corey Yuen as Bum *

Stanley Fung Stanley Fung Shui-fan (born June 1, 1945) is a Hong Kong actor and film director known for playing comedic roles. He was one of the Lucky Stars. Career In 1967, Fung became an actor in Hong Kong films. Fung first appeared in To Rose with ...

as Santa Claus * Jing Chen as Arms Dealer *

Liu Wai-hung Liu Wai Hung (; born 9 December 1957) is a former actor in TVB with his famous nickname "Ar Chan" (阿燦). Liu was born in Hong Kong with family roots in Shunde, Guangdong, China. He joined TVB in 1977. In the firm ''The Good, The Bad And The U ...

as Angel *

Wong Jing Wong Jing ( born 3 May 1955) is a Hong Kong film director, Film producer, producer, actor, News presenter, presenter, and screenwriter. A prolific filmmaker with strong instincts for crowd-pleasing and publicity, Wong Jing played a prominent ...

as Crane Operator *

Alvina Kong Elvina Kong Yan-yin (; born 6 July 1967) is a Hong Kong television actress and presenter currently under contract to TVB. Background Kong was born in British Hong Kong on 6 July 1967. She was a finalist in the New Talent Singing Contest 1985 ...

as Hooker * Sarah Lee as Hooker * Sin Lap-man as Robber * Yuen Tak as Person (extra) * John Cheung as Doctor * Cho Tat-wah as Zheng's uncle instructor * Lau Chau-sang as Chang's thug * Lai Yin-san * Anthony Wong Yiu-ming as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty (cameo)

Production

The film's opening fight scene was filmed on location in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. This part of the shoot was troubled by

snowstorms A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental climates, these storms are not necessar ...

. This was extreme weather some members of the crew suffered from

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the ha ...

while filming. The climactic fight scene took a month to shoot.

Reception

The film was a modest hit grossing HK$14 million at the Hong Kong box office. The film appears in

Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for ''The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008, when he retired. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has ...

's 1,000 favourite films list. He praises Maggie Cheung's comedic performance in particular.Rosenbaum, Jonathan ''Essential Cinema: On the Necessity of Film Canons'' (Johns Hopkins University Press 2004) p.167

Awards

The film was nominated for the following awards at the

: * Best Action Choreography * Best Cinematography * Best Film Editing

Home media

DVD was released in All Regions in the United States on 27 April 1999, it was distributed by Tai Seng Video Marketing. On 25 July 2005, DVD was released by

Hong Kong Legends Hong Kong Legends was a United Kingdom DVD distribution company, based in Hertfordshire and operating from the UK and Australia between 1999 and 2007. Hong Kong Legends was initially part of Medusa Communications, who, along with Soulblade bought ...

in the United Kingdom in Region 2.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iceman Cometh 1989 films 1989 fantasy films 1989 martial arts films 1980s Cantonese-language films Hong Kong fantasy comedy films Films set in Hong Kong Films about time travel Golden Harvest films Hong Kong fantasy films Kung fu films Martial arts fantasy films Hong Kong martial arts films Hong Kong slapstick comedy films 1980s Hong Kong films