Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10135 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-04-29
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 168 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A loose (very loose) Japanese TV adaptation of Wu Ch'eng-en's 16th-century collection of Chinese fables, Monkey! was re-dubbed into English in the early 1980s and became required viewing for a whole generation of school children. The titular monkey (played with great enthusiasm, not to mention athleticism by Japanese comic actor and former rock star Masaaki Sakai) accompanies boy-monk Tripitaka (confusingly, a pretty actress called Masako Natsume) on his/her quest for the Indian Sutras. They pick up Sandy (Shiro Kishibe), Pigsy (Toshiyuki Nishida) and a dragon that becomes a horse along the way.

The appeal of Monkey! is easier to experience than explain. It's an occasionally surreal blend of Oriental fable, knock-about martial arts, pop Buddhism and slapstick comedy. The frequent comic fight scenes are accompanied by a 70s disco-fusion soundtrack, and a narrator (English voice: Frank Duncan) uses gaps in the action to deliver inscrutable snippets of wisdom ("Even a starving camel is still bigger than a horse", "Does love mean labour even for the carp-hearted?"). Best of all, though, is the dialogue: without regard to any lip-synch niceties the English script (by David Weir) is full of idiomatic delights, jokes and double entendres. All are delivered by British actors in hilarious cod-Japanese accents (distinguished thesp Miriam Margolyes is the voice of Tripitaka). Bad special effects crown the show's cheesy, retro appeal.

On the DVD: Monkey! volume 1 on DVD features the same first three episodes as the VHS incarnation--"Monkey Goes Wild About Heaven", "Monkey Turns Nursemaid" and "The Great Journey Begins"--but also a bonus previously unseen episode from the second season, "You Win Some You Lose Some", which is subtitled not dubbed, so if nothing else is an opportunity to hear the actors' real voices. Extra features are a stills gallery, text pieces on the principal cast, characters and episodes, Weblinks, trailers for The Water Margin and Blake's Seven and a pop-video version of the show's irrepressible main title song.----Mark Walker

DVD Description
DVD Special Features
You Win Some, You Lose Some (Bonus episode never seen on UK TV, with English subtitles)
Principal cast/character biographies
Still galleries
Web links

Synopsis
This much-loved Japanese adventure series, broadcast in the early 1980s by the BBC, is based on a Chinese legend. Join the irrepressible Monkey (Masaaki Sakai) and his companions on their perilous journey in search of sacred Buddhist scriptures. Featured episodes are "Monkey Goes Wild About Heaven" "Monkey Turns Nursemaid," "The Great Journey Begins," and one additional rare episode.

Customer Reviews

monkey magic
I was a bit dubious about buying this as i remember it as being the BEST thing on TV when I was a little lass... I was not disappointed, in fact I enjoyed it even more when I remembered how impressed I was with the special effects then to see how truly dreadful they are now. Plus I won a bet about the reason why Monkey got thrown out of heaven!
Absolutly fabulous trip down memory lane and stll made me laugh out loud!

The Spirit of Monkey was Irrepressible!
At last on video, these classic episodes are the first three of the Monkey series, including "Monkey Goes Wild About Heaven", and the story of how he meets up with Sandy, Pigsy and Tripitaka to journey to India.

I have to confess that although I loved Monkey when I was a child, I remember very little of it because I was always too busy chasing my brother around the front room pretending to "be" in the program. Now at a more sober age, the programs are just as good as I remembered, as the arrogant Monkey and his cohorts battle against themselves and numerous assailants to reach India. Although the Kung Fu is a little dissappointing (rather too much stick waving and not much martial arts), the dialogue is brilliant and bizzare, ably filling in for the lack of sofa aerobics.

It affected me deeply when I was a kid. I still love it.
This slightly skewed British dub of a Japanese TV series based on a Chinese legend has a unique place in the hearts of myself and many of my generation.

If you've never seen it, it's full of bizarre martial arts action, strange special effects, odd lessons on Buddhist wisdom, a lot of weird slapstick and surreal dialogue terribly dubbed.

If you like Hong Kong action movies or anything influenced by them (Hercules and Xena, for example) you'll probably find something to like here.

The nature of Monkey was irrepressible!