Hello all you fans of the martial arts movie genre! Hai!Karate returns with a new film for you to check out, and this one ranks among one of the best and the most entertaining of the lot - The Magnificent Butcher starring the great Sammo Hung!!! Also making an appearance is the legendary Kwan Tak Hing, as well as Yuen Biao, Lam Ching-Ying and Fan Mei-Sheng in this Golden Harvest feature. At the director's chair is the great Yuen Woo-Ping. There's some backstory to this feature, but we'll get to that shortly...
The Magnificent Butcher opens on a market scene as
these flicks often tend to do. We come upon Butcher
Wing(Hung) who manages to get into some hijinks as
he makes his way throughout the market. But one of
those episodes lands him in hot water with Master Ko
Tan Bin(Lee Hoi-Sang) and his disciples. Master Ko,
who is quick to anger, decides that this will be the
chance he needs to give Master Wong Fei Hung(Tak Hing)
his comeuppance. And there lies one of the most
renowned scenes in kung fu movie history - Ko and
Fei Hung's battle through a lesson in the "gentle"
art of calligraphy.
Ko informs Wong Fei Hung of Butcher Wing's error and
Wing is promptly punished as the master heads out of
town on a trip to buy medicinal herbs. Meanwhile, a
man by the name of Lam Sai Kwong(Chiang Kam) arrives
in town with his wife Cheung Yuet Mai(Tong Ching) to
look for his long-lost brother. Yuet Mai catches the
eye of Tai Hoi(Fung Hak-On), the scurvy son of Master
Ko. He hatches a plot and kidnaps Yuet Mai. Around this
same time, Beggar So rambles into town - and I do mean
ramble, as he falls out of a rickshaw. He happens upon
a despondent Sai Kwong and promises to help him get his
wife back. This soon leads to a run-in with Wing and
Tai Hoi, who had deceived So into thinking Wing was the
kidnapper. They wind up fighting - So giving Wing the
business - and the truth is then revealed.
The brothers are reunited, and set out to get Yuet
Mai back. But in the process, they unknowingly rescue
someone else who Master Ko cherishes and set about a
course of events that involve blackmail, murder and a
eventual showdown between Butcher Wing and Master Ko.
One that promises to be jam-packed with action!
The Magnificent Butcher is striking as a movie overall
but can tend to be slightly plodding in some of the
scenes. It's a real comedic vehicle and one that would
lead to Sammo Hung gaining superstar power in Hong Kong
cinema - and also spawn a few movies centering on his
weight as a selling point. You do get a good grasp of
his fighting prowess in the film in a comedic sense
as well as the fight scenes thanks to good collaboration
between he and Yuen Woo-Ping, especially the acrobatic
elements. Now, I mentioned the fight scene between Wong
Fei Hung and Master Ko. That scene pops so much because
you have to take into account that Kwan Tak Hing was in
his 70's and performed most of this scene without a stunt
double. It was one of a handful of movies he did for the
Golden Harvest studios, such as The Skyhawk which was
reviewed here.That's
not to say Lee Hoi-San was a slouch. He brings all of his
skill to the foray from a lengthy career that saw him in
various supporting roles including a highly visible stint
at the Shaw Brothers Studios.(Side note - he originally
was set to play a minor comedic role but in the second
revision of the script, he was entrusted to play Master
Ko.)
You may have noticed Beggar So is played by a different
actor. Sadly, the man that made the role famous, Simon
Yuen passed away right before production began. That
prompted a script rewrite as well as re-casting, which
brought veteran Fan Mei-Sheng into the picture. It adds
another bit of fun to the film even though it must've
been hard for Woo-Ping to see being that this was his
father's famous role. Also in The Magnificent Butcher
are decent turns by Yuen Biao and Wei Pak, formerly one
of the Five Deadly Venoms. They get a bit of shine but
not too much. This is strictly a Sammo Hung vehicle. All
in all, you'll get a kick out of seeing The Magnificent
Butcher. It's not a major must-see, but it's one all fans
of the genre should peep.The DVD is widely available, and
it is on YouTube. Bit of advice - look for the original
version if you can if you want to avoid some bad voiceover
work.
RATING: 3.5. OUT OF 5 DRAGON PUNCHES
