Product Description

Hailed as one of the greatest kung-fu movies of all time, Magnificent Butcher is a powerhouse of martial arts action starring Hong Kong Legend Sammo Hung ("Martial Law" - hit TV series), and directed by Yuen Woo-ping who brought his highly inventive fight choreography to blockbuster hits "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "The Matrix". A student at master Wong-Fei-hung's martial academy, chubby and likeable butcher Lam Sai-wing (Sammo Hung) constantly lands in trouble - no more so than when he comes to the rescue of Kao Da-Hoi (Yuen Biao), the son of Master Ko (Lee Hoi-san) who heads opposing kung-fu school the Five Dragons. The good-hearted Sai-wing never suspects that Da-hoi is plotting against him by orchestrating a series of events to frame Sai-wing for murder of Da-hoi's half-sister. Hot for vengeance and to clear his good name, sai-wing first faces off against Da-hoi, leading to the ultimate martial arts showdown when Sammo Hung launches his 'five animals' against lee Hoi-san's 'five elements' fung-fu style!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34281 in DVD
• Brand: Twentieth Century Fox
• Released on: 2003-07-22
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Chinese
• Subtitled in: English, Chinese
• Dubbed in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 108 minutes

Amazon.com
Fans of The Matrix who exclaimed over the fight sequences staged by Yuen Woo-ping should get a load of what he can do when he's really in his element, deploying classic martial arts moves with an updated body-slamming intensity. In Magnificent Butcher you also get a sketch history of Hong Kong action cinema along the way. The plot is a mishmash about the kidnapping of the daughter of a local merchant; the fun is in the character turns and the electrifying combat scenes. Aging martial arts star Kwan Tak-hing returns to the role of real-life Cantonese nationalist folk hero Wong Fei-hung, a character he owned in the 1950s in a long string of B movies. Sammo Hung stars as Butcher Ah-wing, Wong's number one student, the character played by the even tubbier Kent Cheng in the Once Upon a Time in China series, to Jet Li's upright younger version of Wong. Kwan wisely leaves the hard action to his younger costars, but he does some deft, elegant tricks with furniture and calligraphy brushes, proof positive that he still has all the chops of a kung fu master, everything but the brute strength. (He actually makes mere strength look rather crass.) --David Chute

Customer Reviews

The Word "Magnificent" Could Not Be Used Any Better
Wow! You will find yourself thinking this quite often as you watch this great movie. I bought this without having seen it before based on some of these reviews and seeing it on some listmania lists as a great kung fu film. This was also the first Sammo Hung movie I had ever seen. I could not be more satisfied. I admit I was a bit skeptical, but after the first half hour I was thinking of how I had really scored with this one.

First off, Sammo Hung blew me away! I had no idea how quick, agile, and fast he was. His kung fu is flawless. Well, Yuen Woo-Ping doing the choreography certainly helps. Sammo does around six different styles himself and the other actors throw in about six more. Some unique ones are monkey pole and wild cat styles. There are plenty of fight scenes to keep the pace of the film high and always moving (probably one every ten minutes, sometimes even sooner). This movie also has good comedy for an old kung fu flick, not just silliness. The story of the movie is basic but still good. It is about how butcher Wing(Sammo Hung) gets into trouble when his master, Wong Fei Hung, is away and he must deal with it on his own. He is framed for a crime and must prove his innocence while trying to constantly defend himself from attempts on his life.

Well, the movie has no flaws so how about the DVD itself you ask. It's perfect. This is an extremely good digital transfer of the film. I am speaking of the Fox/Fortune Star version. I do not know about the HK version. The sound is excellent, Dolby 5.1 with no background noise at all(the english dubbed version that is). The voices for the dubbing are still the old original ones but they have a high sound quality. And contrary to another reviewer's statement, the picture IS in anamorphic widescreen(enhanced). Maybe they were referring to the original chinese DVD. Nearly all of Fox/Fortune Star DVDs are in anamorphic widescreen. Some other Fortune Star recommendations are Jackie Chan's The Young Master, The Prodigal Son or Knockabout both starring Yuen Biao, In The Line Of Duty 4 starring Donnie Yen and Cynthia Khan, and The Duel to the Death.

If you are still questioning yourself whether to buy this or not I will help you out, Buy Magnificent Butcher, It Is Awesome!

Great movie, but buyers beware!
There's not much more I can say that hasn't already been said about this movie. It's a great film and it's got Sammo Hung--enough said. The first copy I received (Tai Seng) had severe read problems from 3/4 to the end of the movie and it was unwatchable. Amazon replaced my DVD and I was able to watch the movie in its entirety. I placed it on a shelf for six months and one day I decided I'd watch it for the second time. The same problem cropped up! Either there is a problem with the process they use to make this particular DVD or the CD's they're using are flawed. I've not had any other problems with Tai Seng videos, so I am assuming it's a glitch in the copy process for this particular movie. Beware and check your DVD frequently, play it multiple times if you have to--to ensure yours won't go bad before the 30 day replacement/refund period. I'm resigned to the fact I'll have to order another copy. Don't let the fear of a bad DVD make you pass up this movie though. The picture and colors are wonderful--much better than any other Sammo Hung film I own. Buy it and enjoy. :o)

one of the greatest
If someone where to ask me to name my top ten martial arts films this would would for sure be in there.From Yuen Woo Ping this is one of his greatest with jaw dropping fight scenes with star Sammo Hung AND OTHERS including a great video transfer .Add that all up and you get one of the few greats!