Magnificent Butcher
Encyclopedia
Magnificent Butcher is a 1979
Hong Kong
martial arts
action
comedy film
directed by Yuen Woo-ping
, starring Sammo Hung
, Kwan Tak-hing, Yuen Biao
, Wei Pai, Lee Hoi San, Chiang Kam, Fan Mei Sheng, Fung Ging Man, Fung Hak-on and Max Lee.
The film is based on the story of Lam Sai-wing, one of the students of the legendary Chinese
folk hero
Wong Fei-hung. Sammo Hung
plays "Butcher" Lam Sai-wing and Kwan Tak-hing plays Wong Fei-hung, a role he had played before in over 70 films. The film also features Hung's opera "brother" Yuen Biao
as another of Wong Fei-hung's students, Leung Foon, a role he would reprise years later in the film Once Upon a Time in China
along with Jet Li
.
Magnificent Butcher was produced as Hung's attempt to duplicate the success of Jackie Chan
's 1978 martial arts action comedy film Drunken Master
, in which Chan plays Freddy Wong. Drunken Master heavily features the Beggar So character, who is also in Magnificent Butcher.
Yuen Siu Tien was his first choice for the role of Beggar So in this film. Later on, Yuen died of a heart attack
before Magnificent Butcher's production began and was replaced by Fan Mei Sheng, which may have adversely affected the film's profit.
), also known as Butcher Wing, is a student of Wong Fei-hung (Kwan Tak-hing). Butcher Wing's long-lost brother Lam Sai-kwong (Chiang Kam) comes to town with his beautiful bride Yuet Mei (Tang Jing). Ko Tai-hoi (Fung Hak-on), the son of Master Ko (Lee Hoi San), sees Yuet Mei and, lusting for her, abducts her. The abduction is witnessed by Master Ko's goddaughter Lan Hsing (JoJo Chan Kei-kei).
Wong Fei-hung goes out of town, and leaves Butcher Wing and the other disciples, including Leung Foon Yuen Biao
and Chik (Wei Pai), to fend for themselves.
Sai-kwong assaults Tai-hoi, threatening to murder him if he doesn't free Yuet Mei. Butcher Wing arrives and witnesses Sai-kwong beating Tai-hoi. Not recognizing Sai-kwong, Butcher Wing stops him and drives him off. A despondent Sai-kwong decides to commit suicide but is saved by the wily drunkard Beggar So (Fan Mei Sheng), an old friend of Wong Fei-hung with equally good kung fu skills. Sai-kwong explains his situation to Beggar So. Beggar So confronts Tai-hoi, who claims that Butcher Wing took Yuet Mei. Beggar So confronts Butcher Wing, accusing him of abducting his brother's wife. Butcher Wing asks to meet this supposed brother of his. Beggar So introduces Butcher Wing to Sai-kwong, and they realize who each other are. Butcher Wing, Sai-kwong, and Beggar So realize that Tai-hoi still has Yuet Mei.
Lan Hsing attempts to rescue Yuet Mei but is caught by Tai-hoi, who holds Lan Hsing captive as well.
Butcher Wing and Beggar So unite and free Yuet Mei from Tai-hoi's clutches. They also free Lan Hsing, assuming that she's just another of Tai-hoi's captives and not realizing that she's Master Ko's goddaughter. She keeps her identity secret. They go to Butcher Wing's house. Butcher Wing unwittingly insults Lan Hsing, who decides to punish him. Beggar So drinks too much alcohol and loses consciousness. For the sake of inconveniencing Butcher Wing, Lan Hsing insists on staying at his house that night, claiming to be homeless and feigning an injury that leaves her unable to walk. She climbs into his bed. Beggar So awakens. Butcher Wing invites Beggar So out for more drinks to stop him from noticing that Lan Hsing is in Butcher Wing's bed, and they leave. Tai-hoi breaks into Butcher Wing's house and attempts to rape Lan Hsing. She resists, screaming, and while trying to silence her, Tai-hoi accidentally kills her. The murder is overheard by a passing night watchman. Tai-hoi flees, unknowingly leaving behind an identifying ring, which the night watchman finds.
Tai-hoi accuses Butcher Wing of the murder. Believing that Butcher Wing will take refuge at Po Chi Lam (Wong Fei-hung's school), Master Ko goes there with two of his students and destroys Po Chi Lam's sign. Leung Foon and Chik attack Master Ko and his students. Butcher Wing arrives during the fight, and Master Ko fatally injures him. Leung Foon and Chik take the dying Butcher Wing to Beggar So, who successfully treats his injuries and critiques his kung fu. Butcher Wing asking the old man to teach him how to improve his kung fu, he is made to undergo rigorous training.
The night watchman attempts to extort Tai-hoi, selling the ring back to him. Tai-hoi attempts to murder the night watchman, who flees. The night watchman encounters Sai-kwong and Yuet Mei and tells them that Tai-hoi was Lan Hsing's murderer. Tai-hoi then catches up and murders the night watchman and Sai-kwong. Yuet Mei escapes with the ring, which she gives to Butcher Wing. She tells him everything.
Later on, Butcher Wing was destroying Tai-hoi’s private party that Tai-hoi is holding on a rented boat, Butcher Wing walks in holding Sai-kwong's funeral tablet. However, Wing will murder Tai-hoi to avenge Sai-kwong, then attacks. Everyone but Tai-hoi flees, Tai-hoi fights back, but Butcher Wing proves himself the superior fighter, Tai-hoi tries to flee, but Butcher Wing stops Tai-hoi. Finally Tai-hoi begs for mercy, groveling on the floor and bowing to Sai-kwong's funeral tablet, Butcher Wing hit Tai-hoi’s head with the funeral tablet, and he died.
In the morning, Master Ko was upset about his son’s death and sets up Tai-hoi's funeral in the town square and waits for Butcher Wing, who will come that way, when Butcher Wing comes, Master Ko attempts to murder him, Butcher Wing fights back, using Tai-hoi's funeral tablet against Master Ko, that Master Ko breaks Tai-hoi’s funeral tablet, even more infuriated, Master Ko redoubles his attack, with help from Beggar So, Butcher Wing to defeat Master Ko into a submission, after the fight, Wong Fei-hung returns, the film ends with a joke as Wong Fei-hung prepares to punish Butcher Wing for incorrectly replacing Po Chi Lam's sign was turned upside down.
in the UK on Region 2
.
Hong Kong films of 1979
A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 1979:.-1979:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 1979 at...
Hong Kong
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
martial arts
Martial arts film
Martial arts film is a film genre. A sub-genre of the action film, martial arts films contain numerous fights between characters, usually as the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often as a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently...
action
Hong Kong action cinema
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. It combines elements from the action film, as codified by Hollywood, with Chinese storytelling and aesthetic traditions, to create a culturally distinctive form that nevertheless has a wide transcultural...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Yuen Woo-ping
Yuen Woo-ping
Yuen Woo-ping is a Chinese martial arts choreographer and film director, renowned as one of the most successful and influential figures in the world of Hong Kong action cinema. He is one of the inductees on the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong...
, starring Sammo Hung
Sammo Hung
Sammo Hung is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in many martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema...
, Kwan Tak-hing, Yuen Biao
Yuen Biao
Yuen Biao is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist. He specialises in acrobatics and Chinese martial arts and has worked on over 80 films as actor, stuntman and action choreographer...
, Wei Pai, Lee Hoi San, Chiang Kam, Fan Mei Sheng, Fung Ging Man, Fung Hak-on and Max Lee.
The film is based on the story of Lam Sai-wing, one of the students of the legendary Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
folk hero
Folk hero
A folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
Wong Fei-hung. Sammo Hung
Sammo Hung
Sammo Hung is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in many martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema...
plays "Butcher" Lam Sai-wing and Kwan Tak-hing plays Wong Fei-hung, a role he had played before in over 70 films. The film also features Hung's opera "brother" Yuen Biao
Yuen Biao
Yuen Biao is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist. He specialises in acrobatics and Chinese martial arts and has worked on over 80 films as actor, stuntman and action choreographer...
as another of Wong Fei-hung's students, Leung Foon, a role he would reprise years later in the film Once Upon a Time in China
Once Upon a Time in China
Once Upon a Time in China is a Hong Kong martial arts action/adventure film franchise directed, written, and produced by Tsui Hark. The stories are based on the life of the legendary kung fu master, Traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, and Chinese folk hero, Wong Fei Hung...
along with Jet Li
Jet Li
The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...
.
Magnificent Butcher was produced as Hung's attempt to duplicate the success of Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
's 1978 martial arts action comedy film Drunken Master
Drunken Master
Drunken Master, also known as Drunk Monkey In The Tiger's Eye, is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film directed by Yuen Woo-ping, and starring Jackie Chan, Yuen Siu-tien, and Hwang Jang Lee...
, in which Chan plays Freddy Wong. Drunken Master heavily features the Beggar So character, who is also in Magnificent Butcher.
Yuen Siu Tien was his first choice for the role of Beggar So in this film. Later on, Yuen died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
before Magnificent Butcher's production began and was replaced by Fan Mei Sheng, which may have adversely affected the film's profit.
Plot
Lam Sai-wing (Sammo HungSammo Hung
Sammo Hung is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in many martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema...
), also known as Butcher Wing, is a student of Wong Fei-hung (Kwan Tak-hing). Butcher Wing's long-lost brother Lam Sai-kwong (Chiang Kam) comes to town with his beautiful bride Yuet Mei (Tang Jing). Ko Tai-hoi (Fung Hak-on), the son of Master Ko (Lee Hoi San), sees Yuet Mei and, lusting for her, abducts her. The abduction is witnessed by Master Ko's goddaughter Lan Hsing (JoJo Chan Kei-kei).
Wong Fei-hung goes out of town, and leaves Butcher Wing and the other disciples, including Leung Foon Yuen Biao
Yuen Biao
Yuen Biao is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist. He specialises in acrobatics and Chinese martial arts and has worked on over 80 films as actor, stuntman and action choreographer...
and Chik (Wei Pai), to fend for themselves.
Sai-kwong assaults Tai-hoi, threatening to murder him if he doesn't free Yuet Mei. Butcher Wing arrives and witnesses Sai-kwong beating Tai-hoi. Not recognizing Sai-kwong, Butcher Wing stops him and drives him off. A despondent Sai-kwong decides to commit suicide but is saved by the wily drunkard Beggar So (Fan Mei Sheng), an old friend of Wong Fei-hung with equally good kung fu skills. Sai-kwong explains his situation to Beggar So. Beggar So confronts Tai-hoi, who claims that Butcher Wing took Yuet Mei. Beggar So confronts Butcher Wing, accusing him of abducting his brother's wife. Butcher Wing asks to meet this supposed brother of his. Beggar So introduces Butcher Wing to Sai-kwong, and they realize who each other are. Butcher Wing, Sai-kwong, and Beggar So realize that Tai-hoi still has Yuet Mei.
Lan Hsing attempts to rescue Yuet Mei but is caught by Tai-hoi, who holds Lan Hsing captive as well.
Butcher Wing and Beggar So unite and free Yuet Mei from Tai-hoi's clutches. They also free Lan Hsing, assuming that she's just another of Tai-hoi's captives and not realizing that she's Master Ko's goddaughter. She keeps her identity secret. They go to Butcher Wing's house. Butcher Wing unwittingly insults Lan Hsing, who decides to punish him. Beggar So drinks too much alcohol and loses consciousness. For the sake of inconveniencing Butcher Wing, Lan Hsing insists on staying at his house that night, claiming to be homeless and feigning an injury that leaves her unable to walk. She climbs into his bed. Beggar So awakens. Butcher Wing invites Beggar So out for more drinks to stop him from noticing that Lan Hsing is in Butcher Wing's bed, and they leave. Tai-hoi breaks into Butcher Wing's house and attempts to rape Lan Hsing. She resists, screaming, and while trying to silence her, Tai-hoi accidentally kills her. The murder is overheard by a passing night watchman. Tai-hoi flees, unknowingly leaving behind an identifying ring, which the night watchman finds.
Tai-hoi accuses Butcher Wing of the murder. Believing that Butcher Wing will take refuge at Po Chi Lam (Wong Fei-hung's school), Master Ko goes there with two of his students and destroys Po Chi Lam's sign. Leung Foon and Chik attack Master Ko and his students. Butcher Wing arrives during the fight, and Master Ko fatally injures him. Leung Foon and Chik take the dying Butcher Wing to Beggar So, who successfully treats his injuries and critiques his kung fu. Butcher Wing asking the old man to teach him how to improve his kung fu, he is made to undergo rigorous training.
The night watchman attempts to extort Tai-hoi, selling the ring back to him. Tai-hoi attempts to murder the night watchman, who flees. The night watchman encounters Sai-kwong and Yuet Mei and tells them that Tai-hoi was Lan Hsing's murderer. Tai-hoi then catches up and murders the night watchman and Sai-kwong. Yuet Mei escapes with the ring, which she gives to Butcher Wing. She tells him everything.
Later on, Butcher Wing was destroying Tai-hoi’s private party that Tai-hoi is holding on a rented boat, Butcher Wing walks in holding Sai-kwong's funeral tablet. However, Wing will murder Tai-hoi to avenge Sai-kwong, then attacks. Everyone but Tai-hoi flees, Tai-hoi fights back, but Butcher Wing proves himself the superior fighter, Tai-hoi tries to flee, but Butcher Wing stops Tai-hoi. Finally Tai-hoi begs for mercy, groveling on the floor and bowing to Sai-kwong's funeral tablet, Butcher Wing hit Tai-hoi’s head with the funeral tablet, and he died.
In the morning, Master Ko was upset about his son’s death and sets up Tai-hoi's funeral in the town square and waits for Butcher Wing, who will come that way, when Butcher Wing comes, Master Ko attempts to murder him, Butcher Wing fights back, using Tai-hoi's funeral tablet against Master Ko, that Master Ko breaks Tai-hoi’s funeral tablet, even more infuriated, Master Ko redoubles his attack, with help from Beggar So, Butcher Wing to defeat Master Ko into a submission, after the fight, Wong Fei-hung returns, the film ends with a joke as Wong Fei-hung prepares to punish Butcher Wing for incorrectly replacing Po Chi Lam's sign was turned upside down.
Cast
- Sammo HungSammo HungSammo Hung is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in many martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema...
– Butcher Lam Sai-wing - Kwan Tak-hing – Wong Fei-hung
- Yuen BiaoYuen BiaoYuen Biao is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist. He specialises in acrobatics and Chinese martial arts and has worked on over 80 films as actor, stuntman and action choreographer...
– Leung Foon - Wei Pai – Chik
- Lee Hoi San – Master Ko
- Billy Chan – Tai-hoi's friend #1
- Max Lee – Tai-hoi’s friend #2
- JoJo Chan Kei-kei – Lan Hsing
- Chiang Kam - Lam Sai-kwong
- Chung Fat – Wildcat
- Fan Mei Sheng – Beggar So
- Fung Hak-on – Ko Tai-hoi
- Fung Ging Man – Chess player
- Ho Pak-kwong – Blind man
- Lam Ching-ying – Killer with Fan
- Yuen Miu – Pole Man
- Lee Fung – Restaurant worker
- Sai Gwa-pau – Ah So
- Tang Jing – Yuet Mi
- Tsang Choh-lam – Night watchman
DVD release
On July 23, 2001, the DVD was released by Hong Kong LegendsHong 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...
in the UK on Region 2
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
.
External links
- Magnificent Butcher at Hong Kong Cinemagic