Magnificent Butcher

Close to perfect. Woo Ping was on fire back then--there's one incredibly creative fight after another here. Hung is hilarious as usual... Wildcat had me in stitches too. The story veers between comic misunderstandings and serious tragedy, but it mostly does so with grace; the pivotal murder is a notable exception--to me, its horror stood out as far too real and serious in comparison to the rest of the film.

I gotta point out how cruel the story ends up treating the bad guy, but that's one of the pros of the movie, that Sammo Hung doesn't give you a movie of black and white morality, or any definition of what makes a bad guy or a good guy. Some really good fight scenes with acrobatic skills and speed, and some crazy characters to go along with it that, like most of Hung's movies, create this grotesque world of caricatures and folklore.

A hilarious kung-fu flick as long as you don't question what's going on or sudden changes in the tone. Choreography and humour is top-notch. Even the long fighting scenes are constructed with as few shots/cuts as possible, indicating how much hard work they put into film during production.

It has huge tonal differences, tho it's less jarring here than in some other movies of its kind. While the comedy is very low-brow, Sammo Hung with his charisma makes it less annoying than it could be. But most importantly the movie does have a lot of impressive fights, stand outs are the one with cat based kung fu and a calligraphy fight between the two old masters Kwan Tak Hing and Lee Hoi San.

I'd never seen Sammo Hung in anything before this, but this was an excellent start for me. The story isn't anything revolutionary, and some of the humor falls flat (due in part to oddities in translation) but the action scenes are top-notch. I love fight scenes like these, where they never really use any cable rigging, and definitely no CGI or over-the-top special effects to distract from the two (or more) guys fighting. I say it's like watching a ballet, but with violence.

Great! Wong Fei Hung's calligraphy battle is one of many highlights.

I lost interest halfway through the movie because it got so dark and rapey after the introduction and the slapstick fights. Not enough Yuen Biao. I wish this was a full comedy/parody, but I'll settle for being able to see my fav scene: Kwan Tak Hing as Wong Fei Hung in a calligraphy battle.

This is Sammo's masterpiece. Kwan Tak Hing doing kung fu calligraphy is simply awesome.

Viewed December 29, 2020. Yuen Woo-ping's attempt at recapturing the success of Drunken Master, but with Sammo Hung in the lead role. Fittingly, it's darker and more edgy, so that the goofy parts are almost more jarring than the violent parts.

Ok kung fu movie with some nice choreography . Could make a bit more sense if the butcher was not that fat. The murder scene was a bit too serious compared to the rest of the movie.

Really great combination of campy fun and serious drama, with great choreography keeps you on your toes the whole movie. Are most martial arts movies this good or is it down hill from here?

Convoluted in the story, but obviously it opens up many opportunities for some great martial arts, and the fights can be quite lengthy in this one. All the ingredients are here for a classic.

Good Sammo fun.

Very goofy, but the stunts are no joke!

Not high art in terms of plot, but it does have jaw-dropping choreography for most of the fights. This would probably be considered one of the "classics" of the genre if not for the rape scene midway through, which really changes the tone of the otherwise zany comedy.

Some of the most enjoyable martial arts fights I've seen in a while.

This is a very enjoyable film with very well choreographed scenes, nice martial skills and good sense of humor. What was odd for me was the story, sometimes very tragic in a ligth themed movie, that put me off. Overall a very good martial arts movie.

One of Sammo's better outings.

This is the stuff. It's a bit too long, but it's glorious.

I'd seen several classic kung fu movies prior to this, mostly Bruce Lee's, but the genre hadn't yet grabbed me. It wasn't until later that I became a fan of it. But for a casual viewer, Magnificent Butcher sparked something - it was just so fascinating by kung fu terms that it made me like kung fu. And I suppose its Three Stooges level of slapstick helped soften the blow of the silliness present in others of its kind.

Yuen Woo-ping's action choreography and direction are exceptional, allowing Sammo Hung to ably demonstrate his huge talent at combining comedy with martial arts. Consequently, this folk farce is equal parts hilarious and awe-inspiring, no less than when Fan Mei-sheng's spectacular embodiment of Beggar So deigns to join the fight.

"I think I broke my ass!". The choreography is the most flagrant awesomeness here, but there's also some beautifully impertinent in- and outzooming (among other things) affirming the film's high-strung tone, and the opening has a poetic quality, a hilarious poetic quality.