The Cover

It's a universal fact that classic Kung Fu movies never seem to make much sense. Much of this is cultural, some of it is due to the age of the film. There's usually some weird mistaken identity, a drunken character and a girl in trouble. Kung-Fu movies have a way of making ancillary characters more important than they should be - the movie will move entirely away from the heroes to focus on some unnecessary side story. But really, when you watch these movies, does it matter? You aren't looking for something to give you an intellectual challenge - you're looking for arm-breaking, dragon-fisted action.

Magnificent Butcher is one of those classic Kung Fu movies – the ones with all the camera zooms and overly emphasized hitting sounds like sound like twigs breaking. Sammo Hung is Butcher Wing, a somewhat clumsy and confused butcher...who also happens to know Kung Fu. Through plot machinations worthy of a daytime soap opera, it is Butcher Wing who must defend his dojo and the baseless accusations against him.

There's far more Kung Fu in this movie than actual movie. This is a good thing. The fights are amazingly choreographed and never "cheat" like so many movies of its kind do today. In other words, instead of seeing flashes of action which are cut together to make a fight scene, the entire scene is played out in a master shot where you can watch these athletes in action.

For a big guy, even back then, Sammo could sure move. The fights were choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping, the man behind all that Matrix wonderfulness. If you want to know what to expect from the fights, just look at the Dojo scenes in the first Matrix – extended, balletic sets that are as much dance as fight.

No wonder there's such a longing to make Kung-Fu films like they made twenty years ago. With the Matrix and the upcoming Kill Bill, filmmakers are looking to classic Kung-Fu to inform and shape their own work. Magnificent Butcher won't take the place of an Oscar winner on your shelf, but it'll certainly make you realize how crappy Jean Claude and Segal fight.

Movie Grade: A-

Video: 5 out of 5
For a film that's over 20 years old, this transfer looks amazing. They have really done a fine job of cleaning up what I'm guessing was a pretty bad print. Everything is clean and balanced, and the dark black levels are perfect. The film does have a slightly desaturated look to it, but that comes more from the 80's film stock than anything. This movie looks as good as any other movie of its age.
Widescreen anamorphic 2.35:1

Cosmic Fist! Viper Hand! Trouser Snake!

Audio: 3 out of 5
It's stereo, but it's Dolby and cleaned up nice and purdy. Don't expect much. I also need to say that as expected, the dub track is awful. It's so bad it goes past funny and all the way back to bad again. It sounds like two people doing all the voices in a studio while standing to close to the mics. The Cantonese language track isn't that great either (much of it is ADR) but it's a lot more natural.
English (2.0), Cantonese (2.0)

Extras: 3 out of 4
If you want to take a look at how bad this movie looked before restoration, just take a look at the trailer provided on the disc. There's also a new trailer promoting the movie. There's an extremely cheesy, very-Asian music video showing off the prowess of Sammo in his various film roles.

Overall: 4 out of 5
The number one reason to buy this disc? It's cheap. You can get it for around $12. That's easily what you'd pay to see Steven Segal do power moves in a billowing jumpsuit at your local theater. Get this instead.

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