Film

The Magnificent Butcher

Name: The Magnificent Butcher
Genre: Action, Comedy
Released: 1979
Cast: Sammo Hung, Kwan Tak-Hing, Yuen Biao, Wai Pak, Fan Mei-Sheng

Martial arts action

A 1979 kung fu comedy where a butcher and devoted student of Wong Fei-Hung is framed for rape and murder by a rival school. Sammo Hung's physical comedy and genuine martial skill collide in a film that treats absurd plotting as license for creative fight choreography. It's broad, joyful, and made for viewers who want spectacle with laughs baked in.

TMDb rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love kung-fu comedy where the slapstick is built from precise, real choreography and a scrappy underdog talks his way into trouble before he fights his way out of it.

Skip it if you want a tidy, light-hearted romp, since the comedy keeps colliding with a grave accusation and a revenge plot that darkens the mood.

What it asks of you: It runs under two hours and moves briskly, but it wants you alert to the physical gags and the fight choreography, which carry the storytelling more than dialogue does.

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The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

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