Description
Title: The Magnificent Kick (1980)
Alternate Title: Secret Kick of Death
Genre: Action/Martial Arts
Plot Synopsis
Wong Fei Hung returns to town as lion-dancing festivities mask a rising tide of oppression from pro-Qing warlords. Students of his Hung Gar school face threats to their honour and heritage, and when one sister’s family is slaughtered for resisting tyranny, Wong trains her in his legendary “shadowless kick”. The path to vengeance is steeped in tradition, testing not only physical skill but the strength of lineage and community in the face of corruption.
Cast and Crew
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Director: Daniel Lau Tan-Ching
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Writers: Szeto On
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Cast:
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Kwan Tak-Hing as Wong Fei Hung
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Jason Pai Piao as Ah Tzu
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Cecilia Wong Hang-Sau as Ma Tsui Fa
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Han Ying-Chieh as General Te
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Nick Cheung Lik as Ma Li
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IMDb Link: The Magnificent Kick (1980)
Reviews from Letterboxd
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BC555 – ★★☆☆☆
“Fairly by-the-numbers kung fu fare stapled together with a paper-thin plot about fighting pro-Qing bullies. Unfortunately not nearly enough Kwan Tak-hing as I hoped.” -
Robert – ★★★☆☆
“Hope y’all like lion dancing because that’s what a good 20% of this movie is. There’s also some animal cruelty mixed in (one of the guys in the lion costume whips a snake around). There’s not much here that you probably haven’t seen before, but the fight choreography is solid, and it’s always a good time when Jason Pai Piao shows up. If you’re a completist, this is one of the approximately forty thousand films in which Kwan Tak-hing plays Wong Fei Hung.” -
Spenser Peebles – ★★☆☆☆
“Notable for featuring the original Wong Fei Hung actor who popularized the martial arts genre in Hong Kong. Standard fare sort of flick. Decent kung fu but nothing to write home about.” -
hotsake – ★★★☆☆
“The old-school martial arts was entertaining, but the story itself wasn’t all that good.”
Meta Description:
Classic 1980 Hong Kong martial arts film featuring Kwan Tak-Hing’s return as Wong Fei Hung, delivering traditional lion-dance spectacle, the famed shadowless kick, and old-school kung fu choreography.
Title: Butcher Wing (1979)
Alternate Title: The Magnificent Butcher
Genre: Martial Arts / Comedy
Plot Synopsis
A spirited pork butcher and his fish-monger friend cross paths with a gang of local thugs and find themselves outmatched until a martial-arts doctor steps in to train them in the ancient discipline of Hung Gar. As their skill grows, the butcher becomes entangled in a web of misunderstandings involving kidnappings, murder, and a rival kung fu school seeking vengeance. With loyalties tested and betrayal looming, he must rely on both his training and his heart to face off against lethal foes and clear his name.
Cast and Crew
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Director: Yuen Woo-ping
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Writers: Edward Tang, Jing Wong
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Cast:
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Sammo Hung as Lam Sai-wing
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Kwan Tak-hing as Wong Fei-hung
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Yuen Biao as Leung Foon
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Wei Pai as Chik
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Fan Mei-sheng as Beggar So
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IMDb Link: Butcher Wing (1979)
Reviews from Letterboxd
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Lorenzo – ★★½☆☆
“This is the tale of Lam Sai Wing (aka Pork Wing and Butcher Wing) and his friend Ah Tang, who gets involved with some ruffians and need help from Wong Fei Hung to learn Martial Arts and defeat them. For unknown reasons, the English dub renames Master Wong to Master Lin. Jason Piao Pai plays Master Wong Fei Hung and Lee Hoi-Sang plays the heavy. It’s a competent Martial Arts film that unfortunately relies on the comedy. That aspect is not very good.” -
RealJohnGrace – ★★½☆☆
“Was First Films cashing in on Magnificent Butcher before Golden Harvest could release it? Perhaps, but it isn’t bad at all, enlivened by Pai-Pao’s somewhat different portrayal of Huang Fei Hung. Viewed on Tubi in a surprising widescreen print.” -
Robert Armitage – ★★★½☆
“Now, this is funny fu. Brutal fu, too, as they lay down some wince-inducing hits. A pig butcher with a good heart deals some street justice on a couple of thugs. Things escalate as the thugs join an evil martial arts school trafficking in opium. The butcher and his friend, the fishmonger, learn martial arts from the local doctor in order to stand up for themselves. The plot relies on some major coincidence to move forward, but who cares. Good jokes. Giants are funny. The martial arts are decent to good. A little slow, as our main man is a stocky, chubby dude. The doctor vs. Chinese Christopher Lee is a damn good fight, though. Music bears special mention, as it occasionally flies off into these trippy little moog/theremin/slide-whistle excursions. Loved it.”
Meta Description:
A Hong Kong action-comedy classic in which a kindly butcher trains in Hung Gar kung fu to confront thugs, clear his name, and challenge a deadly rival school.
