Written by: Michael Den Boer on September 24th, 2004
| Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1979 Director: Woo-ping Yuen Writer: Jing Wong Cast: Sammo Hung Kam-Bo , Biao Yuen, Hoi San Lee |
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| DVD released: | 2001 | 2003 |
| Approximate running time: | 104 minutes | 108 minutes |
| Aspect Ratio: | 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen | 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen |
| Rating: | 18 | PG 13 |
| Sound: | Dolby Digital stereo English and Cantonese | Dolby Digital 5.1 English, Mandarin and Cantonese |
| DVD Release: | Hong Kong Legends | Fox |
| Region Coding: | Region 2 Pal | Region 1 NTSC |
| Retail Price: | $22.95 | $9.98 |
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Hong Kong Legends Region 2 DVD
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Fox ‘s Region 1 DVD
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The Film :
Butcher Wing is the inept student of Wong Fei Hung who accidentally assaults an innocent man a bad blood brews between him and a rival martial school led by Master Kao. Enter Wing’s long lost brother who has just arrived in town with his wife who is kidnapped by Master Kou’s son, Tai Ho. Wing’s brother teams up with a drunken master who helps him get his wife back. Through a series of events butcher Wing will be framed for murder.
Video:
Both Fox’s and Hong Kong Legend’s releases of the Magnificent Butcher retain the films original aspect ratio. The colors and flesh tones are very good on both releases. Fox’s release just slightly better with shaper picture and overall detail through out. Both releases are free or artifacts and grain is kept to a minimum. My only major complaint is with Hong Kong Legend’s release which suffers from over scan.
Audio:
Fox’s Release comes with the original Cantonese and Mandarin audio tracks and an English dubbed track in Dolby Digital 5.1 and the Hong Kong Legends release comes with the original Cantonese audio and an English dubbed track in Dolby Digital stereo. All the audio tracks included on these releases are free of distortion or hiss with the slight edge going to Fox’s releases which has a fuller audio overall. Both Fox and Hong Kong Legends have included subtitles on their releases and here is where the DVD’s are drastically different. The Fox release contains subtitles that have been taken from the English dubbed track. While the Hong Kong Legends release comes with subtitles that are more faithful to what is actually being said on the Cantonese track. Hong Kong Legends release gets the slight edge for included more accurate subtitles.
Extras:
Fox’s release includes the following extras the films original trailer and trailers for some of Fox’s other Hong Kong releases. Other extras include production notes, original promotion materials, amazing Sammo Hung music video, movie photo gallery, Sammo Hung and Yuen Woo-ping photo galleries and biographies. Hong Kong Legends release includes the following extras the UK and original theatrical trailers, biographies for Sammo Hung and Yuen Woo-ping and trailers for other Hong Kong Legends releases. Rounding out the extras is an audio commentary with Hong Kong film expert Ben Logan and interviews with Sammo Hung and Yuen Woo-ping. Hong Kong Legends release is hands down the better of the two releases in the extras department.
Overall:
Both releases are very good with pros and cons in favor of each, still in the end the better of the two releases is obviously Hong Kong Legends releases which comes with a wealth of extras and accurate English subtitles.