The most filmed character in local (and perhaps world) cinema, apothecary and martial arts master Wong Fei-hung's fame was so pervasive that even secondary personages were occasionally allowed to take centre stage. Such was the case with Wong disciple Lam Sai-wing, whose nickname was afforded titular position in this period action comedy, which was a top 10 box office hit in 1979.
Wong's cinematic heyday had crested in the 1960s, Kwan Tak-hing having portrayed the legendary Guangdong native in about 80 films starting in 1949 and reaching a peak of two dozen in 1956 alone. By the late '70s, Wong's outdated image was in serious need of the makeover provided by Drunken Master (1978), featuring the then 24-year-old Jackie Chan as a youthful Wong. It was the second directorial achievement of action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, who the following year continued in the same vein with The Magnificent Butcher, but with two changes: the return of Kwan as Wong, and the elder's relegation to a cameo in support of his meat-vending pupil, Lam Sai-wing.
It was a part for which Sammo Hung Kam-bo (pictured above, far left, with Kwan, seated, and Yuen Biao, far right) was seemingly born; the contradiction between his bulky physique and graceful dexterity was potently exhibited in many kung-fu sequences for which he shared action director credit alongside Yuen. Not that he hogged the entire 104 minutes, for the production allows several up-and-comers to partake in the glory. In the guise of Wong devotee Foon, Yuen Biao is given a brilliant showcase opposite the villainous member of a rival school played by future star Lam Ching-ying, the two skirmishing with fan and knife with acrobatic derring-do.
Other Wong staples are on hand, from Beggar So (Fan Mei-sheng) to apostle Chat (Wai Pak), the latter's battle with the monkey-like Yuen Miu among the highlights. Septuagenarian Kwan shows Wong's faculties have not diminished with age - his opening clash with dojo Master Ko (Lee Hoi-sang) illustrates the pen's powers when wielded by an adroit hand.
But it is butcher Lam's show, and Hung rises above the shenanigans concocted by scriptwriting novices Edward Tang Kin-sang and Wong Jing. The mix of sometimes hilarious high jinks, cartoon-like evil and appalling morbidity never gels into more than a rickety framework for the proceedings, handicapped by the motivational status given to Ko's wicked son (Fung Hak-on), an unconvincing wolf in sheep's clothing who rapes, murders and bullies with unpersuasive menace.
It would be more than a decade until a more sophisticated vision of Wong was shown in Tsui Hark's Once Upon a Time in China (1991), with Yuen Biao reprising Foon and Yuen Woo-ping joining as action director of Once Upon a Time in China II (1992) and director of prequel Iron Monkey (1993).