The Fei-Hung calligraphy duel and the final showdown tend to be the fights most often brought up when The Magnificent Butcher is mentioned. But the mid-film clashes of Yuen Biao versus Lam Ching-Ying and Wei Pai versus Yuen Mo are so spectacular that the quartet’s centerpiece nearly steal the entire film from Sammo.
There’s something special about choreography so exhaustingly dense that you might miss an amazing move if you blink. Nearly every fight in Magnificent Butcher astounds with the sheer volume of maneuvers and scenarios and action-reaction across a single fight, the odd styles and unique props, the physical comedy weaved into the fabric of each duel.
If Prodigal Son and Pedicab Driver represent Sammo at his peak of…