Knockabout
(Hong Kong Legends Region 0 PAL DVD)
(1979)
review by Blackgloves
 

After the recent well-deserved success of the marvellous "Kung Fu Hustle", this is surely an excellent time to revive on DVD some of the classic Kung fu comedies from the heyday of Hong Kong cinema. Indeed, the UK label 'Hong Kong Legends' have wasted no time with the release of the delightful, 1979 action-comedy, "Knockabout" -- a film which showcases the awesome film-making prowess of talented actor-director, Sammo Hung, as well as providing a breakthrough showcase for the acrobatic marital arts skills of Yuen Biao: a contemporary of Jackie Chan who, after acting as a double for Brue Lee's body double in some of the acrobatic stunt work on "Game of Death", went on to be emulate Chan's success in the Japanese market after the release of this film -- although he was never able to achieve the world-wide dominance of Chan, his former co-trainee. Biao still sports a Bruce Lee fringe in "Knockabout" and, in some of the more full-on fight scenes, is a dead ringer for the cult icon; but he also proves himself most adept at the broad, comic acting style required by the slapstick nature of the material that makes up the majority of the film's content. Although this vintage Golden Harvest Production dates from the height of the 70s Kung Fu boom, it stands up well to modern viewing, while some of the idiosyncrasies that do date it (such as the traditional convention of tinting flashbacks with blue filters and the constant use of 70s style "crash" zooms) do not detract from its entertainment value, merely providing a warm twinge of nostalgia for a lost era.

Director, Sammo Hung, is the first character on screen -- since he also plays an archetypal mainstay of Hong Kong Martial Arts cinema, the Kung Fu beggar. Although he appears to be a source of comic light relief in the first part of the film -- popping up here and there as an observer rather than a player in events -- a clue to his true nature is provided by his being constantly accompanied by his mischievous pet monkey, and sometimes mimicking its dextrous antics! Sammo's character is really a practitioner of the hybrid Kung Fu skill known as Monkey boxing, although this will not become important until the final act of the film. In fact, the main protagonists are a couple of brothers called Yipao (Yuen Biao) and Taipao (Leung Kar-yan) who we first see apparently being conned by a money changer when they try to exchange a gold block for equivalent coinage. It turns out though, that the brothers are themselves conmen and the gold block is a fake!

Deception and greed drive the plot for most of the film (which takes place in a pastoral, period setting, although if you look carefully you can spot some suspiciously modern-looking buildings in the background!), for it soon becomes apparent that everyone is on the make and nobody can be trusted. Yipao and Taipao may appear to be clever, cunning criminals but they are small fry when compared to many of the other characters they come across. After successfully pulling off their elaborate scam against the money changer and his father, the brothers cannot help also trying to cheat each-other when dividing their spoils. This leads to them losing all of their ill-gotten gains when a mysterious figure in the bushes swaps their haul for a bag of counterfeit coins. Unfortunately, they do not realise this until they try to use the cash at a gambling house and end-up receiving a proper beating from the house security in one of the film's many comedy fight sequences.

Undeterred by their lack of success, the brothers now attempt to swindle a benevolent-looking white-haired old man at a tea house in order to get some money to pay for their meal. Unfortunately, their subject is a bit more wily than they, and when they contrive to get him blamed for stealing Taipao's valuable heirloom they are outwitted once more and, once again, find themselves penniless! In fact, it turns out that the valuable ring Taipao treasured and believed to be so valuable is also a fake! When the two conmen try to beat up the old man to retrieve their spoils (not exactly the most sympathetic protagonists are they!) they get yet another pasting ... for it turns out that this Silver Fox is a Kung Fu master, and the old timer manages to leave both of the would-be muggers in a broken heap on the ground without even breaking into a sweat!

This dignified old gentleman is the master Jia Wu Dao (played by Shaw Brothers legend, Lau Kar-wing) and the brothers decide that they really need to learn his Martial arts skills if they are to get anywhere in this corrupt township! They eventually manage to persuade him to train them both in the obscure disciplines of "Womanly Fist" and "Lady Leg" whereupon they will act as his Kung fu sidekick and bodyguard. After a crash course in the master's skills, the boys can't resist paying back the Gambling House thugs who beat them up in the first half of the film and, after earning a bit more money when they fend off some thieves who attempt to rob an old woman at a market stall, they let their previous aggressors have it -- in the first serious full-scale fight sequence of the film to show off Yuen Biao's amazing gravity-defying skills. Yipao and Taipao still get outfoxed though, since Sammo Hung's beggar appears long enough to pickpocket Taipao and steal the brothers' newly-won money, distributing it to the army of beggars outside the gambling joint instead!

Although the first half of the film plays almost everything strictly for laughs with the actors working in a very broad cartoonish acting style, a few "serious" fight scenes occasionally break-up the more comedic slapstick sequences, providing an element of drama and excitement in an otherwise light-hearted affair. Sammo Hung's masterful direction really becomes evident in the second half though, when the mix of drama and comedy becomes much-more finely balanced with "light" scenes taking an unexpectedly dramatic turn and visa versa. This first happens when it is revealed that the brothers' apparently benign master, Silver Fox, is in fact a ruthless killer! When two assassins come to kill the old master, we witness the film's unusual mix of the comedic and the serious take centre stage for he first time as the two brothers and the Silver Fox battle each of their two aggressors (a pair of gay hit-men called Seven Dwarfs and Snow White respectively!) in two fights that take place simultaneously: while the brothers' fight is a cartoon, slapstick battle that leaves their foe with Loony Tunes-style bumps on his head, Silver Fox draws blood from his opponent and ends-up murdering him by breaking his neck! It marks a noticeable change in tone when people start dying rather than just sustaining comedy injuries like the two black eyes Leung Kar-yan's character receives after coming up against Lau Kar-wing in the first half of the movie. Indeed, things take a much darker turn when their former master actually tries to kill his two protégés when they find out about his true identity and eventually does succeed in murdering young Taipao!

In the light of this dark turn of events, the film's attempt to work in more comedy seems to fall a little flat in subsequent scenes where Yuen Biao's character, now homeless as well as penniless, tries to steal beggar Hung's chicken dinner and ends up on the receiving end of yet another beating because the beggar is -- unbeknownst to Biao -- a practitioner of the ancient art of Monkey Kung fu! The beggar is, in fact, a "beggar detective" who is out to bring the Silver Fox to justice. Since Yipao now wants revenge on the murderer of his brother, he persuades the beggar to train him in his hybrid monkey style, paving the way for the film to get back on track with a spectacular finale composed of a full-on fifteen minute climactic punch-up between Biao, Hung and Kar-wing, showcasing all of the fighting styles we've seen thus far! It's an enthralling sequence and a brilliant, beautifully shot end to a very entertaining martial arts classic made all the more idiosyncratic by the weird "monkey possession" moves Biao and Hung make during this end sequence!

Performances are wonderful from all the main players. Yuen Biao is a convincing comedy lead and Leung Kar-yan does well in an unfamiliar genre despite being dependent on having each scene acted out for him by Hung (who was originally to have played the role himself) in order for him to get in the swing of the required acting style. Lau Kar-wing is really no older than his co-stars but nonetheless manages to give a nuanced performance (with whitened hair and moustache) as the mysterious older master criminal. Sammo Hung proves equally adept in front of the camera as he is behind it; the heavyset master provides a nicely judged, light comedy turn as the traditional Kung Fu beggar.

The real success of the film comes from a combination Hung's beautifully framed compositions (the film makes full use of its 2:35.1 aspect ratio), cinematographer Hung Ching-pao's crisply lit images which are designed always to show off the action to its best advantage, and some punchy, dynamic editing that always enhances the onscreen action rather than trying to artificially create more excitement through fast edits that obscure the deficiencies in the martial arts skills of the actors. Sammo Hung is a master of the specific directorial skills needed to produce a successful and entertaining Kung Fu spectacle and this movie, though formulaic in its Spaghetti Western-influenced revenge plot, is certainly that!

Hong Kong legends have come up with a beautiful package that should gain this film a whole new audience. The new, re-mastered high definition transfer is quite simply stunning -- and really does make the film look like it was shot yesterday! Colours are bright and vivid and the image is, for the most part, pin sharp with only a few short sequences displaying excess grain. The movie's original Cantonese audio track is included to please purists but a remixed 5.1 Cantonese track is also available and is actually pretty decent. Removable subtitles are, of course, also included. I was not such a big fan of the english dub which is the default setting for this disc, but it does at least give viewers an alternative translation that will make more sense to the English-speaking viewer, since many of the jokes in the Cantonese version don't translate into English particularly well!

The disc contains a nice selection of extras headed by a rich and informative commentary track by Hong Kong film expert Bey Logan, who is a gold mine of information on just about every aspect of the movie and the history of Martial Arts flicks from the period. Logan points out how the same actors are used over and over again in a multitude of roles, sometimes appearing in adjacent scenes as different characters; he also highlights some the tricks of the trade the director uses during the many fight sequences.

Several featurettes are included: "Heavy Hitter" is a seven minute interview with director and actor Sammo Hung in which he mainly talks about Yuen Biao's contribution to the film. Another seven minute interview is given by Biao's co-star in the film, Leung Ka-yan. "Above the Law" features the actor giving a fascinating insight into how these amazing-looking films were shot. Kar-yan emphases the amount of effort that was required by the actors during the fight sequences which featured real moves and dangerous stunts -- unlike many of today's martial arts flicks. the actor remembers how he used to be so exhausted during the lunch break when shooting a Sammo Hung film, that by the time he had regained his breath enough to be able to eat, it was time to go back to work! Also, he reminisces how Hung's regime was so tough that he would find himself driving home each day with tears streaming down his face and his hands shaking on the steering wheel!

Next up is an eighteen minute featurette examining the Monkey Kung Fu style that plays such an important part in the movie. "Monkey Magic" sees master Chan Sau-chung explaining the origins, theory and general history of his discipline.

Next we get an interesting promotional feature called "Back to Red". When these films were originally shot, it was common for a short demonstration film featuring the kind of moves and fighting style that the film showcased to be added to the beginning of the movie. These pieces had nothing to do with the main story of the film but were shot against a red background and featured the main actors in a short, unrelated skit. "Knockabout" featured one of these but it was only featured on Taiwanese prints. This disc has the three minute short (featuring Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao) included as an extra.

Finally, the disc includes two trailers for the film (a promotional trailer created by Hong Kong Legends and the original Hong Kong theatrical trailer) plus a selection of trailers for other Hong Kong Legends and Premier Asia titles!

"Knockabout" is a classic piece of Kung fu comedy given a first class presentation on this UK disc. Worth checking out!