| DVD Released by : 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment/Fortune Star | ||
| Player reviewed with : Malata 520 | ||
| Receiver reviewed with : Sony 925 | ||
| Features: | ||
| Cantonese and English Soundtracks | ||
| English and Chinese Subtitles | ||
| Enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs | ||
| Running Time : 104 mins. | ||
| Region 1 | ||
Big John (Leung Kar Yan) and Yipao (Yuen Biao) are brothers who are small time con artists. One of their schemes go wrong when the person they try to swindle gets the better of them and beats them up. The brothers decide to learn this man's Kung Fu so they can eventually use it to beat him and take revenge. The man reluctantly agrees to train the brothers. When the man tells Big John and Little John that they can now beat "ordinary men", the brothers set out to do just that. They go to town and see a merchant getting harassed so they step in and help. They get money from one of the bad guys and give most of it to the merchant. The brothers soon find that their master is being sought by two men. With their help, the master defeats them. The brothers soon learn that the master is a criminal and that the two men were his former partners. When the master realizes that the brothers know, he tries to kill them. Big John gives his life so that Little John may get away to someday get revenge. Little John seeks training from a beggar (Sammo Hung) who is actually an undercover detective. The beggar teaches Little John "Mish-Mash Kung Fu". Little John learns a lot but the beggar tells him he is still missing something. Little John gets to try out his newly learned "Mish-Mash Kung Fu" when he runs into the Master again. With help from the beggar, Little John gets his revenge.
KNOCKABOUT starts slowly but give it some time and you will see why so many people hold this movie in such high regard. This is a must see for fans of Old School Kung Fu. Why is that? The talent involved. The whole movie is just an excuse for Yuen Baio to show what he can do. The guy is amazing. You get to see him jumping rope while kicking somebody's ass. Of course, this isn't a one man show. Sammo Hung and Leung Kar Yan also get some great scenes. When the three are fighting together, the syncronicity is incredible. The fight scenes more than make up for some of the comedic elements that some may feel are just silly. If you like movies like DRUNKEN MASTER and DRAGON LORD, this movie should impress you.
Like the other DVD's in this wave, there are very few extras but includes the original mono track. The subtitles are also not the same as the spoken English dub. They differ from the previous Mega Star release. Fox has another winner with this release.
The image quality is amazing on this movie. There is some extremely minor print damage but the colors are rich and the detail is amazing. There is an occasional flicker in the image but it's very rare. The transfer holds up well on the 47 inch screen. Most night scenes look good but there are a few that look a little grainy. I can't believe how good this film looks for its age.
KNOCKABOUT includes the mono sound mix. I have read that some have noticed that this is slightly out of sync at times but I really did not have a problem with it. There is the occasional part that's a little out of sync but nothing to be alarmed about. The mix is clear and the dialogue is placed well in the soundfield. It's not muffled or drowned out by the music and sound effects. There are also Dolby 5.1 and DTS tracks in Cantonese and English. These have extra sound effects but overly are mixed well and should satisfy those who prefer the remixes. Overall, if you watch the movie solely to find parts that are out of sync in the mono mix, you'll find them. I really barely noticed.
The subtitles are easy to read and are free of misspellings and grammatical errors. The subtitles are also well timed with what is being said. These subtitles do not match the English dub. As mentioned before, these differ than the Mega Star version. The biggest differences are the names of the characters. Instead if Big John and Little John, it was Taipao and Yipao . Also, instead of Mish-Mash Kung Fu, it has Garbage Kung Fu, which is actually in the English dub on the Fox DVD.
The extras consist of trailers for this wave of Fox's martial arts releases. This includes BATTLE CREEK BRAWL, MR. VAMPIRE, THE POSTMAN FIGHTS BACK, and IRON FISTED MONK.
KNOCKABOUT is truly a classic movie that has gotten a great release. The skills of Yuen Baio, Sammo Hung, and Leung Kar Yan simply must be seen. If you have the Mega Star version, this is worth the upgrade if you have a large TV. At the price, it's worth it even if you don't.
Fox for the most part has been doing a great job with these releases. They have listened to the fans and are including mono tracks. While not every DVD in this series has been perfect, the hits definitely outnumber the misses. If you have been happy with the previous Fox/Fortune Star releases, you will be quite happy with this one.
Reviewed 09/17/2004
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