Knockabout (1979)
Director - Sammo Hung
DVD Released by : Mega Star
Player reviewed with : Malata DVD-N996
Receiver reviewed with : Sony 925
 
Features:
Cantonese and Mandarin Soundtracks
English, Chinese, and Japanese Subtitles
Non-enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs
Theatrical Trailer
Trailers for EASTERN CONDORS, DREADNAUGHT,
PICTURE OF A NYMPH, and ZU : WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN
Running Time : 103 mins.

Taipao (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 Taipao and Yipao 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. Taipao gives his life so that Yipao may get away to someday get revenge. Yipao seeks training from a beggar (Sammo Hung) who is really an undercover detective. The beggar teaches Yipao "Garbage Kung Fu". Yipao learns a lot but the beggar tells him he is still missing something. Yipao gets to try out his newly learned "Garbage Kung FU" when he runs into the Master again. With help from the beggar, Yipao 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.
The picture quality is pretty good for a film that is so old. The film print has very few specks and the colors are vibrant. The transfer is also on the good side. There are few if any noticeable artifacts and the picture doesn't look soft like so many older movies. Although non-anamorphic, the picture is more than watchable on the 47 inch TV. The film is presented in its proper 2.35:1 aspect ratio so you don't miss any of the action.

The audio is 5.1 Dolby Digital but it seems more like a stereo mix. The music and sound effects never overpower the dialogue and the sound is in sync with the action on the screen. The soundtrack is very clean and is free of any hiss or pops that plague some older movies. The overall sound quality is surprisingly good.
The subtitles are easy to read although they do contain the occasional grammatical and spelling errors. They are timed well with what is being said and they appear long enough to read. The subtitles appear on the bottom of the screen, below the image. If you have a widescreen TV, this means that you will most like not see the subtitles unless you have a zoom feature. I was able to zoom in with the Malata but only a little bit because the subtitles are pretty low in the bottom bar. If you don't have a widescreen TV, you won't have any problems.

Extras consist of a trailer which is very 70's-ish. I love these types of trailers because they usually make ridiculous claims as to how good the movie actually is. In the case of KNOCKABOUT, they are absolutely correct. There are also trailers for EASTERN CONDORS, DREADNAUGHT, PICTURE OF A NYMPH, and ZU : WARRIORS OF THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN.

If you are a fan of this movie, you will be very happy with this DVD. The only slight problem I have with it is the placement of the subtitles. If you don't have a widescreen TV, this shouldn't be a problem. If this is a major issue for you may want to wait for the Hong Kong Legends DVD if you can play Region 2. There is no release date at this time so it may be a while before it is released. For the time being, this DVD is the one to get.

Reviewed - 6/26/2002