Knockabout

KNOCKABOUT is insanely funny and boasts some of the most remarkable martial-arts sequences ever (most notably the so-called ‘Monkey-style kung fu). It was directed by the one and very much only Sammo Hung who, it goes without saying, also features in this riotous adventure from 1979 which takes place in medieval China. Although the great man himself only comes into full swing towards the second half of the film, Hung lets rip left, right and centre shortly after his eagerly anticipated arrival. The real stars here, however, are Bryan Leung and Yuen Biao as two brazen brothers whose luck is about to change…

Little Boo (Yuen Biao) and Big Boo (Bryan Leung) are two extremely skilled con artist brothers who specialise in duping people over by means of distraction or simply by posing as someone else. First example is witnessed when Little Boo enters a specialist shop with a little bar of gold, claiming to banker Wei (Lung Chan), of whom he is a friend (well, sort of) that his uncle has died and left him with said gold bar which, according to Little Boo, should weigh about 20 grams. Now he wishes to cash it in. Knowing full well that Little Boo has never attained any money in an honest manner, Wei assumes that the gold bar had been stolen. In the backroom of the store Wei places the bar on a scale, which indicates the bar’s weight to be 28 grams! Happy to gain by a profit of 8 grams worth of money, Wei pays his friend only for 20 grams. Little Boo doesn’t suspect anything and even asks Wei to join him and his older brother Big Boo (Bryan Leung) for tea in the local canteen later on. Before they make their way to the restaurant for a feast they split the money in a sheltered ruin outside the little town and suffice to say that Little Boo tries to have his own brother over when it comes to sharing the money. Big Boo, knowing his younger brother only too well, plays along and laughs at it all off. When they are finished dividing the money they make their way back to town and notice a man referred to as ‘Fat Beggar’ (Sammo Hung) circling around the ruin with his pet monkey on his shoulder. The brothers dismiss him as a tramp.

The brothers’ good time in the canteen is short-lived, however, when banker Wei and his father (LauTin-chi) come bursting in with the gold bar that Little Boo traded in for hard cash: it turns out the bar is a fake and had only been painted with gold colour (which is now rubbing off). Naturally, Little Boo claims he had no idea that his late uncle’s gold bar was a fake. Fighting over who is right or wrong, it then turns out that banker Wei also had his client over because the money he paid Little Boo for the gold bar turned out to be fake coins painted with silver! Local law enforcement man ‘The Captain’ (Karl Maka – yet another familiar yes) is called in to sort out the dispute. Since he can’t prove that Little Boo is lying about the fake gold bar apparently coming from his deceased uncle but he can prove that banker Wei underpaid his client (albeit with fake money) the Weis’ are made to pay Little Boo the difference and thus 8 grams worth of money, real money this time! Although the Boo Brothers got away with a slap on the wrist and a stern warning from the Captain, their new-found riches have quickly turned to sand… Never ones to give up, the two brothers spend some of the money in the local gambling hall (cue for some insane martial arts fights) but with little luck. The next day they’re back in the canteen trying another one of their tricks, namely placing Big Boo’s apparently precious jade ring in the bag of a diner who is eating a few tables away. Big Boo will then accuse the diner of theft but give him the choice of ‘paying up’ for the deed or the ‘Captain’ will be called. That said, he’s been called anyway as the guest was smart enough to remove the ring from his bag and put it back into Big Boo’s jacket pocket. This time round the Captain orders the brothers to leave the village. Angry that their latest attempt has resulted in failure again they ambush the guest, who is called Jia Wu Dao (Lau Kar Wing) on a country road but Dao turns out to be a master of kung fu and defeats the two brothers in no time. Seeing as how they will never be able to get the better of him they ask him whether he would be prepared to train them to become the best fighters in town instead, which he agrees to. After a rigorous training regime which will have you in stitches the three men eventually bond… until one day and by coincidence, Little Boo, who is waiting for his brother and for Dao to join him in the canteen, learns that Master Dao is in fact a dangerous killer known as Silver Fox not only wanted by the law but by rival gangs who have some business to settle with him. Alarmed over the news he hurries to Dao’s abode to warn Big Boo but too late – one gang member has tracked Dao down and exposed him. When Big Boo tries to wrestle Dao to the ground the Master breaks his neck with one karate movement. This temporary shift from comedy to drama is short-lived however, for as soon as Little Boo has recovered from the initial shock he vows vengeance…which is easier said than done, seeing how Master Dao/Silver Fox is the one who trained him and thus will always have the upper hand.

Unexpected help arrives when Little Boo, starving and frustrated, spots Fat Beggar in his ramshackle hut outside town as he is preparing chicken in clay. When the chicken is cooked and Beggar takes it out of the oven, a momentary distraction caused by his pet monkey gives Little Boo, who secretly watches through the open window, the chance to ‘replace’ the chunk of clay with the cooked chicken inside with a real chunk of clay. Baffled at what has become of his chicken, Fat Beggar follows the smell and discovers Little Boo tucking into the roasted bird behind the hut though Beggar offers him a compromise: if Little Boo is willing to share the chicken with him then Beggar is willing to share his wine with him. With nowhere to stay or to go, Beggar offers Little Boo shelter and eventually reveals that he is no beggar at all but an undercover detective adamant to bring the Silver Fox and his men down, it’s just that he always gets nervous whenever he is confronted with a criminal. But that’s about to change because with his new ally in tow, Fat Beggar trains Little Boo in the art of ‘monkey-style kung fu’ – a spectacle which makes for an absolute showstopper! Sure that they are up to the challenge, both Fat Beggar and Little Boo track down Silver Fox for the grand finale...

KNOCKABOUT marks the debut for actor Yuen Biao who would go on to collaborate many more times with Sammo Hung (the same goes for most of the actors in the film). As Hung explains in an interview, Yuen Biao was a fellow student (along with Jackie Chan and Hung) who studied at the Drama Academy at the Peking Opera School. Despite Biao knowing more about acting than martial arts (although Biao had already started to work as a stuntman in the early 70s), director Sammo Hung decided to give him the opportunity to star in his first lead role as Little Boo in KNOCKABOUT – a part which initially Sammo Hung had himself wanted to play. But when he decided that Biao would be perfect for the part he instead wrote the lesser part of Fat Beggar into the script – a noble gesture which paid off nonetheless as the kung fu-comedy turned out to be a huge box office success!

Eureka have just released this fast and furious Hong Kong classic in a brand new 2K restoration on Blu-ray, with the first 2000 copies presented in a Limited Edition O-card slipcase and Collector’s booklet. Special Features include audio commentaries, archival interviews, deleted scenes and trailers.