- Once Upon a Time in China
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Once Upon a Time in China 
Traditional 黃飛鴻 Simplified 黄飞鸿 Mandarin Huáng Fēihóng Cantonese Wong4 Fei1-hung4 Directed by Tsui Hark Produced by Tsui Hark Written by Tsui Hark
Yuen Kai-chi
Leung Yiu-ming
Dang Bik-minStarring Jet Li
Yuen Biao
Jacky Cheung
Rosamund Kwan
Kent ChengMusic by James Wong Cinematography David Chung
Bill Wong
Chan Tung-cheun
Angy Lam
Tung Cheun
Wilson ChanEditing by Mak Chi-sin Release date(s) August 15, 1991 Running time 134 minutes Country Hong Kong Language Cantonese Gross revenue HK$29,672,278.00 Once Upon a Time in China is a 1991 Hong Kong martial arts action film written and directed by Tsui Hark and starring Jet Li as Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung. It is the first film in the Once Upon a Time in China film series.
Contents
Plot
Locals are concerned with the growing influence and presence of Westerners and foreigners in Fat-san. General Lau Wing-fuk of the Black Flag Army approaches Wong Fei-hung and requests that Wong help him recruit and train a local militia of civilian martial artists to help defend the town. Among those recruited by Wong are the butcher "Porky" Wing and an American-educated Chinese called "Bucktooth" So.
Wong meets Siu-kwan, who is around the same age as him, and whom he addresses respectfully as "13th Aunt". Although they are not direct blood relations, her father was a sworn brother of Wong's grandfather and that technically makes her Wong's elder. Romantic feelings between them gradually develop but it is considered to be taboo in traditional Chinese society and their relationship is often restrained.
Leung Foon arrives in town with a Chinese opera troupe to stage performances. He runs into some trouble with the Shaho Gang, which terrorises local businesses by demanding "protection money" from them. He accidentally runs into 13th Aunt and falls in love with her. After being fired from the opera troupe, Leung meets a martial artist called "Iron Robe" Yim and becomes Yim's student. Yim wants to make his name and establish a martial arts school in Fat-san, but he knows that he must defeat Wong Fei-hung, the most powerful and famous martial artist in Fat-san in order to achieve that.
Meanwhile, the Shaho Gang set fire to Wong's clinic Po-chi-lam as a warning after Wong interfered when they caused trouble in town. The gangsters went to the Americans led by Jackson from the Sino-Pacific Company to seek protection after the governor issued arrest warrants for them. In return for protection from the local government, the gangsters aided the Americans in their slave labour trade by kidnapping Chinese women to be sold to America as prostitutes. The Shaho Gang meets Yim and agrees to help him if he allies himself with the Americans and their gang.
The Shaho Gang kidnaps 13th Aunt while she was helping an escaped labourer from America to flee from the local government's inspection. Wong Fei-hung and his followers have also been placed under arrest by the governor for hitting government soldiers while buying time for 13th Aunt and the labourer to escape. The prison guards release Wong and his men out of respect for him as they know that he had been wronged. Just then, Bucktooth So reports that 13th Aunt had been captured by the Shaho Gang.
Wong Fei-hung and his followers disguise themselves and infiltrate the Americans' base. They engage in a battle with the Americans and the Shaho Gang, and emerge victorious. Wong faces Yim and defeats Yim in a fight. Yim is later killed by gunfire from the Americans, who were actually targeting Wong. Eventually, Wong Fei-hung and his followers succeed in rescuing 13th Aunt and the captives from Jackson, and with Wong killing Jackson personally by hurling an unused bullet into Jackson's forehead with his fingers. At the end of the film, Leung Foon is accepted by Wong Fei-hung as a disciple.
Cast
- Jet Li as Wong Fei-hung (doubled by Hung Yan-yan)
- Yuen Biao as Leung Foon
- Jacky Cheung as "Bucktooth" So
- Rosamund Kwan as "13th Aunt" Siu-kwan
- Kent Cheng as "Porky" Wing
- Yuen Kam-fai as Ling Wan-kai
- Yen Shi-kwan as "Iron Vest" Yim
- Jonathan Isgar as Jackson
- Steve Tartalia as Tiger
- Mark King as General Wickens
- Lau Shun as Lau Wing-fuk
- Yau Kin-kwok as Shaho gang leader
- Bruce Fontaine as policeman
- Wong Chi-yeung as Governor
- Yuen Cheung-yan as Yim's opponent
- Yuen Shun-yee as honourable Manchu guard
- Jimmy Wang Yu as slave from America
- Hung Yan-yan as Shaho gang member
- Wu Ma as Granduncle Cheung (cameo)
- Shih Kien as old man who gives advice (cameo)
- Simon Yam (cameo)
- Colin George as Jesuit priest
- Leung Gam-san as opera troupe boss
- Joanna Peijiffers as Joanna
- San Sin as lion dance drummer
- To Wai-wo as local militia
- Ling Chi-hung as local militia
- Fei Gin as local militia
- Lam Foo-wai as local militia
- Cho Yuen-daat as local militia
- Lung Biu as Shaho gang member
- Tong Pau-chung as Shaho gang member
- Kong Chuen as Shaho gang member
- Hui Si-man as hawker
- Chan Siu-wah as thug
- Sham Chin-bo as thug
- Wong Wai-leung as thug
- Anthony Carpio as thug (extra)
- Chun Kwai-bo as thug
- Sham Tsim-po
- Sin Ka-fai
- Marcus Fox
Release
Once Upon a Time in China was released in Hong Kong on August 15, 1991.[1]
Reception
Once Upon a Time in China was given highly favorable reviews from film critics.[2] Rotten Tomatoes reported a score of 89%.[3]
Awards and nominations
Awards Ceremony Category Name Outcome 11th Hong Kong Film Awards[4] Best Film Nominated Best Director Tsui Hark Won Best Supporting Actor Jacky Cheung Nominated Best Film Editing Marco Mak Won Best Cinematographer Zhong Zhiwen, Wong Chung standard, Arthur, Lin Guohua, Chen Village, Chen Peijia Nominated Best Art Direction Yee Chung Man Nominated Best Action Choreography Yuanxiang Ren, Yuan Xinyi, Liu Rong Won Best Film Music James Wong Won Box office
Once Upon a Time in China is largely credited with starting the period martial arts craze of the early to mid 1990s. It was a box office hit. The film ran for almost two months, the longest duration for any of the series, and grossed $29,672,278 HKD in Hong Kong.[1]
Notes
- ^ Morton, 2009. p.75
- ^ Holden, Stephen (May 21, 1992). "Review/Film; Kung Fu and Social Satire In a Martial-Arts Fantasy". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/21/movies/review-film-kung-fu-and-social-satire-in-a-martial-arts-fantasy.html. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
- ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/once_upon_a_time_in_china/
- ^ "第11屆香港電影金像獎得獎名單". Hong Kong Film Awards. http://www.hkfaa.com/winnerlist11.html. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
References
- Morton, Lisa (2009). The Cinema of Tsui Hark. McFarland. ISBN 0786444606. http://books.google.ca/books?id=MiulRecfarcC&printsec=frontcover. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
External links
- Once Upon a Time in China at AllRovi
- Once Upon a Time in China at the Internet Movie Database
- Once Upon a Time in China at Rotten Tomatoes
Films directed by Tsui Hark 1970s The Butterfly Murders (1979)1980s Dangerous Encounter - 1st Kind (1980) • We're Going to Eat You (1980) • All the Wrong Clues (1981) • Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983) • Shanghai Blues (1984) • Aces Go Places 3 (1984) • Working Class (1985) • Peking Opera Blues (1986) • A Better Tomorrow 3 (1989) • The Master (1989)1990s The Swordsman (1990) • King of Chess (1991) • Once Upon a Time in China (1991) • The Raid (1991) • Once Upon a Time in China II (1992) • Swordsman II (1992) • Green Snake (1993) • Once Upon a Time in China III (1993) • The Lovers (1994) • Once Upon a Time in China V (1994) • Love in the Time of Twilight (1995) • The Blade (1995) • The Chinese Feast (1995) • Tristar (1996) • Double Team (1997) • Knock Off (1998)2000s Time and Tide (2000) • The Legend of Zu (2001) • Black Mask 2: City of Masks (2002) • Seven Swords (2005) • The Warrior (2006) • Missing (2008) • All About Women (2008)2010s Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010) • The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011)Collaborating director Once Upon a Time in China Films Once Upon a Time in China (1991) · Once Upon a Time in China II (1992) · Once Upon a Time in China III (1993) ·
Once Upon a Time in China IV (1994) · Once Upon a Time in China V (1994) · Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997)Television Wong Fei Hung Series (1996)Related films Great Hero from China (1992) · Once Upon a Time a Hero in China (1992) · Once Upon a Chinese Hero (1993) · Last Hero in China (1993) · Once Upon a Time a Hero in China II (1993)Categories:- 1991 films
- Hong Kong films
- Cantonese-language films
- Hong Kong action films
- Martial arts films
- 1990s action films
- 1990s adventure films
- Once Upon a Time in China series
- Race-related films
- Golden Harvest films
- Films set in Guangdong
- Films directed by Tsui Hark
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