Zong heng si hai (1991)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

John Woo

Writers:

Janet Chun (writer)
Clifton Ko (writer)

Release Date:

14 January 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

They only stop to reload.

Plot:

Stylish caper thriller stars Chow Yun-Fat, Leslie Cheung and Cheri Chung as a trio of international art thieves...

Plot Keywords:

Art | Thief | Painting | Automobile | Parrot

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Yun-Fat Chow	...	Red Bean Pudding (Joe) (as Chow Yun Fat)
Leslie Cheung	...	James (Jim)
Cherie Chung	...	Red Bean (Cherie)
Kong Chu	...	Chu / Godfather
Kenneth Tsang	...	Chow / Dad
Fung Woo		(as Fung Wu)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leila Tong	...	Red Bean
Declan Wong	...	Magician Henchman

Also Known As:

Chik wang sei hoi (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Once a Thief (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

French | Cantonese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R | Malaysia:U | Hong Kong:II | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | New Zealand:RP13 | South Korea:12 | UK:15 (cut) | Australia:M | UK:15 (video re-rating) (uncut) (2004) | Ireland:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company:

Golden Princess Film Production Limited

Trivia:

John Woo chose to do this film because he wanted to do something more light-hearted after _xue shuang xiong, Die (1989)_ (The Killer) and Die xue jie tou (1990) (Bullet In The Head) (which flopped in Hong Kong on their initial releases). The strategy seems to have paid off; the movie was successful in Hong Kong and allowed Woo to get funding for his next movie, _Lashou shentan (1992)_.

Quotes:

Red Bean Pudding: Did I make you waste your tears over me?

Movie Connections:

References The Last Song (1980) (TV)

fine fluff

This is not a deep movie. This not a serious movie. Come expecting some fine fluff, and you will be rewarded with exactly that.

I've read HK movies described as schizophrenic [& I DO like them very much, because they are not predictable], but I think multiple personality better describes this one. At first one, it looks like a breezy art-theft caper movie out of the 1960s...but not for long.

Too many bodies--faceless and without personality, to be sure, collect for the breezy label to fit...but then...then there is the dancing scene. You ain't been nowhere and you ain't seen nothing until you have seen Chow Yun-fat dancing in a wheelchair. The whole movie may be worth this scene alone.