Once Upon a Time in China (1991)
"Wong Fei Hung" (original title)

Set in late 19th century Canton this martial arts film depicts the stance taken by the legendary martial arts hero Wong Fei-Hung (1847-1924) against foreign forces' (English, French and ... See full summary »

Director:

Hark Tsui

Writers:

Yiu Ming Leung, Elsa Tang,

Stars:

Jet Li, Yuen Biao, Rosamund Kwan

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Jet Li	...	Wong Fei-hung
Yuen Biao	...	Leung Fu
Rosamund Kwan	...	Aunt Yee
Jacky Cheung	...	Buck Teeth Soh
Steve Tartalia	...	Tiger
Kent Cheng	...	Porky Lang
Jonathan Isgar	...	Jackson
Shi-Kwan Yen	...	Iron Robe Yim (as Yee Kwan Yan)
Mark King	...	British general
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bruce Fontaine	...	Policeman
Shun Lau	...	Naval Commander
Kien Shih	...	Old man who gives advise (Cameo)
Yuan-fa Tsao
Chien-Po Tsen
Chi Yeung Wong	...	Commander Man

Storyline

Set in late 19th century Canton this martial arts film depicts the stance taken by the legendary martial arts hero Wong Fei-Hung (1847-1924) against foreign forces' (English, French and American) plundering of China. When Aunt Yee arrives back from America totally westernised, Wong Fei-Hung assumes the role of her protector. This proves to be difficult when his martial arts school and local militia become involved in fierce battles with foreign and local government. As violence escalates even Aunt Yee has to question her new western ideals, but is it possible to fight guns with Kung Fu?

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Plot Keywords:

martial arts | school | fight | violence | kung fu | 

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Taglines:

Never was a Hero needed more...

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese English

Release Date:

15 August 1991 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Once Upon a Time in China

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company, Film Workshop

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min 95 min (cut) 99 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the commentary on the Region 1 DVD, this movie started out as a proposed new film to star Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao. Jackie would have played Wong, (which he'd previously played in Drunken Master), Sammo would have played Butcher Wing (as he did in Lin Shi Rong), and Yuen would be Lueng Foon (who played the role in Lin Shi Rong). This idea fell through and only Yuen Biao made it into the finished film.

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Goofs

A 31-star US flag is seen shortly after an adult Wong Fei Hung attempts to defend the Po Chi Lam clinic from a fiery attack. The 31-star flag was used from July 4, 1851 to July 3, 1858. Wong Fei Hung was born on July 9, 1847, and so could not have been older than a few days shy of his eleventh birthday when this flag was still in use. Also, the rows of stars shown on the 31-star flag are inverted. The flag shown has rows of 7, 6, 6, 5, and 7 stars respectively (from top to bottom). The actual flag has rows of 7, 5, 6, 6, and 7 stars top to bottom.

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Quotes

Yim: No matter how good our kung-fu is, it will never defeat guns.

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Connections

Referenced in HBO First Look: Making 'Romeo Must Die' (2000)

User Reviews

Not Exactly A Classic but Brilliant Nonetheless

Jet Li's done some exceptional work in China. I have not been impressed by anything he did in America. Tsui Hark's 'Wong Fei Hung' has already been stretched into several sequels of which I have only seen the first. 'Wong Fei Hung' has all the ingredients to make it an enjoyable epic movie. There is a story with a heart, some very well crafted choreography, good acting, and enough action and culture. It's set on a historical backdrop of a pre-Communist China. The characters are very well written (with the exception of the non-Chinese who act like caricature villains). Jet Li, Biao Yuen, Rosamund Kwan, Jacky Cheung and Kent Cheng all act well. It also presents some taboo elements such as Wong's affection for his 'aunt' (it was taboo during the time) but this is all skillfully underused which prevents the film from appearing too preachy. The film has several layers but it tries to tackle too many things at once and becomes unnecessarily complicated at some point. The film slightly drags in the first half and the choreography of the action scenes without the main cast looked a little shoddy. Yet, the characters are very likable and the story also offers a lot to enjoy that I am looking forward to its sequels. In my humble opinion, it's certainly one of the better martial arts films and has a lot more substance than pretentious films like 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon'. the only other Tsui Hark film I've seen is the magnificent 'Chat gim' and I've liked what I've seen so far.