Once a Thief (1991)

A romantic and action packed story of three best friends, a group of high end art thieves, who come into trouble when a love-triangle forms between them.

Director:

John Woo

Writers:

Janet Chun, Clifton Ko

Stars:

Leslie Cheung, Yun-Fat Chow, Cherie Chung

6 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Yun-Fat Chow	...	Red Bean Puddin - Joe (as Chow Yun Fat)
Leslie Cheung	...	James - Jim
Cherie Chung	...	Red Bean - Cheri
Kong Chu	...	Chu - Dad
Kenneth Tsang	...	Chow - Father
David Wu	...	Auctioneer
Fung Woo	...	Mr. Cheung (as Wu Fung)
Pierre-Yves Burton	...	Mr. Le Bond (as Pierre Yves Burton)
Declan Wong	...	Magician Henchman (as Declan Michael Wong)
Patrick Hon	...	Hitman
Yat Kwun Tang	...	Young Red Bean Pudding - Young Joe
Ka Fai Tong	...	Young James - Young Jim
Leila Tong	...	Young Red Bean - Young Cherie (as Lina Kong)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kin-Shing Choi	...	Guard

Storyline

Once a Thief is an action/comedy/romance movie involving the plight of three master thieves (in the mode of Pink Panther). All three were raised by the same father and in fact were most certainly street orphans. The story begins with a successful art heist followed by a pledge to make this the last crime ever for the trio. The plot revolves around the theft of a mysterious "cursed" painting and how its obsession affects the family.

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Plot Keywords:

art | 

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Taglines:

They only stop to reload.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The time elapsed between the first day of shooting and the first public screening of the finished film was ten weeks.

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Goofs

When Joe and Cherie are driving behind the truck, that is transporting the paintings (including their marked one), you can clearly see the rope holding the car of Joe and Cherie close to the truck during the stunt scene.

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Quotes

Red Bean Pudding: I've told you so many times. Don't just use D gear. Sometimes use 1st gear, or 2nd gear. I say brake, you don't. I say step on it, you don't. I say ease off the pedal, you don't. You're so stupid!

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Alternate Versions

All German versions, including the TV-Version, are cut.

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Connections

Referenced in Remo, Rambo, Reagan and Reds: The Eighties Action Movie Explosion (2014)

User Reviews

Not a classic, but worth a look

Once A Thief is the first collaboration between John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat after their hugely successful THE KILLER. The movie is about three art thieves that want to still just ONE more picture before they retire. As always it is rather predictable that something very dramatic will happen, but you`ll have to see the movie to find out exactly what. Once a Thief can be called a romantic violence-comedy. The actionscenes are nicely directed, but you won`t be blown away by them as by those in THE KILLER. I don`t like many of the jokes in Once A thief. I think most of them are rather corny and just plain stupid. This is a nice example, where a Hong-kongfilm is TOO weird for a Western audience to really appriciate. But I`m sure that Eastern fans will love it to bits, I didn`t. Worth a look though, and a million times better than the EXTREMELY POOR American re-make from 1996. 7,5/10

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

French Cantonese English Hakka

Release Date:

2 February 1991 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Once a Thief

Filming Locations:

Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Box Office

Gross USA:

HKD33,397,149

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Princess Film Production Limited, John Woo Film Production, Milestone Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1