Once Upon a Time in China

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Once Upon a Time in China (also known as Enter the New Game of Death in the Philippines) is a 1991 Hong Kong biographical martial arts film directed and produced by Tsui Hark, who also wrote with Yuen Kai-chi, Leung Yiu-ming, and Elsa Tang. Jet Li stars as Chinese martial arts master and folk hero of Cantonese ethnicity, Wong Fei-hung. The film co-stars Yuen Biao, Jacky Cheung, Rosamund Kwan, and Kent Cheng. It is the first installment in the Once Upon a Time in China film series. It is a staple in the Wuxia genre. It is regarded as one of the most influential martial arts movies of all time.

Plot

The film is set in Foshan, China sometime in the late 19th century during the Qing dynasty. Liu Yongfu, the commander of the Black Flag Army, invites Wong Fei-hung on board his ship to watch a lion dance. Sailors on board a nearby French ship hear the sound of firecrackers and mistakenly think that Liu’s ship is firing at them so they return fire and injure the dancers. Wong picks up the lion head and finishes the performance. Liu comments about the perilous situation China is in, and then gives Wong a hand fan inscribed with all the unequal treaties signed between China and other countries.

Wong is the martial arts instructor of the local militia in Foshan. He also runs his own traditional Chinese medicine clinic, Po-chi-lam, and has three apprentices: “Porky Wing”, “Bucktooth” So, and Kai. He meets Siu-kwan, the daughter of a sworn brother of his grandfather. Even though she is around the same age as him, he still has to address her as “13th Aunt” as she is considered more “senior” than him. They have romantic feelings for each other but their relationship is restrained because it is taboo in the conservative Chinese society of their time.

Leung Foon arrives in Foshan with an opera troupe to stage performances. He encounters 13th Aunt by chance, has a few clumsy encounters with her, and develops a crush on her. He also runs into trouble with the Shaho Gang, which terrorises and extorts money from local businesses. A fight breaks out between the gang and the local militia while Wong is meeting the Governor of Foshan in a restaurant. The gangsters flee when they realise they are no match for Wong. The Governor blames Wong for the disturbance, and disbands and arrests the militia members. Wong confronts the Shaho Gang’s leader, defeats him and captures him, but the authorities release him because no one wants to help Wong by testifying as a witness in court.

In the meantime, Leung Foon meets a northern martial artist, “Iron Vest” Yim, and decides to follow him. Yim wants to become famous and start a martial arts school in Foshan, but he needs to prove himself first. One night, the Shaho Gang sets fire to Po-chi-lam in revenge. After a Jesuit priest identifies the Shaho Gang to be behind the arson attack, the gang flee and take shelter under Jackson, an American official. In return for protection from the authorities, the Shaho Gang helps Jackson run his underground human trafficking ring by kidnapping Chinese women to be sent to America as prostitutes. When Wong and the Governor are watching an opera performance, the Shaho Gang and Jackson’s men ambush them and try to assassinate the Governor and kill Wong. Their plan fails but many innocent people at the theatre are wounded or killed, including the priest who blocks a fatal shot from Jackson’s right-hand man, Tiger who was trying to kill Wong. The Governor blames Wong and threatens to arrest and execute him, but allows him to give medical attention to the injured.

While tending to the injured people in his clinic, Wong meets an escaped Chinese labourer from America who relates his story of how he and his fellow labourers were treated in America. Just then, Yim arrives at Po-chi-lam and insists on challenging Wong to a fight to prove he is the better fighter. Yim leaves with Leung Foon, who was fired from the opera troupe, after Yim and Wong’s fight was left unresolved. Yim issues a challenge to Wong for a rematch. Shortly after Yim left, the Governor shows up and orders his men to search Po-chi-lam for fugitives. Wong and his apprentices fight with the Governor’s men until 13th Aunt, “Bucktooth” So and the labourer have escaped. Wong then surrenders himself and is imprisoned along with his apprentices, resulting in him being unable to appear for the publicized rematch. The Shaho Gang then hires Yim – even though Leung strongly objects to Yim working with the gang. In the meantime, the Shaho Gang kills the labourer, abducts 13th Aunt and takes her to their base. “Bucktooth” So escapes and goes to the prison to inform Wong. The prison guards release Wong and his apprentices out of respect for him.

Wong and his apprentices disguise themselves and infiltrate Jackson’s base to find and rescue 13th Aunt. Yim engages Wong in a one-on-one fight and again, Wong defeats Yim convincingly, and realises that Yim has been cheating in fights; there is a small spearhead tied onto the tip of Yim’s queue (which Wong uses to tear Yim’s queue in retaliation for cheating) at the same time, Wong’s apprentices and Leung Foon overcome the Shaho Gang and Jackson’s men, and save 13th Aunt and the kidnapped women. Just as Wong is about to board Jackson’s ship, Yim shows up, wanting to resume his fight with Wong, and gets fatally shot by Jackson’s men. With his dying breath, he tells Wong that “martial arts stand no chance against guns”. During the fight on the ship, the Shaho Gang’s leader meets his end after being pushed into a furnace. At the critical moment, Jackson takes the Governor hostage at gunpoint, but Wong kills Jackson by using his fingers to flick an unused bullet into Jackson’s forehead, and saves the Governor. At the end of the film, Wong accepts Leung as his fourth apprentice and they take a group photo in Po-chi-lam.

Cast

• Jet Li as Wong Fei-hung (doubled by Hung Yan-yan)
• Yuen Biao as Leung Foon
• Jacky Cheung as So Sai-man (“Bucktooth” So)
• Rosamund Kwan as “13th Aunt” Yee Siu-kwan
• Kent Cheng as Lam Sai-wing (“Porky Wing”)
• Yuen Kam-fai as Ling Wan-kai (“Kai”)
• Yen Shi-kwan as “Iron Vest” Yim
• Jonathan Isgar as Jackson
• Steve Tartalia as Tiger
• Mark King as General Wickens
• Lau Shun as Liu Yongfu
• Yau Kin-kwok as Shaho Gang Leader Tong
• Wong Chi-yeung as the Governor
• Yuen Cheung-yan as Yim’s opponent
• Jimmy Wang as escaped labourer
• Colin George as Jesuit Priest
• 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)

Release and reception

Once Upon a Time in China was released in Hong Kong on 15 August 1991. The film was a box office hit and is largely credited with starting the period martial arts craze of the early to mid 1990s. It ran for almost two months, the longest duration for any of the series, and grossed HK$29,672,278 in Hong Kong. In the Philippines, the film was released as Enter the New Game of Death by First Films on 15 October 1992.

Critical response

Once Upon a Time in China was given highly favorable reviews from film critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported a score of 88%.

Accolades

Once Upon a Time in China II

Once Upon a Time in China II is a 1992 Hong Kong martial arts film written, produced and directed by Tsui Hark. Jet Li stars as Chinese martial arts master and folk hero of Cantonese ethnicity, Wong Fei-hung.^[2] It is the second instalment in the Once Upon a Time in China film series, and co-stars Donnie Yen, Rosamund Kwan and Max Mok. The iconic theme song, “A Man Should Better Himself” (男兒當自強), was performed in Cantonese by George Lam at the beginning of the film, and by Jackie Chan in the end credits. Chan also sang the Mandarin version.

Plot

The film is set in China in 1895 during the Qing dynasty. Wong Fei-hung travels by train from Foshan to Canton to attend a seminar on medicine. He is accompanied by his romantic interest 13th Aunt and apprentice Leung Foon. The situation in Canton is rather chaotic. On one hand, there are protests in the streets against the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. On the other hand, the White Lotus Sect, a xenophobic cult, goes around attacking Westerners and destroying everything regarded as alien to Chinese culture. At one point, 13th Aunt is almost captured by the cult when she tries to take a photo of them, but Wong shows up, fights with the cult members, and saves her.

Wong gives a lecture on acupuncture at the seminar while a Western-trained Chinese doctor, Sun Wen, helps him translate for the predominantly non-Chinese audience. The seminar is disrupted when the White Lotus Sect shoot flaming arrows into the building; Wong, Leung and Sun manage to escape safely. Wong feels that Canton is not safe and wants to bring Leung and 13th Aunt with him back to Foshan. However, just as they are about to leave, they learn that the White Lotus Sect is attacking the Tongwen Guan, a school for Chinese children to study foreign languages. They head over and save the children. The innkeeper refuses to allow the children to remain in his inn because he is worried that the White Lotus Sect will find trouble with him.

When Wong goes to the local government office to ask if the children can take shelter there, he encounters a military officer, Nap-lan Yun-seut, who spars with him to test his skill in using the staff. Although Nap-lan is impressed with Wong’s skill, he does not approve Wong’s request. In the meantime, Leung and 13th Aunt bring the children to hide in the British consulate, which is under siege by the White Lotus Sect. At the consulate, Wong meets Sun Wen again and learns that Sun and his friend, Lu Haodong, are part of an underground movement planning to overthrow the Qing government and establish a republic in China. Nap-lan shows up with his soldiers and tries to enter the consulate to capture Lu but the British consul stops him. That night, Nap-lan orders his men to disguise themselves as White Lotus Sect members and break into the consulate. After some time, he leads his soldiers into the consulate under the pretext of protecting the consul and arresting the cult members while actually using the opportunity to hunt down Lu. He secretly kills the British consul when the latter sees through his ruse.

Lu disguises himself as Leung and follows Wong out of the consulate, while Leung pretends to be Lu to distract Nap-lan. Wong and Lu are then forced to travel to the White Lotus Sect’s base to confront Priest Gao, the cult’s leader. After fighting with the cult members and engaging Gao in a one-on-one fight, Wong defeats Gao and accidentally kills him by causing him to be impaled on a sharp end on a statue’s finger, revealing that he was wearing body armour. Wong, Leung and Lu then proceed to retrieve a book, which contains the names of the revolutionaries, from a secret location. However, they encounter Nap-lan and his soldiers, and Lu is fatally shot. While Wong fights with Nap-lan to buy time, Lu and Leung burn the book to prevent it from falling into the Qing government’s hands. Before succumbing to his wounds, Lu stops Leung from burning the cloth used to wrap the book and tells him to meet Sun Wen at the pier and pass him the cloth.

Wong and Leung try to escape but they are cornered by Nap-lan. Wong and Nap-lan fight using a bamboo staff and a “cloth staff” (a twisted, long piece of cloth) respectively. During the fight, Nap-lan manages to wrap the cloth around Wong’s neck and tries to strangle him, but Wong manages to free himself and slit Nap-lan’s throat with a sharp splinter from his broken bamboo staff. As dawn approaches, Wong and Leung make it to the pier, where they throw the cloth to Sun Wen, who opens it up to reveal Lu’s design of the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag.

Cast

• Jet Li as Wong Fei-hung (doubled by Hung Yan-yan)
• Donnie Yen as Nap-lan Yun-seut
• Rosamund Kwan as “13th Aunt” Yee Siu-kwan
• Max Mok as Leung Foon
• David Chiang as Lu Haodong
• Hung Yan-yan as “Priest Gao” Kau-kung
• Zhang Tielin as Sun Wen
• Yen Shi-kwan as Governor Chung
• Ho Ka-kui as Innkeeper Mak
• Paul Fonoroff as the British consul
• Mike Miller as Dr Thompson
• Dion Lam as Governor Chung’s assistant

Home media

On 2 July 2001, DVD was released in Hong Kong Legends at Europe in Region 2.

Two years later, Hong Kong Legends DVD were released on 7 April 2003 at 3 disc set Tsui Hark’s Once Upon a Time in China Trilogy.

Three years later, The Donnie Yen Collection DVD were released on 29 May 2006 at 4 disc set including two films they were New Dragon Gate Inn and 2 disc platinum edition Iron Monkey.

Alternative version

The Taiwanese VHS release distributed by Long Shong opens with a seven-minute-long recap of the first film. It also features some scenes that were cut from the international release.

Box office

Once Upon a Time in China II was a rare instance where a sequel to a Hong Kong film earned higher at the box office as compared to the previous film. It grossed a total of HK$30,399,676 during its theatrical run and holds a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Awards and nominations

Once Upon a Time in China III

Once Upon a Time in China III is a 1993 Hong Kong martial arts film written, produced and directed by Tsui Hark. Jet Li stars as Chinese martial arts master and folk hero of Cantonese ethnicity, Wong Fei-hung. It is the third installment in the Once Upon a Time in China film series.

Plot

In the late 19th century China during the Qing dynasty Chinese sovereignty is being eroded by foreign imperialism. Empress Dowager Cixi and Li Hongzhang decide to stage a lion dance competition to showcase Chinese martial arts and restore national pride. Interested parties from all over China are invited to participate and compete for the title of “Lion Dance King”.

Wong Fei-hung travels by train from Foshan to Beijing with his romantic interest 13th Aunt and apprentice Leung Foon to meet his father, Wong Kei-ying, at the Cantonese Ten Tigers Association. At the train station, 13th Aunt meets Tomanovsky, a Russian diplomat, who was her classmate when she was studying in Britain. He starts vying for her attention and annoys Wong, who is disgusted by the Western custom of kissing a woman’s hand. When Wong reaches the Association, he learns that his father has been attacked by a wealthy rival martial artist, Chiu Tin-bak, and Chiu’s henchman, Clubfoot. Luckily, the elder Wong sustained only minor injuries. Wong Kei-ying decides to give his blessings to his son and 13th Aunt when he sees their romantic relationship.

Before the competition officially begins, all the lion dance troupes that have gathered in Beijing are already fighting among themselves and holding another competition of their own. Wong does not participate and spectates instead. Unknown to him, Leung and his friends have secretly joined the competition out of mischief. A short chase takes place between Clubfoot and Leung when the latter annoys the former during the contest and flees. Clubfoot’s legs are crushed when Leung accidentally releases a stampede of horses from a stable. Chiu abandons Clubfoot when he sees that he is now a useless cripple. Wong takes pity on Clubfoot, brings him in, and heals his legs. Clubfoot is initially hostile towards Wong, but he feels so touched and grateful to Wong that he starts bawling emotionally, and becomes Wong’s new apprentice.

With the aid of a camera given to her by Tomanovsky, 13th Aunt inadvertently uncovers a plot to assassinate Li Hongzhang during the competition and learns that Tomanovsky is one of the conspirators. She warns Wong, who joins the contest to stop the assassins. In the final round of the competition, Wong, Leung and Clubfoot fight with dozens of rival lion dancers as they battle their way to the top of a scaffold. Chiu also joins the competition and carries a large and deadly lion mask. Wong ultimately defeats Chiu and wins the competition.

In the meantime, Tomanovsky fails to assassinate Li Hongzhang and is shot dead by his fellow Russians, who claim to the Chinese that he was a spy working for the Japanese. Although Wong wins the prize (a gold medal) he remarks that it is ultimately a defeat for the Chinese because of all the infighting. He then tosses the medal back to Li Hongzhang, turns his back and walks away.

Cast

• Jet Li as Wong Fei-hung (doubled by Hung Yan-yan)
• Rosamund Kwan as “13th Aunt” Yee Siu-kwan
• Max Mok as Leung Foon
• Hung Yan-yan as Kwai Geuk-chat (“Clubfoot Seven Chiu-Tsat”)
• John Wakefield as Tomanovsky
• Lau Shun as Wong Kei-ying
• Chiu Chin as Chiu Tin-bak
• Wong Tak-yan as Yan
• Ge Cunzhuang as Li Hongzhang

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, Once Upon a Time in China III got 67%, based on 9 reviews while Marc Salvov of The Austin Chronicle gave it 2.5 out of 5. Panos Kotzathanasis of the Asian Movie Pulse said that “[the film] is the most personal film of the trilogy”.

Awards and nominations

• 13th Hong Kong Film Awards
  • Nominated: Best Film Editing (Marco Mak, Angie Lam)

Alternate versions

[edit]

The film was released in Hong Kong on VHS by Paragon Films in 1996. The opening is in Mandarin while the rest of the film is in Cantonese. It was converted from a LaserDisc and some chapters are incorrectly arranged. The film was released again in Hong Kong on DVD by Hong Kong Legends on 21 January 2002.

The Taiwanese release of the film is in Mandarin and has 15 minutes more footage than the Hong Kong version. It was distributed by Long Shong Pictures and features a 4:3 cropped image with embedded Chinese and English subtitles, and the distributor’s logo on the upper left corner of the screen.

Both the Hong Kong and Taiwanese versions were released on DVD in North America by Columbia TriStar. There is also an English export version of the film called The Invincible Shaolin. In comparison with the original version, the end credits of The Invincible Shaolin are in English and some footage is cut out.

Once Upon a Time in China IV is a 1993 Hong Kong–Chinese martial arts film and the fourth installment in the Once Upon a Time in China film series. It was directed by Yuen Bun and produced by Tsui Hark, who directed the first three films. Vincent Zhao starred as Chinese martial arts master and folk hero of Cantonese ethnicity, Wong Fei-hung, who was portrayed by Jet Li in the first three films.

The film is set in Beijing, China in 1900 during the Qing dynasty. Wong Fei-hung plans to return to Foshan with his father Wong Kei-ying and apprentices Leung Foon and Clubfoot Seven Chiu-Tsat. He also meets 14th Aunt, 13th Aunt‘s sister, who has a romantic crush on him.

Once Upon a Time in China V is a 1994 Hong Kong–Chinese martial arts action film written and directed by Tsui Hark. The film is the fifth installment in the Once Upon a Time in China film series, with Vincent Zhao reprising his role as Chinese martial arts master and folk hero of Cantonese ethnicity, Wong Fei-hung, since taking over the character from Jet Li in Once Upon a Time in China IV. The film also saw the return of Hark as director (he only co-wrote and produced the fourth film) and of Rosamund Kwan as “13th Aunt“, who was absent in the fourth film.

Despite receiving more positive reviews than Once Upon a Time in China IV, the fifth in the series performed poorly at the Hong Kong box office, grossing only HK$4,902,426.

Once Upon a Time in China and America, also known as Once Upon a Time in China VI, is a 1997 Hong Kong–Chinese martial arts film directed by Lau Kar-wing and Sammo Hung in his last directorial effort until The Bodyguard,^[c who also worked on the film’s fight choreography. The film is the sixth and final installment in the Once Upon a Time in China film series. It also saw the return of Jet Li as Chinese martial arts master and folk hero of Cantonese ethnicity, Wong Fei-hung, who was replaced by Vincent Zhao in the fourth and fifth films. The film was released in the Hong Kong on 1 February 1997.

Wong Fei-hung, Clubfoot Seven Chiu-Tsat and “13th Aunt” cross the Pacific Ocean to America to visit Bucktooth So, who has opened a Po-chi-lam clinic there. While traveling by carriage through the wilderness, they pick up a friendly cowboy named Billy, who is almost dying of thirst. When the party stops to have lunch, a bunch of hostile Native Americans ambush them. Wong, Clubfoot Seven Chiu-Tsat and 13th Aunt escape unharmed but their carriage slides off a cliff and falls into a river. 13th Aunt and Clubfoot Seven Chiu-Tsat are rescued and taken to Bucktooth So’s clinic. However, Wong hits his head on a rock and loses his memory as a consequence. He is saved by a Native American tribe.

Back in town, the mayor makes oppressive rules with the intention of causing trouble for the Chinese people living there, while Billy tries to stop him. Meanwhile, the tribe that rescues Wong encounters a more powerful rival tribe. The rival leader, a fearsome warrior, injures Fierce Eagle (the chief’s son) on Wong’s side. However, to everyone’s surprise, Wong defeats the rival leader and half of his men with his kung-fu, causing the rival tribe to flee in fear. Wong is eventually brought back to the town where his companions attempt to help him recall his past.

When Wong finally regains his memory, he forgets everything that has happened during the period when he suffered from amnesia. In the meantime, the mayor is in debt and decides to hire a Mexican bandit to help him rob the bank, so that he can abscond the town with a ton of cash. The robbery is successful and the mayor frames the people in Po-chi-lam for it. Wong and the others are arrested and almost hanged. Just then, the Mexican bandit discovers that the mayor has paid him US$400,000 less, so he returns to town to claim his money. In the ensuing fight, the mayor is killed and Wong manages to capture the bandit to clear his name. At the end of the film, Billy is elected as the new mayor while Wong, 13th Aunt and Clubfoot Seven Chiu-Tsat return to China.

The film was shot at the Alamo Village, the film set originally created for John Wayne‘s The Alamo.

Awards and nominations

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