Synopsis
Never was a Hero needed more...
Set in late 19th century Canton, this martial arts film depicts the stance taken by the legendary martial arts hero Wong Fei-Hung against foreign forces' plundering of China.
Once Upon a Time in China
Cast
Jet Li Yuen Biao Jacky Cheung Rosamund Kwan Kent Cheng Yuen Gam-Fai Yen Shi-Kwan Shun Lau Wu Ma Yau Gin-Gwok Yuen Cheung-Yan Karel Wong Yuen Shun-Yi Xiong Xinxin Jonathan Isgar Mark King Steve Tartalia Colin George Leung Gam-San Sin Ka-Fai Joanna Peijffers San Sin To Wai-Wo Bill Lung Biu Tong Pau-Chung Mike Leeder Chi-Yeung Wong Jianguo Qiu
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Alternative Titles
Die Schwarzen Tiger von Hongkong, Guerreiros à Prova de Balas, Érase una vez en China, Однажды в Китае, 황비홍, 黄飞鸿之壮志凌云, Wong Fei-hung, 황비홍 1, 黄飞鸿, Once Upon a Time in China - Die schwarzen Tiger von Hongkong, 黄飞鸿之一：壮志凌云, 黄飞鸿之1：壮志凌云
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Popular reviews
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Arguably the best kung fu film ever made. An epic with five sets. Maybe it takes a bit of knowledge about the historical contexts, and familiarity with the character types (especially Wong Fei-hung himself, a real-life legend, some kind of combination of Robin Hood and Abraham Lincoln), but I'm amazed at how many well-realized characters there are (my favorite is the tragedy of Master Yim, the kung fu expert who can't make a living and compromises his sense of right and wrong for what he thinks is the greater good).
Even Tsui's patriotism is more complexly layered than I'd realized. The film is of course stridently pro-Chinese and against the colonization of its cities by European and American powers, and…
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Today, I publicly denounce Jet Li and Tsui Hark for assault and battery. I felt physically attacked by so many subplots.
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how did they figure out the perfect amount of time a shot during a fight scene should last so it feels totally chaotic as a whole but you have exactly enough time to absorb each image and comprehend how insane it is before cutting to the next...and exactly when to slow down for an extra second just to appreciate, like, the water splashing off an umbrella, and make it clear that even though those little moments make up about a tenth of the runtime at most, that's what the movie is really all about??
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Tsui Hark's action scenes make me want to stand up off the couch like a great live sporting event, and I think it has to do with a false sense of spontaneity he creates. martial artists can change direction mid-air, the camera will follow, and the cutting makes it seem deceivingly immediate/spur of the moment when of course many of these maneuvers must have taken full days to complete. he's an action painter the same way people describe Tony Scott, whooshes of motion and color fill the screen while every cut obscures the real sense of time — and somehow the chopped up choreography plays back perfectly smooth in my head. Tsui Hark is the god of cinema.
we hopped back in the time machine on this week's extended clip, and took it to the 19th century. Tsui's martial arts epic and Bogdanovich's comedy of manners, Daisy Miller, were the topics of discussion.
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Writer-producer-director Tsui Hark’s sprawling vision of a changing nineteenth-century China begins with this riotously entertaining epic, a blockbuster hit that cemented Jet Li’s status as the greatest martial-arts superstar of his generation. Li displays his stunning, fast-yet-fluid fighting style as the legendary martial-arts teacher and doctor Wong Fei-hung, who, with a band of loyal disciples, battles a host of nefarious forces—foreign and local alike—threatening Chinese sovereignty as British and American imperialists encroach upon the Mainland. Once Upon a Time in China’s breathtaking blend of kung fu, comedy, romance, and melodrama climaxes in a whirlwind guns vs. fists finale that is also a thrilling affirmation of Chinese cultural identity.
This edition arrives on November 16, 2021. To learn more or pre-order, visit Criterion.com.
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Breathtaking. Anyone passionately looking for the true classics of the wu-xia genre should encounter this stylish Hong Kong masterpiece that even gently reminds us of the existentialist beauty of the famous Samurai trilogy by Inagaki combined with the cultural elements of a folk way of living. Action lovers should also appreciate this branch of filmmaking. An extraordinary art-direction embellishes an epic-scoped journey proud of its cultural origins and constructed of dualities: peace vs. violence, guns vs. kung-fu, peace vs. self-defense tradition, nationalism vs. foreign oppression, Eastern conservatism vs. Westernization... Even for the standards of Tsui Hark, this achievement is gigantic.
96/100
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100 Must-See HK Movies #90:
www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/18995340/19057011/100_Must_See_Booklet.pdf
I agree with another reviewer that this's the archetypal kungfu movie that would inspire many more to come. "Kungfu" movie, despite its name, is more than just kungfu and Tsui Hark has shown us that it involves a balance between:
- Ingeniously composed soundtracks by Cantonese talent, James Wong, an iconic figure in Cantopop revival; and for this film in particular, the lyrics of "The General's Mandate" (arrangement by Romeo Díaz):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9mTLJ44NEY
Which will become the Wong Fei-hung tune until now, even in postmodern pastiche;
- Masterful martial arts choreography (instead of just deafening foley soundtracks of the fight) with diversity, usu. involving the use of objects, e.g. sticks, etc;
- Great editing;
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Tsui Hark is the John Ford of Chinese cinema, and Once Upon a Time in China is his Stagecoach.
I wrote about this, and weirdly enough it ended up kind of being about Martin Luther King, at The End of Cinema.
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Return to the 36 Chambers
2019 Cult Movie ChallengeWeek 33: Aug. 13-Aug. 19
Tsui Hark Week“We can’t fight guns with kung fu”
A very ambitious, if just a little overlong, martial arts epic full of quick paced action and a multilayered story.
Jet Li kicks ass as Wong Fei Hung, the leader of a local militia, who fights against the corrupt foreign forces occupying China. But the story’s not that simple. There’s also an extortion gang terrorizing the town, plus the inclusion of a down on his luck martial artist looking to make a name for himself. Add in all the overarching themes of nationalism, keeping tradition alive, and accepting change, and you’ve got a movie more complex…
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"Everything is changing. No one knows what we will become."
Martial arts movies are always at least a little bit about national identity because of the way martial arts themselves are so inextricably intertwined with Asian culture and history, but Once Upon a Time in China is really capital-A About Chinese national identity. The story takes place at the end of the Qing dynasty, the last imperial dynasty before China became a republic, a time of great instability and change. The country felt the world modernizing around it, and it worried that it might be left behind.
As a result, here we see China virtually colonized by foreigners: British and American soldiers, Jesuit missionaries, white men speaking Cantonese and Mandarin,…
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While a bit on the long side, Once Upon a Time in China has some of the greatest martial arts action I've ever seen on screen. There's a perfect balance. Tsui Hark wrings every drop of emotion out of each frame while frenetic action rages on - perfectly representative of the turmoil in China at the time. The rich period flourishes are enveloping and effectively transport you into late 19th century China, but then everytime action graces the screen you're transported into an entirely new heaven.
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Some of the most beautiful action ever put on screen, each shot feels immaculately controlled but with a real vein of chaos running through the whole thing, apt given the depiction of China being nearly pulled apart by so many different rival outside interests.
If the ladder fight were staged today it would probably be nearly 100% CGI. Don't put on the suit, Master Wong!
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