Once Upon a Time in China I

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Once Upon a Time in China I
Once Upon a Time in China
Directed by	Tsui Hark
Produced by	Tsui Hark
Written by	Tsui Hark Leung Yiu Ming Tang Pik Yin Yun Kai Chi
Starring	Jet Li Rosamund Kwan Kent Cheng Jacky Cheung
Music by	Romeo Díaz James Wong
Cinematography	Chan Tung-Chuen Wilson Chan David Chung Andy Lam Arthur Wong Bill Wong
Editing by	Marco Mak
Release date(s)	1991
Running time	112 mins
Country	Hong Kong
Language	Cantonese
Followed by	Once Upon a Time in China II
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Once Upon a Time in China I is a 1991 Hong Kong action film written and directed by Tsui Hark and starring Jet Li as legendary Chinese folk hero, Wong Fei Hung. It is the first film in the Once Upon a Time in China series.

1 Plot
- 1.1 Awards and Nominations
- 1.2 Box office
2 See also
3 External links

[edit] Plot

Concerns are growing over the Westerners from America, Britain and France increasing their presence in Foshan (in some DVD releases, the subtitles state that the town in question is Canton, perhaps because it is a more recognisable). The general of the Black Flag Army approaches Wong and requests that he recruits and trains a militia of kung fu warriors to help protect the town. Wong recruits the butcher, "Porky" Lang (Kent Cheng) and "Bucktooth So" (Jacky Cheung).

Wong meets up with "Aunt Yee" (aka Shao Jun / Siu Gwen / Sap Saam Ee / 13th Aunt, played by Rosamund Kwan) and romantic feelings between the two are stirred.

Leung Foon (or "Fu", played by Yuen Biao) arrives in town with a travelling theatre and gets in trouble with a local gang called Sha Ho Bang, who are terrorising local businesses and dealing with the Americans. He accidentally ran into Aunt Yee and fell in love with her (this never happened in real life). After being kicked out by the theatre, Fu begins training under another master, "Iron Robe" Yim (Yee Kwan Yan).

The Americans, Jackson (Jonathan Isgar) and Tiger (Steve Tartalia) are working for the Sino-Pacific company, exporting Chinese people to the US for virtual slave labour. The Sha Ho gang aid the Americans by kidnapping women to be used as prostitutes for the Americans.

Sifu Wong attempts to bring the gang to justice but the fearful inhabitants of Foshan do not dare to act as witnesses.

"Iron Robe" Yim decides he must fight and beat Wong in order to show the town his skills and make a name for himself, allowing him to open a successful martial arts school. The Sha Ho gang offer to help Yim open the school if he will ally himself with their gang, a move that forces Foon to follow his Master and stand against Wong Fei Hung.

[edit] Awards and Nominations

1992 Hong Kong Film Awards
- Won: Best Director (Tsui Hark)
- Won: Best Action Choreography
- Won: Best Film Editing (Marco Mak)
- Won: Best Original Film Score (James Wong)
- Nominated: Best Picture
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Jacky Cheung)
- Nominated: Best Cinematography
- Nominated: Best Art Direction (Yee Chung Man)

[edit] Box office

Once Upon a Time in China is largely credited with starting the period martial arts craze of the early to mid 1990s. It was a box office hit, grossing $29,672,278 HKD in Hong Kong.