Once Upon a Time in China #1

Once Upon a Time in China #1
by Hark Tsui

Our Price: $34.10
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.42 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases

DVD Cover Information

Movie Reviews of Once Upon a Time in China #1

Movie Review: .
Summary: 5 Stars

At the time of this writing I've seen Once Upon a Time in China parts 1-5, and essentially my feelings on the series can be summed up as such: There's Once Upon a Time in China, and then, there are the sequels. This is not to say that I dislike the sequels; in fact, I have yet to be entirely let down by a Once Upon a Time in China picture. But the original is unquestionably the paramount of the series, a martial arts movie which breaks through and transcends the usual limits of the genre.

The qualities of Once Upon a Time in China are manifold. Its story is sophisticated and densely layered for a martial arts film, its pace unrushed, its action satisfying, its length generous, and its climax genuinely gripping. Once Upon a Time in China is, indeed, the only movie in the series in which I actually felt genuine concern for the fate of any of the characters, or put another way, empathized any real sense of physical, emotional, or spiritual danger. Some will argue that the martial arts choreography of part 2 is superior, but for all their technical strength, part 2's action sequences lack the sense of harmony and resonance with the overall picture which can be readily found here. A strength of the series in general is that the action sequences rarely seem to be entirely arbitrary - but never in the many sequels are they fused this satisfyingly into the overall experience.

Additionally, I've noticed that the Once Upon a Time in China series has gotten more "comic-booky" as its gone along. I have no overt problem with these "comic-booky" aspects in and of themselves: the mysterious cult-leaders and quasi-supervillains of parts 2 and 4, or the pirates and treasures and gunfights of part 5, or the introduction of the Clubfoot character in part 3, are all entertaining in their way. But I do appreciate the slightly more down-to-earth atmosphere of the original, as it seems to have been conducive to the development of more interesting characters. While there are other antagonists I've enjoyed in the series, none have come close to matching the thorough spiritual bankruptcy and cruelty of this film's Shaho gang leader. He has no special powers or tricks - in fact he doesn't even prove to be a particularly formidable fighter - but he's the only villain they ever bothered to develop enough so that you really come to despise him by the end.

And what of Iron Robe Yim's nuanced part in the tale? Not quite a villain proper, more a tragic figure - but an interesting tragic figure, and one successfully interjected (in place of the Shaho boss) as a formidable martial arts antagonist, thus allowing for the film's classic final battle. Above and beyond this he is also nicely interwoven into the greater fabric of the tale's many moral quandaries by his temporary relationship as mentor to Foon. (Incidentally, the mentor/student relationship between these two characters would have been well served by just a bit more development, but when everything comes to a head in that last half-hour, it still manages to pull itself off nicely.) Yim occupies an interesting space as a character in this story, a space unfilled in subsequent Once Upon a Time in China chapters: he is a character who we feel could have been great, could even have been a friend or brother to Wong Fei Hung and his coterie, but who sadly crumbles (under the pressure of poverty) to his darker, greedier side, and pays the price in a bloody and undignified demise - (a scene which proves powerful on several levels.)

Without getting into each in detail, I appreciate this film's well-rounded cast of characters, several of whom disappear and/or are replaced by different actors in subsequent Once Upon a Time in China films. With the exception of the unused Kai, every major character is given his moment(s) in this movie. Even Buck Tooth So - a character I initially found too annoying and zany - manages a convincing emotional and moral complexity by the end (relative to what you'd expect of such a character, at any rate.)

Last but not least, I should probably reaffirm that Jet Li himself is indeed excellent in Once Upon a Time in China. He brings a poise, dignity, style, and romantic vulnerability to the character of Wong Fei Hung which I doubt I'll ever see matched, and his focused and perfectly executed martial arts are a thing to behold.

So when all is said and done, I feel I must insist that Once Upon a Time in China has far more going for it than any of its sequels, and manages not only to juggle everything successfully - action, romance, politics, religion, national identity, melodrama, and brotherhood - but also to bring it together into a climax far more satisfying than anything I've seen from the series since. It boasts competent, artful direction, good production values, a fully realized 19th century environment, and everything in the film radiates with a glow which even the best of the sequels never quite match.

DVD REVIEW:

The Columbia TriStar release of Once Upon a Time in China is, to my mind, the most adequate of their three OUATIC releases. Picture and sound are both reasonably good, format is original widescreen, and the subtitles are clear, well-placed, and well-paced. The Cantonese and Mandarin audio tracks are both included. The English dubbed version is included as a special feature. Other special features include an interesting audio commentary (albeit it from a somewhat annoying and occasionally sarcastic commentator) and a few trailers. Nothing exceptionally mind-blowing, but a worthwhile purchase for sure. See Amazon info for more technical details.

Summary of Once Upon a Time in China #1