Il était une fois en Chine

Original title: Wong Fei-Hung

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

21K

YOUR RATING

Jet Li in Il était une fois en Chine (1991)

Play trailer2:01

1 Video

40 Photos

Kung Fu Martial Arts Wuxia Action

Legendary martial arts hero Wong Fei-Hung fights against foreign forces' plundering of China. When Aunt Yee arrives back from America, Wong Fei-Hung assumes the role of her protector.Legendary martial arts hero Wong Fei-Hung fights against foreign forces' plundering of China. When Aunt Yee arrives back from America, Wong Fei-Hung assumes the role of her protector.Legendary martial arts hero Wong Fei-Hung fights against foreign forces' plundering of China. When Aunt Yee arrives back from America, Wong Fei-Hung assumes the role of her protector.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.2/10

21K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 5 wins & 4 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 2:01

Once Upon A Time In China

Photos40

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Wong Fei-hung was a famous practitioner of hung gar kung fu, although the techniques Jet Li uses are mostly of the long fist method and tai chi.

Goofs
(at around 54 mins) A 31-star US flag is seen shortly after an adult Wong Fei Hung attempts to defend the Po Chi Lam clinic from a fiery attack. The 31-star flag was used from July 4, 1851 to July 3, 1858. Wong Fei Hung was born on July 9, 1847, and so could not have been older than a few days shy of his eleventh birthday when this flag was still in use. Also, the rows of stars shown on the 31-star flag are inverted. The flag shown has rows of 7, 6, 6, 5, and 7 stars respectively (from top to bottom). The actual flag has rows of 7, 5, 6, 6, and 7 stars top to bottom.

Quotes
Yim: No matter how good our kung-fu is, it will never defeat guns.

Alternate versions
A version distributed by 'Made in Hong Kong' UK has a running time of 140 mins. with a extra 10 minutes previously unreleased on video.

Connections
Featured in The Art of Action: Martial Arts in Motion Picture (2002)

User reviews80

Featured review

10/10

There's more to martial arts cinema than arthouse self-indulgence or slapstick comedy

Watched this again as an antidote to "The One". Jet Li's done some good films, some TERRIBLE films, and then again he's done a few genuine epics, like the Once upon a time in China series. These films are also among the best work of Tsui Hark.

The modern Wong Fei-Hung series contains elements of humour without being just broad slapstick (if you want kung fu comedy, rent a Jackie Chan film), but are mostly films about a troubled China where traditional values are being overwhelmed by Western style and influence. Iron-Robe Yim's line "you can't fight bullets with kung fu" resonates achingly with the failed boxer rebellion, during which chi-gung practitioners mistakenly believed they were protected from foreign guns.

Wong Fei-Hung's struggle to find an honourable, peaceful path through the collision between cultures should strike a chord with anyone who has moved on from chop-socky and realises that a kung fu movie can feature a great story as well as great cinematography.