Once Upon A Time In China (DVD)

Advantages: Great atomsphere to the film
Disadvantages: If you don't like wires, you won't like this film

Plot: the film is based on chinese hero wong fei hung, no doubt if you are fimilar with hong kong cinema you will already be fimilar with wong fei hung. Countless films have been based on his life. Jackie chans drukern master is another popular film based him as well. The setting of the plot is very good, a clash between old traditions and the need for trade. The plot allows for some deep emotions shown by actors. A true fight against greed and ...
...the atomsphere of the fight scenes, the most memorable fight scene is where jet lee is fighting in the pouring rain and starts kicking around a log.... it goes really slow and you see the movements of the log and jet lee as the rain pours down. Artistic very artistic. I think that one scene makes this film better than hidden dragon, it must have taken ages to make that scene work properly. Performances: Jet lees best performance by quite some distance, ... Read review

Advantages: Cantonese audio, no unmatching lip action. great martial arts shadow kick
Disadvantages: none

Once upon a time in china is about one of china's fame heros of the ching dynasty era, Wong Fei Hong, the son of the fame doctor wong Kei Yin owner of the famed Po Chi Lam. the storyline to this story is about corrupt imperial official becoming a traitor to the country for foreigners trying to kill of other ambassidors in china to try to start a war, Wong fei hong who becomes aware of this from certain contacts takes action to stop the official. ...
...with Donnie yen with some superb pole action, and some hand to hand leg to leg combat, with his famed shadow kick, and shaolin fist style fighting, a interesting story line and some good acting from jet li as a disicipline master and first class doctor. Dvd features, original cantonese audio along with english dub, with a series of european subtitle plus english, dvd trailer of the movie and other movie trailers featuring jet li films. along with ... Read review

Advantages: Builds on everything great about the 1st movie.. and then some
Disadvantages: Again like the 1st movie, cultural/historical significance may not be apparent to all

...enjoyment of watching action movie fight scenes in the future... quite simply, you will not see ANYTHING else like this in Hollywood. Even in HK cinema, this has to rate as one of the top confrontations ever captured on film. Tsui Hark's OUATIC2 is a remarkable movie and in my opinion a prime example of how a sequel can be done right. After watching this movie, you might begin to wonder if maybe bigger can also be better after all. ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA 2 - DVD PICTURE: 5/5 The DVD of OUATIC2 from the excellent Hong Kong Legends (HKL) label is more than worthy of the film itself. Just don't expect it to stand up to the latest Hollywood DVD releases with pristine image transfer. Remember, the original prints of many HK movies have been stored in neglectful conditions resulting in picture deterioration of the source material... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: something for everyone, even women love these movies
Disadvantages: A little dated now, sometimes a little to tongue in cheek.

...This is the better way to see Jet Li in action, before making westernised movies. Great Kung-Fu action sequences telling the story of a real chinese legend Wong-Fei Hung. There have been many films made portraying this person but the Once Upon A Time in China movies tell the legend the best. Some small elements of fantasy within some fight scenes but for the most part raw hard hitting martial arts. Films are better in cantonese with subtitles rather than cheesy dubbing. This box contains the first three of a total of six movies. The other three movies are titled Last Hero in China, Once upon a Time in China and America, {Kung-Fu shenanigans in the wild west} and Once upon a Time in China 6 {avoid this, this is the only one that doesn't star Jet Li and it's very poor} Much like Rocky through the course of the movies you see a love... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: not just great action, but great storytelling and characterisations
Disadvantages: not many, though cultural/historical context might be lost on some

...Once Upon A Time In China (OUATIC) sees Jet Li in a career defining role as Wong Fei Hung - a real life legendary folk hero who lived during the mid 19th to early 20th century in the Fushan region of China. The name might also be familiar to Jackie Chan fans, who also portrayed Wong Fei Hung in the fantastic, though very different, Drunken Master movies. Set in the late 19th century during a period of turmoil in Chinese history, OUATIC is as equally accomplished as a period movie as it is a martial arts one. The martial arts genre has all too often been littered with movies devoid of substance beyond the action itself but this is definitely not the case here. With China facing exploitation through foreign imperialist forces, Wong Fei Hung fights to uphold traditional values but the film also explores his conflict as he becomes... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful