Once Upon a Time in China (1991) Biography, Plot, Release, Reception, Scene.

Once Upon a Time in China (1991)

Once Upon a Time in China (released in the Philippines as Enter the New Game of Death) is a 1991 Hong Kong martial arts film written and directed by Tsui Hark, starring Jet Li as Chinese martial arts master and folk hero of Cantonese ethnicity, Wong Fei-hung. It is the first instalment in the Once Upon a Time in China film series.

Plot.

The film is set in Foshan, China sometime in the late 19th century during the Qing dynasty. Liu Yongfu, the commander of the Black Flag Army, invites Wong Fei-hung on board his ship to watch a lion dance. Sailors on board a nearby French ship hear the sound of firecrackers and mistakenly think that Liu’s ship is firing at them so they return fire and injure the dancers. Wong picks up the lion head and finishes the performance. Liu comments about the perilous situation China is in, and then gives Wong a hand fan inscribed with all the unequal treaties signed between China and other countries. Wong is the martial arts instructor of the local militia in Foshan. He also runs his own traditional Chinese medicine clinic, Po-chi-lam, and has three apprentices: “Porky Wing”, “Bucktooth” So, and Kai. He meets Siu-kwan, the daughter of a sworn brother of his grandfather. Even though she is around the same age as him, he still has to address her as “13th Aunt” as she is considered more “senior” than him.

They have romantic feelings for each other but their relationship is restrained because it is taboo in the conservative Chinese society of their time. Leung Foon arrives in Foshan with an opera troupe to stage performances. He encounters 13th Aunt by chance, has a few clumsy encounters with her, and develops a crush on her. He also runs into trouble with the Shaho Gang, which terrorises and extorts money from local businesses. A fight breaks out between the gang and the local militia while Wong is meeting the Governor of Foshan in a restaurant. The gangsters flee when they realise they are no match for Wong. The Governor blames Wong for the disturbance, and disbands and arrests the militia members. Wong confronts the Shaho Gang’s leader, defeats him and captures him, but the authorities release him because no one wants to help Wong by testifying as a witness in court.

Release and reception.

Once Upon a Time in China was released in Hong Kong on 15 August 1991. The film was a box office hit and is largely credited with starting the period martial arts craze of the early to mid 1990s. It ran for almost two months, the longest duration for any of the series, and grossed HK$29,672,278 in Hong Kong. In the Philippines, the film was released as Enter the New Game of Death by First Films on 15 October 1992.