Once Upon A Time In China

Once Upon A Time in China (1991)

Director - Tsui Hark

DVD Released by : Mega Star

Player reviewed with : Sony S3000

Receiver reviewed with : Sony 925

Features:

Trailers

Cantonese and Mandarin Soundtracks

Dolby Digital 5.1

English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia, and Thai Subtitles

Film Clips

Booklet

Running Time : 128 mins

ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA (OUATIC) is an epic movie that features Jet Li as the legendary fold hero, Wong Fei Hung. The story takes place at a time when Western influence is starting to invade China. It is also a time when guns start appearing. There are leaders who want to set up trading with the Westerners and they feel that Wong Fei Hung and his Militia are causing problems so they plot against him. A gang is also causing trouble for Hung. They kidnap his Aunt,who is his aunt in name only, and only Hung and his most trusted friends can save her from both the gang and the westerners.

The picture quality is a little soft and it is sometimes difficult getting screen captures because most of the still frames are blurry. There are some specs in the film at times but overall the print is very watchable.

I watched the movie in Cantonese with the English subtitles. The sound mix sometimes lets the vocals get drowned out by the other sounds. The fight scenes also sound very weak. The sound mix detracts a little from the movie. The movie deserves a lot better.

The movie contained quite a few extras which was a nice surprise. The DVD includes clips from different portrayals of Wong Fei Hung. Some of the clips are old and it's interesting to see how the films progressed. There are also trailers from most of the OUATIC films. There is a section about the real Wong Fei Hung and the DVD also comes with a booklet. When a DVD gets all this attention, I always wonder how it ends up with a poorly done sound re-mix. The original mono would have been so much better.

OUATIC is a powerful movie and you may wind up watching it twice before you believe it. I really liked the movie but I wish some more time was spent showing why Wong Fei Hung and his pals were such good friends. The story itself is a very political one. If you watch the movie twice, you will see that there a lot of martyrs that aren't necessarily main characters. There is a lot going on in the movie. This isn't a nonstop action movie. It is just as much a drama. This may disappoint some who are only interested in the action.