REVIEWS-Once Upon A Time in China-1 DVD

"... a bonus English dubbed version but I couldn't watch more than a few minutes of it without laughing uncontrollably."

DVD Review
ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA-1,
Rated R

Director/Screenwriter: Tsui Hark
Cast: Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Yuen Biao, Tsui Hark, Yuen Kai-Chi, Leung Yiu-Ming, and Tang Pik-Yin.
Running Time: 134 minutes
DVD Released: June 22, 2001

DVD Format: SS-RSDL
Region Code: 1

ALTERNATE REALITY Review by Lawrence Evans
HIS RATING: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (**** stars)

The DVD release of Jet Li's first film was written and directed by Tsui Hark and is another story from the life of Wong Sei Hung who was last seen played by Jackie Chan in Legend of Drunken Master. Li, here doesn't drink anything stronger than tea during this 132-minute film but the fight scenes are just as spectacular.

Columbia gives us a solid transfer of the 1991 film which is presented in either Mandarin or Cantonese, subtitles are in English, French and I believe Spanish. There is also a bonus English dubbed version but I couldn't watch more than a few minutes of it without laughing uncontrollably. Also included is an audio track by a Hong Kong film expert, talent files and five trailers.

The plot of the film is similar to Master; foreigners want to control China, take over Li's school, etc. Some elements are introduced then left alone until needed for the story, which makes the film muddled until the threads are woven together. There are also similarities between this and Crouching Tiger so if you loved that you should love this. The sequel to this was released a few weeks ago and its sequel arrives in late June/early July.