Synopsis:

Depending on where you live, Once upon A time in China can easily been seen as two different viewing experiences. The theatrical version that saw release in China is 2 hours and 11 minutes long. The overall concepts are those that deal with China's attempts to remain "Chinese" in the face of western influence and the corruption that follows. Wong Fei-Hung (Jet Li) is a Martial Arts healer and Master. When a departing General puts him in charge of the Local Militia, he takes on the role as peacekeeper as well. However, the current political scene is rife with close-minded officials seeing the westerners as saviors instead of the devils that they really are. Given both his position and his stance on protecting the "essence" of China, Wong Fei-Hung finds himself smack in the middle of all kinds of skirmishes that point directly to the westerners as having more up their collective sleeves than what was originally presented as their purpose for being in Mainland China. The People need a leader, someone to defend them from this new corruptive influence. Even more importantly, they need someone who is willing to point them in the right idealogical and fiscal direction. Wong Fei- Hung is the leader they seek. Through adversity and unforeseeable odds, Hung leads his people on a mission of self-preservation and self-actualization that will lead to their eventual collective success as a people. The second version of the film which was released in this Country is the English Dubbed version which is only 1 hour and 31 minutes long. cutting out the first two chapters of the film it removes the weighty topics and renders the film more of a run-of-the-mill martial arts film more than anything else. In comparing the two versions, The fight scenes are all very well done however, the dubbed version lacks the powerful imagery and point that the Chinese theatrical release bears.

Audio/Video:

The audio for the disc is presented in both Mandarin and Cantonese Mono for the theatrical release. The English Dubbed version is also presented in mono. The only track that's presented in stereo is the commentary track by Hong Kong Film expert Ric Meyers. I've not heard to many Commentary tracks for this kind of film so, I've nothing to hold it up against (genre speaking). I will say though that the commentary track is very well done. Ric has an incredible wealth of knowledge on the Chinese film industry and he provides tremendous insight into the choices made for selecting stars and the purpose of Chinese filmmaking to date. Additionally, he has authored several books and publishes periodicals on both Martial Arts and Chinese mythology. Full of information and what appears to be a genuine excitement for the film, Ric provides an invaluable look into the way films are made in China both of yesteryear and today. Listening to his commentary is like being schooled by a master historian and martial arts aficionado all rolled into one! Now onto the technical merits of the disc. The mono platform renders an audio experience that lacks much needed depth in its presentation. The audio is hollow, tinny and quite soft. The video transfer is just as disappointing. It's very grainy and more like the image of a second to third generation VHS transfer as opposed to a clean digital remastered edition. White fleckings can be found in the entirety of the picture as well as tons of scratches. The colors are pale and light throughout. The English dubbed version had a bit more color and was not as grainy however; it too was a pretty bad transfer.

Extras:

The only extras on the disc are, a trailer for the feature and, in equally bad shape trailers for four more martial arts films.

Overall:

Jet Li is awesome! His mastery of Wushu and various other Martial arts forms makes watching him magical. Once Upon A time In China is an epic film that charts the course of Chinese civilization through a particular heinous period of Chinese history. It tackles issues of slavery and prostitution as well as corruption and race hatred. It's got all kinds of thought provoking elements wrapped up inside the story and uses them all well. Aside from the transfer errors, it's definitely worth checking out. Wong Fei-Hung is one of China's greatest theatrical heroes and he is presented incredibly well by Jet li. Great film, incredible action and great storyline! Highly Recommended