Now playing at Film Forum in New York are new 35mm prints of Once Upon A Time in China and its sequel Once Upon A Time in China II. The films, huge hits of Hong Kong cinema that made the career of hero Jet Li, are a must for anybody whose only experience to the gravity-defying joy of ass-kicking kung-fu was Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

The new prints aren't only good-looking, they're also longer: uncut and over two hours long, Once Upon A Time - the English title is a nod to Sergio Leone's epic spaghetti westerns - delivers the goods. It's a little slow to get started. Director Tsui Hark carefully sets the scene of 19th century China, threatened by imperialist forces (no spy planes, though.) A famous character in Chinese folklore and movie history, Wong Fei-Hung (Jet Li) stands against the long-nosed intruders and their Chinese henchmen. Kind of like Richard Attenborough's Gandhi on steroids.

Join the Discussion Once Upon a Time in the Forum Post about this film

Related Resources • More articles • Hong Kong Films

From Other Guides • Fred Topel's DVD Review

Elsewhere on the Web • Film Forum

And that's before we get to the fights: Jet Li, known to Western audiences from Romeo Must Die, performs the magnificently choreographed kicking and flying with grace and speed. I didn't check my watch, but it seems like the last half hour or so of Once Upon A Time is one continuous fight, an orgy of kicks and punches -- after I left the theater, it took all the self-control I had to keep me from picking a fight with a stranger on the subway to try out some of Jet Li's moves.