Zong heng si hai (1991)

Director:

John Woo

Writers:

Janet Chun (writer)
Clifton Ko (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

14 January 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

They only stop to reload.

Plot:

Stylish caper thriller stars Chow Yun-Fat, Leslie Cheung and Cheri Chung as a trio of international art thieves...

Plot Keywords:

Art | Thief | Painting | Automobile | Parrot

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Yun-Fat Chow	...	Red Bean Pudding (Joe) (as Chow Yun Fat)
Leslie Cheung	...	James (Jim)
Cherie Chung	...	Red Bean (Cherie)
Kong Chu	...	Chu / Godfather
Kenneth Tsang	...	Chow / Dad
Fung Woo		(as Fung Wu)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Leila Tong	...	Red Bean
Declan Wong	...	Magician Henchman
John Woo	...	Stanley Wu (uncredited)
David Wu	...	Auctioneer (uncredited)

Directed by
John Woo

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Janet Chun		writer
Clifton Ko		writer
John Woo		screenplay
John Woo		story

Produced by
Terence Chang	....	producer
Amy Chin	....	associate producer
Linda Kuk	....	producer

Original Music by
Man Yee Lam		(as Violet Lam)

Cinematography by
Hang-Sang Poon
William Yim

Film Editing by
David Wu

Production Design by
Fanny Leung

Art Direction by
James Leung

Costume Design by
Shirley Chan

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Catherine Joubé	....	first assistant director: second unit
Sylvia Liu	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Catherine Leighton	....	assistant property master

Stunts
Jue-Luh Cheung	....	action coordinator
Jim Dunn	....	stunts
Max Garnier	....	stunt driver
Rémy Julienne	....	car stunts

Other crew
Patrick Boshart	....	location scout

Production Companies

• Golden Princess Film Production Limited
• John Woo Film Production
• Milestone Pictures

Distributors

• Golden Princess Amusement Company (1991) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• STAR TV Filmed Entertainment (1993) (worldwide) (all media) (copyright holder)
• Cinema Mondo (Finland)
• Highlight Video (Germany) (VHS)
• Hong Kong Legends (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Joy Sales Film and Video Distributors (2006) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Manga Films (Spain)
• Reserva Especial (199?) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Rim (1994) (USA) (subtitled)

Special Effects

• Unlimited Effects Ltd.

Other Companies

• Cinema City Recording Studio  sound re-recording
• Cinerent  equipment provided by
• International Subtitle Co.  subtitles
• Kodak  film supplied by: France scenes
• Laboratoires Éclair  film processing: France scenes
• Mandarin Laboratory (International) Ltd.  film processing
• Sound Wave Film Post Production  sound post-production

Also Known As:

Chik wang sei hoi (Hong Kong: Cantonese title)
Once a Thief (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

French | Cantonese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R | Malaysia:U | Hong Kong:II | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | New Zealand:RP13 | South Korea:12 | UK:15 (cut) | Australia:M | UK:15 (video re-rating) (uncut) (2004) | Ireland:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company:

Golden Princess Film Production Limited

Trivia:

The time elapsed between the first day of shooting and the first public screening of the finished film was ten weeks.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Joe and Cherie are driving behind the truck, that is transporting the paintings (including their marked one), you can clearly see the rope holding the car of Joe and Cherie close to the truck during the stunt scene.

Quotes:

Red Bean Pudding: I've told you so many times. Don't just use D gear. Sometimes use 1st gear, or 2nd gear. I say brake, you don't. I say step on it, you don't. I say ease off the pedal, you don't. You're so stupid!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#22.65)" (2005)

Breezy caper with intrusive comedy asides

ONCE A THIEF (Zong Heng Si Hai)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Mono

Three professional thieves (Chow Yun-fat, Leslie Cheung and Cherie Chung) steal a valuable painting coveted by their villainous mentor (Kenneth Tsang), leading to violent retribution.

John Woo redeemed the commercial failure of his masterpiece BULLET IN THE HEAD (1990) with this breezy comedy-caper, designed to restore his directorial fortunes at home and abroad. Originally conceived as a dark-hearted tragedy, Woo and co-screenwriter Clifton Ko (FOREVER YOURS) re-tooled the project for a Chinese New Year release, allowing the director to indulge his fondness for French New Wave cinema by setting much of the narrative within continental Europe, toplined by some of HK's biggest - and most iconic - movie stars. Chow overplays his role as an experienced jewel thief who alienates his loved ones by refusing to take life seriously, while Cheung and Chung are sympathetic and beautiful as his trusted sidekicks (the scene in which they dance the tango at a swank party is one of the highlights of their respective careers). Typically of Woo, the action scenes are fluid, dynamic and endlessly inventive, photographed with glossy precision by world-class cinematographer Poon Hang-sang (SHANGHAI GRAND). Planned and executed within a three month period (!), the movie overcomes its rough edges and jarring comic interludes (get a load of that final scene!) to emerge as an irresistible blend of big stars, fancy glamour and creative set-pieces. Woo returned to the story in 1996 for a Canadian TV movie (using the same title) which was dismissed by fans and general audiences alike, and quickly disappeared. Stick with the original.

(Cantonese dialogue)