Film Name: 黄飞鸿之壮志凌云 / Once Upon a Time in China / Wong Fei-Hung / 黃飛鴻
That evening, I revisited Zhao Dan’s 1959 film about Lin Zexu, which was even more stirring… Still feeling energized, I dug out the long-forgotten 1991 version of “Once Upon a Time in China: The Legend Begins” from my hard drive and watched it straight through until now!
Time flies—thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye. I thought revisiting this film would fail to rekindle the passion and visual thrill of yesteryear, given today’s dominance of action blockbusters and the inevitable technological gap between then and now. Yet after watching it, the passion remains undiminished!
National spirit matters deeply. I was once a patriotic person, and perhaps I still am today. But to be more precise, I should say I love my Chinese nation. All these years, I’ve grown from a middle school student into a man approaching middle age. Many things have changed with time, including the environment we live in. Worldviews, values, and perspectives all undergo subtle transformations with age. I thought I’d grown detached, seeking only family harmony and prosperity—but apparently not…
When Alan Tam’s “A Man Should Stand Strong” blared during the opening credits, my blood boiled anew! My lips curled upward involuntarily!! This surge of emotion is utterly uncontrollable!
“Once Upon a Time in China” is a quintessential late Qing martial arts epic from classic Hong Kong cinema. Yet it isn’t pure fiction—it’s adapted from historical figures. It stands as a landmark patriotic martial arts film in Hong Kong’s cinematic history! My deepest gratitude to Master Tsui Hark. Without your works, who knows what we 70s and 80s kids would have become during those dull, monotonous years of China’s mid-reform era…
Through the main storyline of the “Once Upon a Time in China” series starring Jet Li and Zhao Wenzhuo, I fell in love with this legendary martial arts master and have followed his journey from the late 90s to this day.
Every detail of the first film’s antagonist, Yan Zhendong, fills me with nostalgia! “I am Yan Zhendong, the Iron Shirt from Shandong. I’ve come to exchange blows with Master Wong.” ” The martial world is treacherous—one must be ever vigilant!” Every time I see these iconic scenes, I can’t help but recite the lines along with the characters!!
Watching this “Top Gun” remake has reignited my long-dormant passion. I’m picking up my sanda and boxing again, determined to become that vibrant little Wang Gong once more!
Thank you for everything that made my childhood so fulfilling—tough yet joyful! Our descendants may surpass us in every way, but they’ll never experience such a genuinely rich, spiritually rewarding childhood like ours…
Hong Kong cinema of the ’80s and ’90s, thank you! 💐💐💐
PS: 1. Watching Wong Fei-hung this time, I paused and rewound repeatedly with prior knowledge, finally catching Xiong Xinxin’s striking good looks when he doubled for Jet Li! 😂👍🏻👏🏻
2. The film’s action choreography feels not outdated but even more spectacular today. In this era of CGI and motion capture, seeing real martial arts prowess still requires revisiting old films. Whether performed by the actors themselves or their stunt doubles, that level of authenticity and brilliance is unmatched. I’ve lost track of when contemporary Chinese action films began to disappoint me…
3. The brilliant portrayal of historical figures and the Mandarin dubbing are also things we can never recapture today! Actually, the actor playing Liu Yongfu in the film is our fellow Beijing native, the veteran actor Liu Xun. A true veteran actor is a true veteran actor—it wasn’t until years later that I casually realized this “Liu Yongfu” was none other than the “Grand Eunuch” Liu Xun. 😂👍🏻
4. There’s so much more I want to say, but after drinking too much, I’m forced to stop mid-sentence. Truthfully, even sober, I couldn’t articulate it all—I’m no wordsmith, and my brain just doesn’t hold that many words.
Here’s to the youth we’ll never reclaim, us 70s and 80s kids! Some things are better left unsaid.
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