NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (November 2021): Criterion have transferred the complete 90's Once Upon a Time in China films to a six Blu-ray package. This includes; Once Upon a Time in China (1991), Once Upon a Time in China II (1992), Once Upon a Time in China III (1993), Once Upon a Time in China IV (1993), Once Upon a Time in China V (1994) and Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997) on individual Blu-rays. They is cited as being from "4K digital restorations of Once Upon a Time in China and Once Upon a Time in China II and III, and new 2K digital restorations of Once Upon a Time in China IV and V and Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997) in a 2K digital transfer".

We've just shown the film sizes etc. for the first Blu-ray, Once Upon a Time in China. They are all dual-layered with high bitrates. The 1080P images are generally a little underwhelming but seem accurate to the original production values. Leonard reviewed the first two films, Once Upon a Time in China and Once Upon a Time in China II on Hong Kong Blu-rays back in 2009 with some comparisons to DVDs (that were mostly blown-out.) These Criterion transfers are a significant bump up - especially with II that did not look good initially on Blu-ray over a decade ago (see HERE.) The Criterion composition looks more accurate with the earlier transfers showing more on the right side of the frame but less on the left edge when compared to the new renderings. There are weaknesses, mostly in contrast, but generally these are clean and each film's visuals are consistent enough to immerse yourself in the lengthy series. Notably after Once Upon a Time in China which looks pleasing enough, they all improve dramatically as the films are more recent with Once Upon a Time in China and America dropping a notch. Without comparing to the Eureka Blu-ray set from 2020, of the first three films, these seem very adept without egregious warts or inconsistencies.  

NOTE: We have added 100 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-rays, Criterion, have the first five films presented with their original Cantonese theatrical-release sound mixes in uncompressed monaural or stereo (LPCM) with alternate stereo Cantonese soundtracks for Once Upon a Time in China and Once Upon a Time in China II, featuring the original theatrical sound effects, and monaural Cantonese soundtrack for Once Upon a Time in China III. The sixth Blu-ray, Once Upon a Time in China and America, features 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio and monaural Cantonese soundtracks, along with a stereo Mandarin track with the voice of actor Jet Li. There are a magnitude of martial arts effects all coming through a bit extravagantly with scores by the likes of Romeo Díaz, James Wong, Gam-Wing Chow, Johnny Njo, Richard Yuen, Wai Lap Wu, Lowell Lo etc. The music can have a traditional edge and support the films, especially the action sequences very well. Criterion offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-rays.

The Criterion Blu-ray offers no commentaries, but a multitude of extras including new interviews with director Tsui Hark, Film Workshop cofounder Nansun Shi, editor Marco Mak, and critic Tony Rayns. There are excerpts from audio interviews with Li conducted in 2004 and ’05, deleted scenes from Once Upon a Time in China III and a documentary from 2004 about the real-life martial-arts hero Wong Fei-hung. From Spikes to Spindles, is a highly interesting 1976 documentary about New York City’s Chinatown featuring uncredited work by Tsui, there are 3/4 of an hour of excerpts from a 2019 master class given by martial-arts choreographer Yuen Wo-ping and about 40-minutes worth of archival interviews featuring Tsui and actors John Wakefield Donnie Yen and Yen Shi-kwan. Included is brief behind-the-scenes footage for Once Upon a Time in China and Once Upon a Time in China and America and a 25-minute "Making-of" program from 1997 on Once Upon a Time in China and America. There are trailers for all six films and the handsome package has a book with an essay on the films by critic Maggie Lee and an essay on the cinematic depictions of Wong by novelist Grady Hendrix. 

It was a pleasure to revisit these films in superior transfers. The six film franchise is fun, dramatic and action-filled. It was great to have input in the supplements from Tsui Hark who directed four of the films and co-wrote the first five. Jet Li is amazing and charismatic as the 'folk hero', an extensive Chinese martial arts master of Cantonese ethnicity showcasing impressive action choreography (Vincent Zhao in part 4 + 5... and television series that started in 1996.) The first two films where debatably the most popular in the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema (circa 1986 - 1993) having strong Chinese nationalism themes conflicting or embracing with Western imperialism. They can be thought-provoking as well as enjoyable. The Criterion Blu-ray boxset brings these six films together in one stacked package. Fans of this entertaining genre should pick this up. Absolutely recommended!

Gary Tooze