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Film Screening:Once Upon a Time in China
(Tsui Hark, 1991, 135 min, Hong Kong, Cantonese w/ English subtitles, DCP)
-- Introduction by Prof. Eileen Cheng-yin Chow (Asian & Middle Eastern Studies)
One of the pinnacles of Hong Kong cinema’s 1990s golden age, Tsui Hark’s riotously entertaining epic was a blockbuster hit that cemented Jet Li’s status as the greatest martial-arts superstar of his generation. Li displays his stunning, fast-and-fluid fighting style as the legendary martial-arts teacher and doctor Wong Fei-hung, who, with a band of disciples, battles a host of nefarious forces—foreign and local—who are threatening Chinese sovereignty as British and American imperialists encroach upon the Mainland. ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA’s breathtaking blend of kung fu, comedy, romance, and melodrama climaxes in a whirlwind guns-vs-fists finale that is also a thrilling affirmation of Chinese cultural identity.
“Tsui Hark is the John Ford of Chinese cinema, and ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA is his STAGECOACH. Not only does it redefine a genre on the cusp of its rebirth (in this case the period martial arts film, which had lain dormant through the late 80s much as the Western had been relegated to cheap serials through the 1930s), but it expresses a total historical vision entirely through archetypes, which are by turns deepened and confounded.” – Sean Gilman
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Event URL: https://cinematicarts.duke.edu/screensociety/screenings/once-upon-time-china-tsui-hark-1991-0
View Trailer:
Screen/Society screenings are free and open to the public.
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COVID-19 INFO: Screen/Society and the Rubenstein Arts Center adhere to all university, local, and state regulations. Masking is now optional but recommended, but we strongly encourage audience members to be fully vaccinated and non-symptomatic before attending an event.
https://cinematicarts.duke.edu/covid-19-information
Parking Info: https://artscenter.duke.edu/parking
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Rubenstein Arts Center at Duke University, Campus Drive,Durham, North Carolina, United States
