Source: Eureka!: Blu-ray, 2020.
Year: 1991
Director: Tsui Hark
Action Stars:
Genre: Martial Arts Film
Country: Hong Kong
Story Duration: 02:13:03
Act Duration:
1st Act: 00:36:13
2nd Act: 00:32:50
3rd Act: 00:31:05
4th Act: 00:31:52
Plot Turns:
1st: Governor disbands militia
2nd: Governor threatens Wong Fei-hung with execution
3rd: Wong Fei-hung released
ASD Ratio: 64%
AAD Ratios:
1st Act: 52%
2nd Act: 49%
3rd Act: 66%
4th Act: 93%
Action Structure: 2134
Action Scenarios:
Capture
Escape
Fall
Fight
Heist
Pursuit
Rescue
Speed
Total Action Moments: 31
Notable Action Sequence: American Compound Fight
Duration: 00:29:33
Act: 4th
Action Scenarios:
Capture
Escape
Fall
Fight
Rescue
Speed
Description: The final act action sequence in Once Upon a Time in China (1991) runs close to 30 minutes in length, and takes up 93% of the fourth act of the film. Running through the sequence is a rescue plot line to free Thirteenth Aunt who, amongst other captive Chinese women, is about to sail off in a ship headed to America to be forced into prostitution. Wong Fei-hung, the protagonist of the film, arrives at the American compound with his militia disciples disguised as captured women to sneak in and rescue Thirteenth Aunt, his love interest. Impeding his path is Iron Vest Yim, a down and out martial artist seeking to enhance his reputation and fortunes [Figure 1]. Their fight in the sequence is a rematch, which Wong Fei-hung lost to Iron Vest Yim in the previous duel. Notably, these two fight sequences mirror each other with respect to how ascendancy is obtained. In The first fight, Wong Fei-hung is momentarily distracted by the sound of Thirteenth Aunt fighting over a pistol, allowing Iron Vest Yim to deliver a powerful kick to Wong’s body, sending him flying [Figure 2]. On the defensive, Wong is unable to defend himself from Yim’s final flying kick. In the rematch, Thirteenth Aunt’s off-screen call for help acts in the opposite capacity, acting as a motivator for Wong Fei-hung to up his game as he resoundingly defeats Iron Vest Yim [Figure 3]. The sequence also brings a surprise to the rescue plot line. At the moment when Tong, the vile leader of the Shaho gang, is about to shove Thirteenth Aunts head into a furnace in an effort to permanently disfigure her, the captive women come to her aid by tossing him into the fiery heat [Figure 4]. Instead of Wong Fei-hung acting in the expected capacity as rescuer, it is the unexpected agency of captive women that assume a heroic function.