With the opening scene featuring a lion dance being fired upon by French forces, Once Upon a Time in China (1991) is set in late 19th-century China after the signing of the Treaty of Nanking. The nation faces tremendous challenges as Western imperialism encroaches and internal strife arises. The film follows folk hero Wong Fei-hung (Jet Li) as he battles foreign forces, corrupt officials, and local gangs, leading to the many iconic fight scenes this film is known for.

Despite the countless adaptations of Wong Fei-hung's life, Tsui Hark’s take remains a classic. The film not only features elaborate fight choreography and set pieces, but Tsui’s version was also the first to include a prominent female character, Thirteenth Aunt, who acts as Wong’s love interest, revealing the tender side of the folk hero. With its delicate character development, Once Upon a Time in China was a tremendous success and further released five sequels and one spin-off, making it one of the largest series in Hong Kong film history.

Tsui Hark (b. 1951, Vietnam) spent his early years in Vietnam before moving to Hong Kong, where he completed his high school education. He then moved to the United States where he graduated from the film programme at the University of Texas at Austin. After a short spell of work in the US, he returned to Hong Kong and became a director at TVB. Later, during a brief stint at Commercial Television, he directed The Gold Dagger Romance (1978). The Butterfly Murders (1979), Tsui’s feature film directorial debut, was hailed as one of the early examples of the Hong Kong New Wave. Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind (1980) faced censorship from the colonial government for its uncompromising vision. Tsui would break ground with Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983) by introducing Hollywood special effects to the wuxia genre. For much of the 1980s, Tsui was one of the creative masterminds behind the hitmakers Cinema City.

In 1984, he and Nansun Shi founded Film Workshop, which launched with the critically acclaimed Shanghai Blues. Tsui and his company found much success in several popular long-running film series, including A Chinese Ghost Story (1987), The Swordsman (1990), and Once Upon a Time in China (1991). In a career spanning over four decades, Tsui has not stopped finding new ways to reinvent himself as a director, writer, and producer. His take on the wuxia genre has continued to evolve in The Blade (1995) and the Detective Dee series. His Chinese war epic, The Taking of Tiger Mountain (2014), impressed audiences in China and abroad for his creative storytelling and eye for spectacle.