After the commercial disappointment of the relentlessly bleak Bullet In The Head, John Woo was determined to make something on the other end of the spectrum. The result was Once A Thief, one of the most unexpected films of Woo’s Hong Kong career; a breezy, stylish caper every bit as cheerful as Bullet In The Head is traumatic.
At the very least, Once A Thief succeeds as an antidote to the hopelessness and despair that closes Bullet In The Head. A freewheeling caper following professional art thieves Rice Pudding, Red Bean, and… Jim (Chow Yun Fat, Cherie Chung, and Leslie Cheung) as they carry out several high-profile robberies across France. When one heist goes disastrously wrong, leaving Rice Pudding presumed dead, the surviving pair attempt to leave crime behind, only to be drawn back for one last job.
Anyone used to the operatic violence of The Killer and Hard Boiled will initially be surprised by the breezy tone of the film’s first half, as the three friends goof around through increasingly inventive heists. Woo proves an unexpectedly gifted comic director, finding laughs through choreography worthy of Stephen Chow. One sequence sees Rice Pudding dangling from a chandelier, frantically catching falling candles while suspended upside down. Another has the thieves locating laser beams by peering through glasses of red wine. There’s even a wonderfully self-aware joke in which Rice Pudding references Chow Yun-fat himself during a phone call, giving the film an infectious sense of playfulness.
Of course, Woo can’t resist action for long. Once the balletic shoot-outs start up, they are every bit as exhilarating and innovative as those in his more serious films, even if the transition from slapstick comedy to gunplay is incredibly abrupt. Initially it seems like Woo is demonstrating restraint, but soon the heroes are dispatching baddies in increasingly creative ways. One standout sequence sees Rice Pudding turn a henchman’s deadly pack of playing cards against him in a fight that feels halfway between a Bond film and a Jackie Chan stunt spectacular.
Chow Yun Fat is at his charismatic best as the gang’s irrepressible leader – his character arc is effectively a lighter variation on his A Better Tomorrow persona: the impossibly cool rogue, whose injury leaves him cynical and embittered. Even when the film darkens, Woo refuses to let the comedy dissipate entirely, leading to one of the funniest reveals in the film. Leslie Cheung brings effortless charm as Joe, with both actors literally throwing themselves into both the playful heist sequences and the brutal shootouts. Cherie Chung holds her own as the third member of the trio, although she suffers slightly from limited screen time.
As in many of Woo’s films, the real emotional core lies in ideas of family and loyalty. The poignant flashback scenes flesh out the characters without feeling contrived, and introduce their two surrogate father figures. Kong Chu gives the film’s most memorable, understated performance as the kindly detective who has watched over the protagonists since childhood, while Kenneth Tsang’s Boss Chow, views them as little more than assets, like Fagin but with less warmth. Together they embody the angel and demon on the trio’s shoulders, pulling them between redemption and criminality.
It’s just refreshing that even when handling lightweight material, Woo still brings his A game to directing duties. The heists are just as exhilarating as any of the shoot-outs that populate the back half of the film. It’s also just straight-up one of Woo’s best-looking films, contrasting warmly lit flashbacks with elegant use of shadows and silhouettes in the present day, brilliantly rendered in this 4K restoration. The pacing is less successful, as the plot meanders a fair bit. An overlong dance sequence brings the momentum to a grinding halt, and the shifts between broad comedy and violence prove more than a little jarring.
Since Arrow Video is seemingly releasing all of John Woo’s Hong Kong action films this year, it’s nice to see that Once A Thief hasn’t been forgotten. It may not rank among his very best films, but it’s a hidden gem, a touching, genuinely funny combination of meticulous heist sequences, visual gags and extreme violence. This release is a welcome reminder that even when he stepped away from operatic action, Woo was still capable of making something unmistakably his own.
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Limited Edition Special Features
- 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original lossless Cantonese and English mono audio, plus alternate mono mixes for both languages
- Optional English subtitles for the Cantonese soundtrack and English for the deaf and hard of hearing subtitles for the English soundtrack
- Brand new audio commentary with Asian cinema expert James Mudge
- Handling a Heist, a brand new interview with director John Woo
- Heists and Lows, a brand new interview with producer Terence Chang
- Thoughts About Thievery, a brand new interview with co-writer Clifton Ko
- Stealing Some Shots, a brand new interview with director of photography Poon Hang-Sang
- Art of the Steal, a brand new interview with editor David Wu
- Hong Kong Confidential, a brand new appreciation by author and film historian Grady Hendrix
- Once a Star, Always an Icon, a brand new appreciation of star Leslie Cheung by Hong Kong cinema expert Frank Djeng
- Up Close and Personal, an archival interview with John Woo
- Brothers in Arms, an archival interview with Terence Chang
- Archival interview with actor Kenneth Tsang
- Original theatrical trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sam Hadley
- Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Priscilla Page
Once A Thief is out on 4K from Arrow Video on 7 August.
