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Once a Thief ()

Chung hang sei hoi (original title)
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A romantic and action packed story of three best friends, a group of high end art thieves, who come into trouble when a love-triangle forms between them.
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Photos and Videos

17 photos

Cast

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Red Bean Puddin - Joe (as Chow Yun Fat)
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James - Jim
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Red Bean - Cheri
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Chu - Dad
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Chow - Father
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Auctioneer
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Mr. Cheung (as Wu Fung)
Pierre-Yves Burton ...
Mr. Le Bond (as Pierre Yves Burton)
Declan Wong ...
Magician Henchman (as Declan Michael Wong)
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Hitman
Yat Kwun Tang ...
Young Red Bean Pudding - Young Joe
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Young James - Young Jim
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Young Red Bean - Young Cherie (as Lina Kong)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kin-Shing Choi ...
Guard
Shung-Fung Lau
Douglas Kung ...
Chow's Henchman (uncredited)
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Stanley Wu (uncredited)

Directed by

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John Woo

Written by

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John Woo ... (screenplay) &
Clifton Ko ... (screenplay) &
Janet Chun ... (screenplay)
John Woo ... (story)

Produced by

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Terence Chang ... producer
Amy Chin ... associate producer
Linda Kuk ... producer

Music by

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Man-Yee Lam ... (as Violet Lam)

Cinematography by

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Hang-Sang Poon
William Yim

Editing by

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David Wu

Editorial Department

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Chan-Kuen Pang ... assistant editor

Production Design by

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Fanny Leung

Art Direction by

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Wah-Sang Leung ... (as James Leung)

Costume Design by

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Shirley Chan

Production Management

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Daniel Baschieri ... unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Catherine Joubé ... first assistant director: second unit
Patrick Leung ... assistant director
Sylvia Liu ... second assistant director
Chung-Kan Tang ... assistant director

Art Department

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Catherine Leighton ... assistant property master
Hsi-Jen Yang ... props
Shi-Cheng Yang ... property master (as Sai-ching Yeung)

Special Effects by

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Arthur Wai Kit Lau ... special effects
Bruce Law ... special effects supevisor: Hong Kong

Stunts

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Jim Dunn ... stunt performer / stunts
Max Garnier ... stunt driver
Rémy Julienne ... car stunts
Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok ... action coordinator (as Chin-feng Kwok)
Bruce Law ... car stunt coordinator: Hong Kong / stunt coordinator: fire sequences and body burns: Hong Kong / stunts

Camera and Electrical Department

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Chi Hung Lai ... still photographer
Pui-Chi Lam ... electrician
Gam-Fai Lee ... electrician
Wing Lok Lee ... assistant camera
Lien-You Tsou ... assistant camera
Wai-Keung Tung ... lighting technician

Location Management

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Patrick Boshart ... location scout
Bruno Vignier ... location manager

Script and Continuity Department

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Heung-Yeung Tsim ... script supervisor

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

Once a Thief is an action/comedy/romance movie involving the plight of three master thieves (in the mode of Pink Panther). All three were raised by the same father and in fact were most certainly street orphans. The story begins with a successful art heist followed by a pledge to make this the last crime ever for the trio. The plot revolves around the theft of a mysterious "cursed" painting and how its obsession affects the family. Written by

Plot Keywords
Taglines They only stop to reload. See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Once a Thief (Hong Kong, English title)
  • Zong heng si hai (Hong Kong, Mandarin title)
  • 縱橫四海 (Hong Kong, Cantonese title)
  • Letters to Wolves (Japan, English title)
  • Once a Thief (Canada, English title)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 108 min
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
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Filming Locations

Did You Know?

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Trivia The time elapsed between the first day of shooting and the first public screening of the finished film was ten weeks. See more »
Goofs When Joe and Cherie are driving behind the truck, that is transporting the paintings (including their marked one), you can clearly see the rope holding the car of Joe and Cherie close to the truck during the stunt scene. See more »
Movie Connections Edited from Red Scorpion (1988). See more »
Quotes Red Bean Pudding: I've told you so many times. Don't just use D gear. Sometimes use 1st gear, or 2nd gear. I say brake, you don't. I say step on it, you don't. I say ease off the pedal, you don't. You're so stupid!
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