Once a Thief (1996 film): Difference between revisions

*Once a Thief*
Once a Thief
Based on	Once a Thief; by John Woo; Janet Chun; Clifton Ko
Written by	Glenn Davis; William Laurin
Directed by	John Woo
Starring	Sandrine Holt; Ivan Sergei; Nicholas Lea; Michael Wong
Music by	Amin Bhatia; Michele Worth
Country of origin	Canada
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Terence Chang; Glenn Davis; Christopher Godsick; William Laurin; John Woo
Producer	Wendy Grean
Production locations	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Cinematography	Bill Wong
Editors	Bert Kish; David Wu
Running time	92 minutes
Original release
Network	CTV
Release	September 29, 1996

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Once a Thief is a 1996 Canadian action comedy television film directed by John Woo. A remake of Woo’s 1991 film of the same name, it served as a backdoor pilot for a 1997-98 CTV series also of the same name. It stars Sandrine Holt, Ivan Sergei and Nicholas Lea.

The film premiered on September 29, 1996. It was originally produced for the American Fox Network and was hoped to be the beginning of a weekly series, but Fox passed on it, and the series aired instead on CTV.

Plot

The film is about two orphans - Mac Ramsey and Li Ann Tsei who have spent their life living with the Tang family - a ruthless Chinese organized crime syndicate. Mac and Li Ann were taken in by the Tang Godfather and have formed a close friendship with his son Michael.

When they grow up, Li Ann is betrothed to Michael, but falls in love with Mac so the two scheme to steal money from the Tang family and run off to start a new life. During the heist, Mac is arrested and Li Ann flees to Canada. 18 months later, Mac is released into the charge of a menacing woman known only as the Director who takes him to Canada to work for her crime-fighting team. He soon realizes he will be working with Li Ann and her former cop boyfriend Victor.

Cast

Sandrine Holt as Li Ann Tsei
Ivan Sergei as Mac Ramsey
Nicholas Lea as Victor Mansfield
Robert Ito as The Godfather
Michael Wong as Michael Tang
Alan Scarfe as Robertson Graves
Jennifer Dale as The Director
Nathaniel DeVeaux as Dobrinsky
Greg Chan as Dance MC
Young Ryu as Li Ann's Dance Partner
Matthew Walker as Interpol Judge
Paul Wu as Judge's Aide
Phillip Tsui as Fong
Derek Lowe as Mill Security Guard

TV series

The spin-off series ran for one season.

References

External links

Once a Thief at IMDb
Once a Thief at AllMovie
Once a Thief at the TCM Movie Database

This article related to a Canadian TV movie is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{other uses|Once a Thief (disambiguation)}}
-{{Media IMDb refimprove|date=June 2019}}
 {{Infobox television
 | image          = Once a Thief (1996 film).jpg
 | image_size     =
 | caption        =
+| based_on       = ''[[Once a Thief (1991 film)|Once a Thief]]''<br>by [[John Woo]]<br>Janet Chun<br>[[Clifton Ko]]
-| director       = [[John Woo]]
+| director       = John Woo
-| producer       = [[Terence Chang]]<br>[[Glenn Davis (producer)|Glenn Davis]]<br>[[Christopher Godsick]]<br>[[Wendy Grean]]<br>[[William Laurin]]<br>[[John Woo]]
-| writer         = [[Glenn Davis (producer)|Glenn Davis]]<br>[[William Laurin]]
+| executive_producer  =  [[Terence Chang]]<br>Glenn Davis<br>Christopher Godsick<br>William Laurin<br>[[John Woo]]
+| producer       = Wendy Grean
+| writer         = Glenn Davis<br>William Laurin
 | narrated       =
-| starring       = [[Sandrine Holt]]<br>[[Ivan Sergei]]<br>[[Nicholas Lea]]
+| starring       = [[Sandrine Holt]]<br>[[Ivan Sergei]]<br>[[Nicholas Lea]]<br>[[Michael Wong (actor)|Michael Wong]]
-| music          = [[Amin Bhatia]]<br/>[[Michele Worth]]
+| music          = [[Amin Bhatia]]<br/>Michele Worth
-| cinematography = [[Bill Wong (cinematographer)|Bill Wong]]
+| cinematography = Bill Wong
-| editor         = [[Bert Kish]]<br>[[David Wu (Hong Kong actor)|David Wu]]
+| editor         = Bert Kish<br>[[David Wu (Hong Kong actor)|David Wu]]
-| company =
+| company        =
-| distributor    = [[Fox Network]]
+| location       = [[Vancouver, British Columbia]], Canada
 | released       = {{start date|1996|9|29}}
 | runtime        = 92 minutes
 | country        = Canada
 | language       = English
 | budget         =
+| network        = [[CTV Television Network|CTV]]
-| preceded_by    =
-| followed_by    =
 }}
-'''''Once a Thief''''' is a remake of a 1991 [[Once a Thief (1991)|film of the same name]]. Both films were directed by [[John Woo]]. The movie was also made into a 1997 [[Once a Thief (TV series)|television series also of the same name]]. The remake aired on the [[Fox Network]] and was hoped to be the beginning of a weekly series, but Fox passed on it, and the series aired instead on the [[CTV Television Network]] in Canada.
+'''''Once a Thief''''' is a 1996 Canadian [[action comedy]] [[television film]] directed by [[John Woo]]. A remake of Woo’s 1991 [[Once a Thief (1991)|film of the same name]], it served as a [[backdoor pilot]] for a 1997-98 [[CTV Television Network|CTV]] [[Once a Thief (TV series)|series also of the same name]]. It stars  [[Sandrine Holt]], [[Ivan Sergei]] and [[Nicholas Lea]].
+The film premiered on September 29, 1996. It was originally produced for the American [[Fox Network]] and was hoped to be the beginning of a weekly series, but Fox passed on it, and the series aired instead on CTV.
 ==Plot==
-The film is about two orphans - Mac Ramsey ([[Ivan Sergei]]) and Li Ann Tsei ([[Sandrine Holt]]) who have spent their life living with the Tang family - a ruthless [[China|Chinese]] [[organized crime]] syndicate. Mac and Li Ann were taken in by the Tang Godfather ([[Robert Ito]]) and have formed a close friendship with his son Michael ([[Michael Wong (actor)|Michael Wong]]).
+The film is about two orphans - Mac Ramsey and Li Ann Tsei who have spent their life living with the Tang family - a ruthless Chinese organized crime syndicate. Mac and Li Ann were taken in by the Tang Godfather and have formed a close friendship with his son Michael.
-When they grow up, Li Ann is betrothed to Michael, but falls in love with Mac so the two scheme to steal money from the Tang family and run off to start a new life. During the heist, Mac is arrested and Li Ann flees to [[Canada]]. 18 months later, Mac is released into the charge of a menacing woman known only as the Director ([[Jennifer Dale]]) who takes him to Canada to work for her crime-fighting team. He soon realizes he will be working with Li Ann and her former cop boyfriend Victor ([[Nicholas Lea]]).
+When they grow up, Li Ann is betrothed to Michael, but falls in love with Mac so the two scheme to steal money from the Tang family and run off to start a new life. During the heist, Mac is arrested and Li Ann flees to Canada. 18 months later, Mac is released into the charge of a menacing woman known only as the Director who takes him to Canada to work for her crime-fighting team. He soon realizes he will be working with Li Ann and her former cop boyfriend Victor.
 ==Cast==
@@ Line 38: / Line 40: @@
 * [[Alan Scarfe]] as Robertson Graves
 * [[Jennifer Dale]] as The Director
-* [[Nathaniel DeVeaux]] as Dobrinsky
+* Nathaniel DeVeaux as Dobrinsky
-* [[Greg Chan]] as Dance MC
+* Greg Chan as Dance MC
-* [[Young Ryu]] as Li Ann's Dance Partner
+* Young Ryu as Li Ann's Dance Partner
 * [[Matthew Walker (Canadian actor)|Matthew Walker]] as Interpol Judge
-* [[Paul Wu]] as Judge's Aide
+* Paul Wu as Judge's Aide
-* [[Phillip Tsui]] as Fong
+* Phillip Tsui as Fong
 * [[Derek Lowe]] as Mill Security Guard
@@ Line 51: / Line 53: @@
 ==See also==
-* [[Once a Thief (1991 film)]]
+* ''[[Once a Thief (1991 film)|Once a Thief]]'' (1991 film)
-* [[Once a Thief (TV series)]]
+* ''[[Once a Thief (TV series)|Once a Thief]]'' (TV series)
+==References==
+{{Reflist}}
 ==External links==
-*{{IMDb title|0116712|Once a Thief}}
+* {{IMDb title|0116712|Once a Thief}}
+* {{allMovie title|161567}}
+* {{TCMDb title|id=468326}}
 {{John Woo}}
@@ Line 61: / Line 68: @@
 [[Category:1996 television films]]
 [[Category:1996 films]]
-[[Category:Canadian television films]]
+[[Category:Canadian drama television films]]
-[[Category:Canadian action films]]
+[[Category:Canadian crime action films]]
 [[Category:1990s crime action films]]
 [[Category:Canadian crime drama films]]
 [[Category:1996 crime drama films]]
 [[Category:Films directed by John Woo]]
+[[Category:Films scored by Amin Bhatia]]
 [[Category:Films about orphans]]
 [[Category:Films adapted into television shows]]
-[[Category:English-language films]]
 [[Category:Remakes of Hong Kong films]]
-[[Category:Canadian films]]
 [[Category:Crime television films]]
-[[Category:Action television films]]
+[[Category:Canadian action television films]]
+[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
+[[Category:1990s Canadian films]]
+[[Category:CTV Television Network original films]]
+[[Category:English-language crime drama films]]
+[[Category:English-language crime action films]]

v t e Films by John Woo
Directed	The Young Dragons (1974/) The Dragon Tamers (1975/) Princess Chang Ping (1976/) Hand of Death (1976/) Money Crazy (1977/) Hello, Late Homecomers (1978/) Follow the Star (1978) Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979) From Riches to Rags (1980) Laughing Times (1980) To Hell with the Devil (1982) Plain Jane to the Rescue (1982) The Time You Need a Friend (1984) Run, Tiger, Run (1984) Heroes Shed No Tears (1984) A Better Tomorrow (1986) A Better Tomorrow II (1987) The Killer (1989) Just Heroes (1989) Bullet in the Head (1990) Once a Thief (1991) Hard Boiled (1992) Hard Target (1993) Broken Arrow (1996) Once a Thief (1996) Face/Off (1997) Blackjack (1998) Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) Windtalkers (2002, also produced) Paycheck (2003, also produced) All the Invisible Children (2005, segment "Song Song and Little Cat") Red Cliff (2008, also wrote and produced) Reign of Assassins (2010, also produced) The Crossing (2014) Manhunt (2017) Silent Night (2023) The Killer (2024)
Written only	A Better Tomorrow (2010)
Produced only	A Better Tomorrow III: Love & Death in Saigon (1989) Peace Hotel (1995) Somebody Up There Likes Me (1996) The Big Hit (1998) Bulletproof Monk (2003) Blood Brothers (2007) Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina (2007) Seediq Bale (2011)