John Woo's Once a Thief (1996) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

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Telefilm based on the 1991 feature film of the same title written and directed by John Woo. A Hong Kong crime family consists of two adopted siblings, Li Ann Tsei and Mac Ramsey, one blood sibling, Michael Tang, and their father, the Godfather. Li Ann and Mac were orphans taken in and trained at a y

Cast & Crew

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John Woo

Sandrine Holt

Ivan Sergei

Nicholas Lea

Victor "Vic" Mansfield

Jennifer Dale

Michael Wong

Film Details

Also Known As

John Woo's Once a Thief: The Director's Cut

MPAA Rating

Genre

Action

Adaptation

Adventure

Crime

Release Date

1996

Production Company

Alliance Atlantis Television Productions; Alpha Cine; Dave; Fox Broadcasting Company; Medallion Pfa; Shaw Media

Location

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Technical Specs

Duration

2h

Synopsis

Telefilm based on the 1991 feature film of the same title written and directed by John Woo. A Hong Kong crime family consists of two adopted siblings, Li Ann Tsei and Mac Ramsey, one blood sibling, Michael Tang, and their father, the Godfather. Li Ann and Mac were orphans taken in and trained at a young age by the Godfather. However, they no longer want to serve in his criminal gang and escape to attempt a new life. Members of the crime family vow to hunt down the pair for their disloyalty. With the promise of protection, they join an international crime-fighting unit based in Canada and are teamed with an ex-cop, Victor Mansfield.

Directors

John Woo

Betty Thomas

2nd Unit Director (2nd Unit)

Cast

Sandrine Holt

Ivan Sergei

Nicholas Lea

Victor "Vic" Mansfield

Jennifer Dale

Michael Wong

Robert Ito

Alan Scarfe

Nathaniel Deveaux

Greg Chan

Young Ryu

Li Ann'S Dance Partner

Matthew Walker

Paul Wu

Phillip Tsui

Derek Lowe

Mill Security Guard

Mike Mitchell

Sonny Surowiec

Benjamin Ratner

Debbie Podowski

Jan Bailey Mattia

Jim R Dunn

Michael'S Gunsel 1

Randy S. Lee

Michael'S Gunsel 2

Garvin Cross

Russell Jung

Scott Ateah

Mark High

Darryl Quon

Michael'S Assistant

Eva Preger

Crew

Charles Andre

Charles Andre

Mark Angus

Transportation Coordinator

Holly Atchison

Script Supervisor

Todd Baker

James Bamford

Eric Batut

Anji Bemben

Amin Bhatia

Darwin Bohn

Production Accountant

John Buchan

Casting (Toronto)

Nancy Carrow

Production Coordinator

Bette Chadwick

Casting (Vancouver)

Terence Chang

Executive Producer

Lauro Chartrand

Mike Ching

Tony Chiu

Dean Choe

Darren Choo

Jimmy Chow

Property Master

Marco Ciccone

Assistant Camera Operator

Kristen Coke

Dave Conway

Steve Copley

Foley Recordist

Sandra Couldwell

Extras Agent/Coordinator

Mike Crestejo

Glenn Davis

Executive Producer

Glenn Davis

Duane Dickinson

Barry A Donlevy

Barry Donlevy

Samantha Dubiel

Post-Production Coordinator

Jim R Dunn

Nan Dutton

Casting (Los Angeles)

Don Dykens

Transportation Captain

Nancy Eagles

Script Supervisor

Joe Earley

Jason Glass

Christopher Godsick

Co-Executive Producer

Wendy Grean

David Greene

Gordon Hardwick

Location Manager

Pierre Henry

Assistant Director

Douglas Higgins

Production Designer

R K Hill

David Hood

Production Manager

Dave Hospes

Kevin Howard

Sound Effects Editor

Gregor Hutchison

Post-Production Supervisor

David Jacox

Jamie Jones

Peter Lando

William Laurin

William Laurin

Executive Producer

Calvin Lee

Robertson Lee

Robertson Lee

Terrance Leigh

Charles Leitrants

Construction Coordinator

Brad Loree

Tong Lung

Johnny Mah

Joe Mancuso

Dialogue Editor

Cory Mandel

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Peter D Marshall

Assistant Director

Max Matsuoka

Property Master

Rob Mcewen

David Mckeown

Mike Mitchell

John Morayniss

Business Affairs

Lee Anne Muldoon

Patricia Murray-morgan

Mike Mylrea

Scott Nicholson

Philip Nishikihama

Eric Norlen

Executive In Charge Of Production

Gerald Paetz

John Penhall

Location Manager

Fred Perron

James Porteous

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Ed Poty

Ron Proulx

Music Supervisor

Rex Raglan

Liz Raman-nair

Joel Ransom

Director Of Photography (2nd Unit)

Ron Robinson

Fiona Roeske

Sarah Rogers

Assistant Director

Darryl Scheelar

Shari Sharfer

Executive In Charge Of Production (Canwest Global System)

Gina Sherritt

John Sievert

Trig Singer

Camera Operator

Songlith Singthong

Ula Skaarup

Judy Slattery

Assistant Director

Brian Smith

David Soo

Bill Stewart

Dawn Stofer

Scott Summersgill

Assistant Editor

Julia Tait

Casting Associate

Betty Thomas

Stunt Coordinator

Michael Vezina

Special Effects Coordinator

Bill Wong

Director Of Photography

Donna Wong

Costume Designer

John Woo

Executive Producer

John Woo

From Screenplay

David Wu

Janet York

Music Supervisor

Mitch A Lee Yuen

Film Details

Also Known As

John Woo's Once a Thief: The Director's Cut

MPAA Rating

Genre

Action

Adaptation

Adventure

Crime

Release Date

1996

Production Company

Alliance Atlantis Television Productions; Alpha Cine; Dave; Fox Broadcasting Company; Medallion Pfa; Shaw Media

Location

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Technical Specs

Duration

2h

Quotes

Trivia

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States on Video July 15, 1997

Aired in United States September 29, 1996

Aired in United States July 2, 1996

Aired in United States July 7, 1996

Aired in United States July 27, 1996

Shown at the Munich Film Festival on July 2, 1996.

Shown at the Seattle Art Museum Film Festival on July 7, 1996.

Shown at the Chicago Film Center on July 27, 1996.

Rebroadcast on The Movie Channel (TMC) on July 18, 1998 featuring previously unseen footage. The rebroadcast was entitled: "John Woo's Once a Thief: The Director's Cut."

John Woo makes his television directing debut.

Began shooting February 19, 1996.

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