Once a Thief: Limited Edition – Arrow Video (4K UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1991
Director: John Woo
Writers: John Woo, Patrick Leung, Janet Chun
Cast: Chow Yun-fat, Leslie Cheung, Cherie Chung, Kenneth Tsang, Paul Chu, Bowie Wu 

Release Date: August 3rd, 2026 (UK)
Approximate Running Time: 108 Minutes 1 Second
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Cantonese, LPCM Mono Cantonese (Alternate), LPCM Mono English, LPCM Mono English (Alternate)
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £29.99 (UK)

"Our three stars play a debonair trio of international art thieves who grew up as orphaned Artful Dodgers on the streets of Hong Kong. Fresh from a successful heist in the sunny French Riviera, they set their sights on one last job: break into a heavily guarded fortress and steal a painting so valuable that it is said to be cursed. But when they’re double-crossed by their former criminal mentor, villainous triad leader Mr. Chow (Kenneth Tsang, The Killer), the gang must use their wits, skills and unbreakable friendship to take him down." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “The film has been restored in 4K resolution and graded in HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

The original 35mm camera negative was sourced from the Hong Kong Film Archive and scanned in 4K by Interface Video Production Ltd. in Hong Kong.”

Once a Thief comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 91.7 GB

Feature: 72.1 GB

Although Arrow Video uses Shout! Factory's master as the foundation of their source, they have performed additional color grading. I didn't have any issues with either release's color timing, though there is some debate over which one is more aesthetically pleasing. That said, the source looks phenomenal; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Audio: 5/5 (All Audio Tracks)

This release comes with four audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese, an alternate LPCM mono mix in Cantonese, a LPCM mono mix in English, and an alternate LPCM mono mix in English. All of the tracks have some dialogue in French and the Cantonese track has some dialogue in English. All tracks sound excellent; dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise action sequences sound appropriately robust. Included are English subtitles for the Cantonese language track, English SDH for the English language tracks, and English subtitles for the English language tracks when French is spoken. Language tracks and subtitles can only be changed via the setup menu and not during playback.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 23 seconds, Dolby Digital mono with text in Cantonese and removable English subtitles), an archival interview with director John Woo titled Up Close and Personal (33 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with producer Terence Chang titled Brothers in Arms (10 minutes 49 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Kenneth Tsang (7 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an interview with Frank Djeng about Leslie Cheung titled Once a Star, Always an Icon (17 minutes 9 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an interview with author Grady Hendrix titled Hong Kong Confidential: Once a Thief (8 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with editor David Wu titled Art of the Steal (10 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with cinematographer Poon Hang-Sang titled Stealing Some Shots (27 minutes 11 seconds, DTolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Clifton Ko titled Thoughts About Thievery (21 minutes 25 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Cantonese with removable English subtitles), an interview with Terence Chang titled Heists and Lows (7 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with John Woo Handling a Heist (23 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles for Cantonese film clips), an audio commentary with Asian cinema expert James Mudge, reversible cover art, a slipcover (limited to the first pressing), and a 20-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with cast & crew information, an essay titled The Art of the Heist written by Priscilla Page, and information about the transfer.

Summary:

A trio of art thieves, who have known each other since childhood, contemplate retirement and living a normal life after completing their latest job. When a job to steal a priceless painting comes their way, two of them break their promise to retire and take on the risky heist.

John Woo had just completed his most expensive and personal film, Bullet in the Head, in 1990. When it did not perform as well as his previous three films, John Woo felt devastated and promised his producer that he would make back the money he lost with his next film. For his next film, Once a Thief, he would make a more lighthearted affair that returned him to his comedic roots. Although made quickly over a span of two months, Once a Thief would go on to be John Woo’s second most successful Hong Kong film.

John Woo sets Once a Thief apart from his other Hong Kong films by setting part of it in France. He had long been an admirer of the French New Wave, in particular François Truffaut's Jules and Jim, and Once a Thief’s love triangle mirrors that aforementioned film. His other inspiration was Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief, and Once a Thief would feature some of its locations.

To help John Woo pull off the difficult task of completing a film from shooting to post-production in a mere two months are a trio of Hong Kong cinema’s most celebrated actors: Chow Yun-fat (City of Fire), Leslie Cheung (Farewell My Concubine), and Cherie Chung (Wild Search). They are all exemplary in their roles, and their onscreen chemistry is undeniable. All three of them were at the height of their careers, and for Cherie Chung, Once a Thief would be her swan song. Rounding out the cast are other familiar faces like Kenneth Tsang (A Better Tomorrow) and Paul Chu (The Killer), who portray the three main characters' father figures.

Although Once a Thief is a breezy film that very effectively employs humor, John Woo does not shy away from doing what he does best: creating explosive action set pieces. The most notable of these are two heist sequences and a shootout finale that perfectly blend humor and bombastic action. The second heist sequence in particular is a flawlessly constructed moment that overflows with tension. When it comes to action, John Woo is a filmmaker who never disappoints.

Once a Thief is really a special film in John Woo’s filmography, and it is a shame he did not venture into this type of film ever again. While his films that followed have effectively employed humor, he never found that perfect blend of comedy and action like he did with Once a Thief. Ultimately, Once a Thief is a highly entertaining film that always exceeds its audience's expectations and leaves you wanting more.

For their release, Arrow Video has added four extras. In comparing the two releases, it is evident that Arrow Video’s version stands out as the superior choice over Shout! Factory’s offering. Once a Thief gets a definitive release from Arrow Video. Highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer