Once Upon a Time in China IV 黃飛鴻之四王者之風 [C-Movie] [HK-Movie] (1993) RAW

The film is set in 1900, during the late Qing Dynasty, when Wong Fei-hung and his companions (his new romantic interest 14th Aunt, his father Wong Kei-ying, and his students Leung Foon and Clubfoot) face new enemies. This time, their opponents include German and British forces, as well as the xenophobic feminist Red Lantern Society.

During a parade, the Red Lantern Society attacks a German church. Before things get out of control, Wong comes to the foreigners’ aid and he fights with the society’s members, who are armed with rope weapons and ether-filled lanterns.

As the champion of the Lion Dance Competition in the third film, Wong is invited by a Chinese general to join him in representing China in an international lion dance competition. The contest is actually a challenge posed by the Eight-Nation Alliance to China, and the Chinese need to win in order to defend their sovereignty and put on a display of national strength. Since the competition is an international one, contestants are not limited to using lion masks, hence other animal masks, such as dragon, centipede and eagle, are present.

Wong is late for the competition as he was busy dealing with the Red Lantern Society, so the general’s dragon dance teams started without him. The contest turned out to be a brutal massacre, as the foreigners’ animal masks are equipped with various types of weapons and they are using dirty tricks to ensure victory. The general and several dancers are killed in the contest.

When Wong finally arrives, he is shocked and issues a formal challenge to the foreigners, requesting for a rematch. This time, Wong’s teams are better prepared and they emerge victorious. Ironically, after Wong’s triumph, he receives news that the armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance have invaded and occupied Beijing, inflicting a crushing defeat on China. Wong has no choice but to leave Beijing with his companions and return to Foshan.