Once a Thief is a 1991 Cantonese-language Action Comedy film written by John Woo, Janet Chun and Clifton Ko. The movie is directed by John Woo and produced by Terence Chang and Linda Kuk under the banner of Golden Princess Film Production in collaboration with Milestone Films. The plot revolves around the theft of a mysterious cursed painting and how its obsession affects the family. Once a thief stars Chow Yun-fat, Leslie Cheung, Cherie Chung, Kenneth Tsang, Yun-fat Chow, Kong Chu and John Woo. The music was composed by Violet Lam. Cinematography was done by Poon Hang-sang and William Yim and editing by David Wu. The movie has a running time of 103 minutes. Distribution rights for the motion picture were acquired by Golden Princess Amusement. The plot revolves around the theft of a mysterious cursed painting and how its obsession affects the family.