| Based On: | Once a Thief by John Woo Janet Chun Clifton Ko |
| Director: | John Woo |
| Executive Producer: | Terence Chang Glenn Davis Christopher Godsick William Laurin John Woo |
| Producer: | Wendy Grean |
| Starring: | Sandrine Holt Ivan Sergei Nicholas Lea Michael Wong |
| Music: | Amin Bhatia Michele Worth |
| Cinematography: | Bill Wong |
| Editor: | Bert Kish David Wu |
| Location: | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Runtime: | 92 minutes |
| Country: | Canada |
| Language: | English |
| Network: | CTV |
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.
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.
See main article: Once a Thief (TV series). The spin-off series ran for one season.