A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box

A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box is a comedy, romance, fantasy, and period film directed by Jeffrey Lau and starring Stephen Chow. It is the first installment in the A Chinese Odyssey film series and was jointly produced by Stephen Chow's Star Overseas Film Company and Xi'an Film Studio. Filmed in 1994, it was released in Hong Kong on January 21, 1995. Produced in Hong Kong and mainland China, the film is primarily in Cantonese and Mandarin, with running times of 88 and 96 minutes depending on the version.

Centered on Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), the film reimagines the classic vernacular novel Journey to the West. It tells the story of Sun Wukong, who is punished and reincarnated as the bandit Joker, whose adventures unfold around the magical Pandora's Box and characters such as Bai Jingjing. The film is renowned for its distinctive mo lei tau style of absurdist comedy, and many of its lines and character portrayals have become enduring pop culture references. 

Upon its initial release in 1995, the film fell short of box-office and critical expectations. Its fortunes changed after 1996, when it spread rapidly across college campuses and the emerging internet culture in mainland China, eventually becoming a cultural phenomenon. The film was re-released in mainland China on October 24, 2014, and was selected in 2022 for the Classic Chinese Love Films program at the 3rd Lushan International Romance Film Week. It also received a nomination for Best Screenplay at the 15th Hong Kong Film Awards.