Authenticity

Once Upon A Time In China is a very enjoyable film, don't get me wrong...but man, it seems to be completely rife with anachronisms and inaccuracies, at least as far as the portrayal of the Western characters. The actual historical setting is supposed to be late 19th century China, but I saw muzzle-loaded muskets, 50-star US flags, cannons that appeared to be from the Pirates of the Carribean era, a British general about 25 years too young for the position and dressed up more like an officer in the Salvation Army, American grunts dressed in Civil War era uniforms without rank or insignias opening fire for no apparent reason on civilians, Bucktooth So clad in Western clothes that seem to have come from the 1820's, and even one backflipping, high-kicking badass dressed up like Thomas Jefferson and going toe-to-toe with Wong Fei Hung.
You may think that such things are inconsequential to the storyline, and that may be true, but it seems as though the costumes were just a mishmash of clothing and props from a variety of eras. I find it distracting and I think it reflects a lack of attention to detail in the production.

Also distressing: our illustrious 3rd president was hanged by the neck until dead by the fickle Foon. Actually he was hanged from the molars, it looked like.