City on Fire (US Version) DVD Region 1
Chow Yun Fat (Actor)
| Roy Cheung (Actor)
| Wu Ma (Actor)
| Carrie Ng (Actor)
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YesAsia Editorial Description
When an undercover cop is killed, Chow (Chow Yun-Fat) is recruited by Inspector Lau (Sun Yueh) to take his place trying to infiltrate a gang of thieves. But Chow had previously done undercover work and had developed an emotional bond with the men he then later had to betray--and he is afraid it could happen again. The loyalty of the younger cop to the older man will be tested against the bonds he must form with the criminals in order to be trusted by them. This theme of the similarities between cops and criminals is a staple of the heroic bloodshed branch of Hong Kong cinema. Chow befriends Fu (Danny Lee) by posing as a man who can supply the guns needed for a jewelry heist. Director Ringo Lam stages his action and street scenes with a high degree of realism. The characters' movements are erratic and the violence is brutal and unstylized, with everything unfolding in believable chaos. Released at the same time as A BETTER TOMORROW, it made Chow Yun-Fat a Hong Kong star. This Hong Kong classic formed the basis for Quentin Tarantino's later RESERVOIR DOGS.
"Lam draws fine performances from his cast, and certainly knows how to shoot an action sequence."
- Michael, Bonner (Uncut Critic), Uncut, 06/01/2005
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Technical Information
| Product Title: | City on Fire (US Version) City on Fire (US Version) City on Fire (US Version) City on Fire (US Version) City on Fire (US Version) |
| Artist Name(s): | Chow Yun Fat (Actor) | Roy Cheung (Actor) | Wu Ma (Actor) | Carrie Ng (Actor) | Lau Kong (Actor) | Danny Lee (Actor) | Karl Maka | Ringo Lam 周潤發 (Actor) | 張耀揚 (Actor) | 午馬 (Actor) | Carrie Ng (Actor) | Lau Kong (Actor) | Danny Lee (Actor) | Karl Maka | Ringo Lam 周润发 (Actor) | 张耀扬 (Actor) | 午马 (Actor) | Carrie Ng (Actor) | Lau Kong (Actor) | Danny Lee (Actor) | Karl Maka | Ringo Lam 周潤發 （チョウ・ユンファ） (Actor) | 張耀揚（ロイ・チョン） (Actor) | 午馬（ウー・マー） (Actor) | Carrie Ng (Actor) | Lau Kong (Actor) | Danny Lee (Actor) | Karl Maka | Ringo Lam 주윤발 (Actor) | Roy Cheung (Actor) | Wu Ma (Actor) | Carrie Ng (Actor) | Lau Kong (Actor) | Danny Lee (Actor) | Karl Maka | Ringo Lam |
| Director: | Ringo Lam Ringo Lam Ringo Lam Ringo Lam Ringo Lam |
| Manage My Personalized Product Alerts | |
| Release Date: | 2001-07-17 |
| UPC Code: | 786936158496 |
| Language: | English, Cantonese |
| Subtitles: | Slovak |
| Picture Format: | NTSC What is it? |
| Aspect Ratio: | Letterboxed |
| Color Information: | Color |
| Sound Information: | Dolby Digital 5.1, SurroundSound, Digital Sound |
| Disc Format(s): | DVD |
| Region Code: | 1 - USA, Canada, U.S. Territories What is it? |
| Rating: | Not Rated |
| Publisher: | Buena Vista Home Entertainment |
| Package Weight: | 136 (g) |
| Shipment Unit: | 1 What is it? |
| YesAsia Catalog No.: | 1004415392 |
Product Information
Director: Ringo Lam
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Letterboxed - Anamorphic - 1.85:1
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - Chinese/ Cantonese
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Region 1
Keep Case
Letterboxed - Anamorphic - 1.85:1
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - Chinese/ Cantonese
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Additional Information may be provided by the manufacturer, supplier, or a third party, and may be in its original language
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YumCha! Asian Entertainment Reviews and Features
Professional Review of "City on Fire (US Version)"
August 21, 2006
This professional review refers to City On Fire (Korean Version)
This professional review refers to City On Fire (Korean Version)
|
Hang on, kids: this is the big one! The classic crime film from Hong Kong, Ringo Lam's City on Fire features the same leads as John Woo's The Killer a few years later, but Woo's woozey look at bonding and bullets comes off as expressionist twaddle next to Lam's "who's going to pay the rent?" noir realism. Quentin Tarantino's cheap knock-off of the plot in Reservoir Dogs will only impress people who haven't seen the real, bleeding thing and time will tell that City on Fire is the sharp stink of sweat classic, whereas the other dog is a toothless mutt in wolf's clothing. Lam's inspiration was the trial of a gang of jewel store robbers in the 80's, part of the wave of lead-spraying spazzes who briefly turned the tourist-clogged streets and subways of Hong Kong into shooting galleries. Lam coldly notes that the miscreants on trial were illiterate, poor dressers and "losers". From such rough stuff gold is spun. The glamor of the cop and criminal lifestyle is stripped away as we focus on the lowest rungs of the food chain: bottom feeders on both sides of the law who spend their time locked in sensory-deprivation apartments, offices, and parked cars while waiting for the next order from higher up, which is as likely to be "Keep waiting" as it is to be "Get killed". The point is, a criminal boss has more in common with a police commissioner than he does with the illiterate gun fodder that make up his ranks. Dressed up in aviator shades and bow ties the pawns in fate's game are Danny Lee as a cold-blooded criminal and Chow Yun-fat as a hot blooded undercover cop who find that their twisted lifestyles only leave them with room for each other. Strong-armed into an assignment he doesn't want, Chow finds he has more in common with the crooks than his colleagues, and an officious Roy Cheung and sadistic Tommy Wong aren't too happy about that. Trapped between both sides of the law - the criminals he likes and will ultimately arrest, and the cops whom he hates and will ultimately serve - Chow Yun-fat is also straining to keep his girlfriend happy, but all she wants is stability. And that is something Chow Yun-fat can't even provide for himself. With an iconic saxophone score by Teddy Robin, and subtle photography, City on Fire is more than anything an acting showcase for Danny Lee and Chow Yun-fat. Surrounded by meticulously tacky sets and dressed up in ugly, synthetic outfits this is one of the few films when neither man's star power detracts from their believability as dirt poor desperados. If you haven't seen this movie, you should. If you haven't picked up the DVD you should do that as well. Quiet simply the best study of desperation and working class grief ever put onscreen. by Grady Hendrix |
This original content has been created by or licensed to YesAsia.com, and cannot be copied or republished in any medium without the express written permission of YesAsia.com.
Customer Review of "City on Fire (US Version)"
Average Customer Rating for All Editions of this Product:
(2)
Kevin Kennedy
See all my reviews
January 10, 2009
This customer review refers to City On Fire (DVD) (Digitally Remastered) (Hong Kong Version)
See all my reviews
January 10, 2009
This customer review refers to City On Fire (DVD) (Digitally Remastered) (Hong Kong Version)
This is one of the essentials!
| "City on Fire" is a classic of Hong Kong gangster cinema. Chow Yun Fat stars as a cop who has gone so deep undercover that few police know about his true identity and some of those who learn of it assume that he has gone over to the dark side. Chow wants out of his undercover work. He is sick of its moral compromises and desperate to hang on to his faltering relationship with girlfriend Carrie Ng. His sympathetic cop boss asks him to undertake one more mission: To sell some guns to a triad gang and, by doing so, gain information about the gang that will enable the police to bust them. However, that mission soon grows into a bigger task and enmeshes Chow in a fight for his life. Chow Yun Fat is riveting throughout the film; he brings an extraordinary physicality to his role. Danny Lee is very cool as the gangster who friends Chow. Carrie Ng delivers the goods as the girlfriend whose patience has grown thin. And Roy Cheung is terrific as the brash young CID officer who wants to make a name for himself and will not let Chow's interests get in his way. This is edge-of-the-seat viewing, ably directed by Ringo Lam. I have downgraded the film a bit only because the image quality of the DVD is not as good as I had hoped for a digitally remastered film. "City on Fire" is very, very highly recommended. |
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Tanzhang
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June 19, 2008
This customer review refers to City on Fire (DVD) (Korea Version)
See all my reviews
June 19, 2008
This customer review refers to City on Fire (DVD) (Korea Version)
Chow Yun Fat, Actor On Fire.
|
City on Fire is the kind of film where, while the basic idea of the film, an undercover cop and a series Bank Heists is nothing new, yet through the performances of the Characters, the direction of the Cinematographer and director, as well as the jazzy score (Something quite new in a HK film of this vintage) manage to create a picture that is not just entertaining, but something that will be played in your head long after the film is finished and the credits have stopped rolling. Chow is in Fine Form as an Undercover cop on Hard times, while Danny Lee, generally known for playing Police Officers, is cast against type as Sympathetic Triad Fu, who kills a Close Friend of Chows in a Jewelery robbery, resulting in Chow going undercover to Arrest the thieves, which leads into problems with an Intimidating Police Upstart (Roy Cheung) as well as Relationship problems with his wife to be, as well as an unlikely friendship between himself and Fu, neither knowing that they are secretly each other's enemy. City on Fire is a masterstroke of Gritty 1980's Urban Hong Kong, and one of those few Triad films that really shines and separates itself from the pack. Forget Reservoir Dogs, This is the film to See, the Original and the Best! |
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