- Format: PAL
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: 18
- Studio: Hong Kong Legends
- DVD Release Date: 25 April 2005
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B0007RUSYE
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 40,346 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Widely acknowledged as the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, Ringo Lam's terse gangland melodrama City On Fire shows this idiosyncratic action movie director at his darkest. Chow Yun Fat plays Ku, an undercover cop buried so deeply inside the Hong Kong criminal fraternity that he no longer knows which side of the law he's supposed to be on. Infiltrating a dangerous gang of armed jewel thieves, he wins the friendship and respect of Fu, a hard-bitten gunman played with steely reserve by Danny Lee. As Ku is increasingly estranged from the police and as Fu watches his fellow gangsters cracking under the strain of pulling off their biggest heist yet, Lam paints a grim portrait of desperate men losing control of their lives. Chow Yun Fat brings a genuinely rattled quality to his performance as a lone individual living on the last of his nerves, and Lam keeps tight control over the sense of menace as Fu, who casually accepts death as an occupational hazard, warily lets Ku into his life. A mordant sense of loss and disillusionment hangs over both characters, starkly offset by the twinkling Christmas lights festooning the streets in preparation for the holiday season... sets the mood for the film's bitterest moment: a brutal metal-shredding car chase accompanied by a tinny disco version of "Joy to the World". Other highpoints include the taut three-way standoff between a dead-eyed Fu and surviving gang members as they argue at gunpoint over Ku's loyalty, a scene Tarantino later reworked in Reservoir Dogs, and the heavy ballistics of the final shootout as the police surround and close in on the thieves' warehouse hideout. Like the man with the gun says: "Let's go to work." --Ken Hollings
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chow and Danny return in oposite roles from The Killer...,
By A Customer
This review is from: City on Fire [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Danny Lee plays the all time big baddie in this classic herioc bloodshed from Ringo Lam. The inspiration for Resevior Dogs, it is a favourite among many Chow Yun Fat and Hong Kong movie lovers. The super cool Chow Yun Fat plays his role tremendously (as usual) as an undercover cop who gets too close to bank robber boss Danny Lee. All hell breaks lose when Danny finds out about Chow, and like all good HK movies... an action packed finale is expected! You'll love this movie from the first minute.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
On The Lam,
By
This review is from: City on Fire [DVD] [1987] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
Well-made HK cops and robbers flick that is lifted from the average by Chow and Danny boy's essaying of roles they can play in their sleep and the kinetic direction of Ringo Lam. It is bloodier than the norm for this early period of Heroic Bloodshed and the expected scripting deficiencies which plague most of these films is not really a hindrance when you have Chow on the case. Reservoir Dogs fans will have a blast spotting how many scenes are ripped off from this formative crime thriller and there really is a lot of similarity and not just during the warehouse climax and de rigeur Mexican standoff. Lee and Fat really are prototypes for Keitel and Roth in QT's later critical hit and let's not pretend otherwise that such hagiography is the rich man's plagiarism. This film is not a classic HK staple compared with the real gold to be found in the genre and buyers beware that the Dimension Region 1 disc is dubbed and has had the soundtrack tinkered with before adding to your basket.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic,
By
This review is from: City on Fire [DVD] (DVD)
Directed by the much lauded Ringo Lam, this movie centres on Undercover Cop Chow Yun Fats infiltration of a gang of thieves. City On Fire is well written and paced, and all the characters are well developed. Chow Yun Fat fans should be warned that its not a straight up actioner, more of a crime thriller (although theres a fair amount of action including some stunning set pieces). This gives Yun Fat a platform for arguably his best performance. Theres a humanity in the interplay between Chow and his girlfriend, and also of Danny Lee's thief character that makes the film stunningly compelling. City On Fire has been hugely influential since, with films like Donnie Brasco and Reservoir Dogs liberally borrowing ideas from it. The film is a timeless career highlight for both Actor and Director.
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