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City On Fire [DVD]
 
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City On Fire [DVD]

DVD ~ Chow Yun-Fat
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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City On Fire [DVD]
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City On Fire [DVD] 4.0 out of 5 stars (2)
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Product details

  • Actors: Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee, Carrie Ng
  • Directors: Ringo Lam
  • 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: Contender Entertainment Group
  • DVD Release Date: 25 April 2005
  • Run Time: 102 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0007RUSYE
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 21,140 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Synopsis
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 jewellry 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 unstylised, 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.

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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars An unpretentious quality thriller with a side-order of fatalism on the rocks, 29 April 2007
By Trevor Willsmer (London, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)      
Famed among Tarantino's admirers and detractors alike as the film that inspired/was ripped off by Reservoir Dogs, Ringo Lam's City On Fire doesn't really provide much in the way of fuel or ammunition for either camp: in truth, it's a very different animal with only the last ten minutes bearing much resemblance to the massively-chinned fading wunderkind's breakthrough movie. Nor is it quite the classic of Asian cinema it is often held to be (presumably by those who haven't seen it considering how often it is wildly inaccurately described), but rather a solidly crafted Hong Kong cops and robbers flick that does its job well for 104 minutes but doesn't exactly sear itself on your memory. Yes, it does end up in a warehouse with three crooks having a Mexican standoff over an undercover cop bleeding to death from a stomach wound on the floor, but the bulk of the film is concerned with Chow Yun Fat's undercover cop trying to quit but forced into that fatal one last job infiltrating Danny Lee's gang of cop-killing jewel robbers.

Budget restraints restrict the amount of action, though what there is is typically well-handled, while as a dramatic character study it is somewhat diluted by the clumsy comedy with Chow's fiancée and the signs of the usual making-it-up-as-we-go-along Hong Kong thriller screen writing that sees Lee's character change from stylish city slicker in the robbery scenes to a rather more simple-minded working Joe as he and Chow bond while hiding out before the last big job. It's not too strong on logic either, with some of the police too happy to torture one of their own and conspire to arrest him for it not to seem like stretching dramatic contrivance to breaking point at times. Yet for all that, on its own terms it works as exactly the kind of audience picture it was intended as - an unpretentious quality thriller a couple of notches above the production-line norm for the genre with a side-order of fatalism on the rocks.

Sadly, while boasting the best picture quality of any release of this title (as well as the original Cantonese soundtrack) the Hong Kong Legends UK DVD has had the color regraded from the cinematographer's original intentions.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Classic, 18 April 2007
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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