The undercover cop thrived in the late 1980s as crime thrillers became the dominant genre of Hong Kong cinema. City on Fire was largely responsible for taking the subgenre to higher levels, with the great Chow Yun-fat playing the cop who's torn between fulfilling his duty and betraying his friend, boss of the gang he has infiltrated. Meanwhile, his girlfriend is demanding marriage... Ringo Lam established his signature style of dark, gritty, fatalistic drama punctuated by explosive bursts of violence with this film, which later earned a devoted international following, reputedly serving as inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992). The film won the Best Director And Best Actor prizes at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Based on its success, Lam went on to develop his powerful and sometimes controversial "On Fire"series. A milestone in Hong Kong action cinema.

© 1993 STAR TV Filmed Entertainment (HK) Limited & Star TV Filmed Entertainment Limited. All rights reserved.

28/1

(Sat)

7:00pm *

Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive

1/2

(Wed)

7:30pm

Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive

* Post-screening talk with Ka Ming