The Godfather (1972) a la Hong Kong cinema, this award-winning crime drama from writers Johnny Mak and Stephen Siu uses the life story of notorious drug cartel Ng Shek-ho (Ray Lui) to create an epic crime saga. Though a setup by a rival gangster left him without the use of one leg, Ng manages to climb to the very top of the gangster food chain with his smarts and a desire of vengeance. Ng’s rise and fall doesn’t deviate too far from the gangland epic formula, but Peter Pau’s splendid cinematography and the story’s scope makes To Be Number One one of the most important films in the Hong Kong gangster genre.

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