Lung fu fong wan (1987)

Director:

Ringo Lam

Writers:

Ringo Lam (story)
Jack Maeby (English version)

Release Date:

13 February 1987 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

An undercover cop, played by Chow Yun-Fat, infiltrates a gang of thieves who plan to rob a jewelry store. The film shows how he infiltrates the gang.

Plot Keywords:

Undercover Cop | Lounge Singer | Male Bonding | Hawaii | Gold

Awards:

2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Yun-Fat Chow	...	Ko Chow (as Chow Yun Fat)
Danny Lee	...	Fu (as Danny Lee Sau-Yin)
Yueh Sun	...	Inspector Lau / Uncle Kung (as Sun Yueh)
Carrie Ng	...	Hung
Roy Cheung	...	Inspector John Chan
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chi Fai Chan
Jessica Chau	...	Lily
Maria Cordero	...	Lounge Singer
Yeh Fang	...	Chow Nam
Victor Hon	...	Bill
Tom Konkle	...	Fu (voice: English version)
Kong Lau	...	Inspector Chow
Elvis Tsui	...	Chan Kam-Wah
Kwong Leung Wong	...	Kwong
Parkman Wong	...	Ah Man
Mengxia Zheng		(as Mang-ha Cheung)

Also Known As:

City on Fire (Hong Kong: English title)
Long hu feng yun (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence.

Runtime:

UK:101 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | Mandarin | English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | New Zealand:R18 | Australia:MA (TV rating) | South Korea:15 | Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | France:-12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Japan:R-15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Cinema City Film Productions

Quotes:

Ko Chow: [after Wah is killed, Inspector Lau asks Ko Chow to go undercover again, but Chow wants out] I sent in my resignation.
Inspector Lau: I never got it.
Ko Chow: Look for it.
Inspector Lau: Chow, only you know the people that Wah did. You asked for this, remember? You can resign... once we've captured the killers.
Ko Chow: Last time with Shing, it went bad.
Inspector Lau: What went bad? We got him.
Ko Chow: I betrayed a friend.
Inspector Lau: You helped capture scum, all right? This friend ordered the deaths of hundreds. He had to die. You're a cop. Who told you to make friends with them?
Ko Chow: [frustrated] What else could I have done? You haven't been there!
[Chow pauses for a moment before speaking again]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Il solitario (2008)

impressive

It took me a long time to finally get a hold of this film. it was worth the wait. Ringo lam is one of the most original directors out of hong kong. this is the finest work of his that i've seen. chow yun-fat worked very hard for the best actor award he got for this film. and danny lee ain't bad either. Ringo Lam's handling of the action is where this movie really shines. it is brutal in the fashion of an old Walter Hill or Peckenpah film, realistic and frightening. hong kong is displayed more accurately than i have ever seen in a movie, with its streets crowded till they appear ready to burst. in the final robbery sequence, the streets appear to be impenetrably thick. it is just a reminder that hong kong has more than four times the population density of new york city. many people have accused tarantino of ripping off this movie, and claim that reservior dogs is an exact copy. first of all tarantino gives credit to chow yun-fat as an influence at the start of the screenplay for reservior dogs. second of all the entire movie of reservior dogs is a expansion of a ten minute sequence near the end of the movie. and over here it is done totally different. so lay off of him mkay.