Directed by Johnnie To • 2004 • Hong Kong
Starring Louis Koo, Aaron Kwok, Cherrie Ying
One of the most personal films by the prolific Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To is a thrilling love letter to both the cinema of Akira Kurosawa and the art and philosophy of judo. Amid the neon-drenched nightclubs and gambling dens of Hong Kong’s nocturnal underworld, the fates of three wandering souls—a former judo champion now barely scraping by as an alcoholic bar owner (Louis Koo), a young fighter (Aaron Kwok) intent on challenging him, and a singer (Cherrie Ying) chasing dreams of stardom—collide in an operatic explosion of human pain, ambition, perseverance, and redemption. Paying offbeat homage to Kurosawa’s debut feature, SANSHIRO SUGATA, To scrambles wild comedy, flights of lyrical surrealism, and rousing martial-arts action into what is ultimately a disarmingly touching ode to the healing power of friendship.
Up Next in Hong Kong Action Classics
-
The Magnificent Butcher
Directed by Yuen Woo-ping • 1979 • Hong Kong
Starring Sammo Hung, Kwan Tak-hing, Yuen BiaoHot on the heels of his blockbuster Jackie Chan hit DRUNKEN MASTER, the legendary martial-arts director Yuen Woo-ping helmed another rollicking star vehicle. This time, rising talent Sammo Hung plays Lam S...
-
Once Upon a Time in China
Directed by Tsui Hark • 1991 • Hong Kong
Starring Jet Li, Yuen Biao, Jacky Cheung Hok YauWriter-producer-director Tsui Hark’s sprawling vision of a changing nineteenth-century China begins with this riotously entertaining epic, a blockbuster hit that cemented Jet Li’s status as the greatest mar...
-
Once Upon a Time in China II
Directed by Tsui Hark • 1992 • Hong Kong
Starring Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Max Mok Siu-chungHaving chronicled the social upheaval wrought by Western influence in the opening chapter of the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA series, Tsui Hark turned his attention to the perils of unchecked nationalism in h...
