Lik Wong (1991)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Ngai Kai Lam

Writers:

Tetsuya Saruwatari (manga "Riki-oh")
Ngai Kai Lam (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 April 1991 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Plot:

A young man with superhuman strength is incarcerated at a prison run by corrupt officials and seeks to use his martial arts to clean up the system.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Torture | Martial Arts | Social Commentary | Crushed To Death

Cast

Siu-Wong Fan	...	Riki-Oh Saiga
Mei Sheng Fan	...	Assistant Warden (as Faan Mooi Saang)
Ka-Kui Ho	...	Warden Sugiyama
Yukari Ôshima	...	Yomi - Huang Chaun
Frankie Chin	...	Narumi - Hai
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Master Zhang Shan-Gui
Gloria Yip	...	Keiko - Riki's Girlfriend
Philip Kwok	...	Lin Hung
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Suet Lam
Daan Bob Chit Long
Ji Keung Wong
Cheng Chuen Yam	...	Wildcat

Also Known As:

King of Strength (International: English title) (literal title)
Li wang (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Riki Ô
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (USA)
Story of Ricky (Hong Kong: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, and for some drug content.

Runtime:

Germany:91 min | Japan:91 min | USA:88 min (unrated version)

Country:

Hong Kong | Japan

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 | USA:R (edited for re-rating) | West Germany:(Banned) | Ireland:(Banned) | Finland:K-18 | Australia:R | New Zealand:R18 | Taiwan:R-18 | Sweden:15 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Norway:18 | Netherlands:16 | Mexico:C | Malaysia:(Banned) | Japan:R-15 | Italy:VM18 | Ireland:18 (re-rating) (2002) | Hungary:18 | France:-16 | Czech Republic:18 | Chile:18 | Canada:R (British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:R (Alberta/Manitoba/Prince Edward Island) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Brazil:18

Company:

Diagonal Pictures

Trivia:

This was the first Hong Kong movie ever to receive a "Category III" rating for violence rather than sex.

Quotes:

Asst. Warden: Alright! You got a lot of guts Oscar!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Superjail!: Combaticus (#1.2)" (2008)

Ludicrously excessive Hong Kong classic

Ngai Kai Lam, the director of the first and best "Erotic Ghost Story", captained this magnificent gore- and fight-fest set in an unconventional Hong Kong prison. It is so gleefully over-the-top that it exists in its own ludicrous stratosphere and is one of the most memorable Hong Kong exploitation films ever made. Siu-Wong Fan is terrific as Riki-oh, a meditative lad who is imprisoned for defending his girlfriend's honor. Possessing almost supernatural strength and fighting prowess, he is forced to fight The Gang of Four, a bunch of crazy, imprisoned superhero types who appear to control the prison's inmates with the approval of the corrupt, one-eyed assistant aarden (Mui Sang Fan), keeper of a massive porno mag collection and owner of a screw-on hook he uses to cart human trash away. The blood-soaked scenes of violence are hilarious and grotesque. Guts are ripped from a man's stomach and used to strangle him. Birds peck out an eyeball. Heads are squashed until they explode. Ricki even knocks down a prison wall with one nasty punch. Originally a Japanese manga (and there's an animated version, too), "The Story of Ricky" has a great, bombastic score, ultra-bloody effects, operatic performances, and a fat Japanese boy, too. It all adds up to top notch entertainment for the whole family.