A True Mob Story (1998) Long zai jiang hu (original title)

Director:

Jing Wong

Writer:

Jing Wong (writer)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Plot:

A low level gangster in Hong Kong gains new respect after saving a boss's life in a gang fight. Despite his wife's death in this attack...

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Andy Lau	...	Wai Cheung-Dee
Gigi Leung	...	Sandy Leung
Suki Kwan	...	Ruby Kwan
Mark Cheng	...	Prince
Alex Fong	...	Michael
Joe Tak-Chung Ma	...	David
Sam Lee	...	Skinny
Chi Hung Ng	...	Fai
Ben Ng	...	Crazy Ball
Wai-Man Chan	...	Uncle Hei (as Michael Chan)
Siu-Kei Lee	...	Uncle Pao
Tian-lin Wang	...	Uncle Fa (as Tin Lam Wong)
Angie Cheung	...	Cindy
Dennis Chan	...	Judge
Danise Chan	...	Fifi
Teddy Chan	...	Jui
Wai-sheung Lee	...	Bee
Jeffrey Yu	...	Lei

Directed by
Jing Wong

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jing Wong		writer

Produced by
Tiffany Chen	....	administrative producer
Charles Heung	....	executive producer
Catherine Kwan	....	line producer
Siu-Kei Lee	....	associate producer
Jing Wong	....	producer

Original Music by
Peter Kam

Cinematography by
Siu-keung Cheng

Film Editing by
Marco Mak

Art Direction by
Sung Pong Choo

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kim Wah Lo	....	assistant director
Joe Ma	....	assistant director

Other crew
Charles Heung	....	presenter

Production Companies

• B.O.B. and Partners
• China Star Entertainment
• Win's Entertainment Ltd.

Distributors

• China Star Entertainment (1998) (worldwide) (all media)
• Mei Ah Entertainment (1998) (Hong Kong) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Cubists (visual effects)
• Seasonal Film Corporation (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Fine Art Film Production Company  subtitles
• Kodak (Hong Kong) Ltd.  film stock supplied by
• Lightworkers  Avid editing facility
• Lightworkers  post-production facilities
• Salon Films  camera and lighting equipment supplied by
• Shaw Brothers  film processing
• True Technic Ltd.  post-production sound services

Also Known As:

"Long zai jiang hu" - Hong Kong (original title)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:NC-16

Company:

B.O.B. and Partners

Soundtrack:

You're My Woman

Deconstructs the myth of the 'honorable Triad'

A TRUE MOB STORY (Long Zai Jiang Hu)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Digital

Wong Jing's commitment to schlock cinema may not be widely admired in HK film-making circles, but he's still capable of turning out worthwhile potboilers like A TRUE MOB STORY, which he wrote, produced and directed. Andy Lau plays a low-ranking Triad mobster who loses his nerve during a gang fight while saving the boss's son (Mark Cheng) from a rival gangster (Ben Ng), an incident which results in the death of Lau's beloved wife. Unable to cope with the subsequent demands of his Triad lifestyle, Lau becomes an unwitting pawn in the hands of his ungrateful superiors, and when Ng comes looking for revenge, they abandon Lau to his fate. Further treachery is revealed when Lau - who is virtually penniless and beholden to the gang for his pitiful income - discovers that the video CD factory which Cheng had licensed in Lau's name is actually a massive cocaine distribution center, thus launching a tragic sequence of events which finally restores Lau's convictions and enables him to plot an elaborate revenge against all those who have betrayed him...

The casting of poster-icon Lau is central to Wong's blatant deconstruction of the 'honorable Triad' myth popularised in the mid-1980s by directors like John Woo; Lau's innate decency and his natural aversion to violence is frequently contrasted with the vulgar excesses of his fellow gangsters, most of whom are portrayed as reptilian thugs with no respect for anything but wealth, power and brutality. Lau's ultimate redemption is provided by Gigi Leung, his charming co-star from the unexpected smash-hit FULL THROTTLE (1995), playing a barrister whose ambivalent feelings for Lau threatens her somewhat strained relationship with fiancé Alex Fong (effectively understated in a difficult role), who also happens to be the head of the local Organized Crime and Triad Bureau! The breathless narrative is prone to sudden outbursts of blistering violence, but the fight scenes are more chaotic than extravagant (the "Young and Dangerous" series has a lot to answer for!), and the film is obliged for the most part to coast along on the strength of the performances, which are uniformly excellent. Given that the script is supposed to be based on 'true' events (hence the title), Wong goes well over the top on occasion (check out the judge's reaction to Lau's manufactured display of 'nobility' during the first courtroom sequence!), and his film has none of the myth-making grandeur of other recent Lau vehicles like THE ADVENTURERS (1995) or SHANGHAI GRAND (1996), but it passes the time amiably enough whilst upholding all the familiar traditions of this particular sub-genre.

(Cantonese dialogue)