PTU (2003)

Director:

Johnnie To

Writers:

Nai-Hoi Yau (written by) &
Kin-Yee Au (written by)

Release Date:

17 April 2003 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Into the Perilous Night...

Plot:

Over the course of one night, a team of cops frantically search for their colleague's missing gun. |

Plot Keywords:

One Night | Shot In The Stomach | Police Violence | Murder Of A Policewoman | Shootout

Awards:

11 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Simon Yam	...	Sergeant Mike Ho
Maggie Siu	...	Kat (as Maggie Shiu)
Suet Lam	...	Sergeant Lo Sa (as Lam Suet)
Ruby Wong	...	Inspector Leigh Cheng
Ho-Yin Wong	...	Supervisor Wong (as Raymond Wong)
Eddy Ko	...	Eye Ball (as Ko Hung)
Hoi-Pang Lo	...	Bald Head (as Loi Hoi Pang)
Jerome Fung	...	Sergeant Fung
Frank Michael Liu	...	Triad (as Frank Liu)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pou-Soi Cheang	...	Undercover cop
Chi Ping Cheung	...	Insp. Chan's subordinate
Kenneth Cheung	...	PTU Orderly
Chi-Shing Chiu	...	Ponnytail
Roderick Lam	...	Mike's team member
Ching Ting Law	...	Robber in final shootout
Tian-lin Wang	...	Uncle Cheung
Chi Wai Wong	...	Brother Hei
Chi-Wang Wong
Wah Wo Wong	...	Bill
Courtney Wu	...	Bodyguard
Ronald Yan	...	Senior Inspector Yu
Bo Yuen	...	Robber in final shootout
Ka Ting Lee	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Johnnie To

Writing credits
Nai-Hoi Yau		(written by) (as Yau Nai Hoi) &
Kin-Yee Au		(written by) (as Au Kin Yee)

Produced by
Catherine Chan	....	production executive
Elos Gallo	....	consultant producer
Johnnie To	....	producer
Patrick Tong	....	administrative producer

Original Music by
Chi Wing Chung		(as Chung Chi Wing)

Cinematography by
Siu-keung Cheng		(director of photography) (as Cheng Siu Keung)

Film Editing by
Wing-cheong Law		(as Law Wing Cheong)

Production Design by
Ringo Cheung
Jerome Fung

Art Direction by
Jerome Fung

Costume Design by
Sukie Yip

Production Management
Ringo Chen	....	production manager
Elaine Chu	....	project manager
Hak Lam	....	unit manager (as Lam Hak)
Patrick Tong	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ho-ming Chan	....	assistant director (as Chan Ho Ming)
Wing-cheong Law	....	associate director (as Law Wing Cheong)

Art Department
Wai Kin Lam	....	head property master (as Lam Wai Kin)

Sound Department
Chun Wang Au	....	foley artist (as Au Chung Wang)
Martin Richard Chappell	....	supervising sound editor (as Martin Chappell)
Phyllis Cheng	....	adr editor
King Fai Choy	....	foley artist (as Choy King Fai)
Wing Hong Fung	....	foley artist (as Fung Wing Hong)
Wai Hung Kwong	....	foley artist (as Kwong Wai Hung)
Hon Chiu Lam	....	foley artist (as Lan Hon Chiu)
Sin-kwok Lee	....	sound mixer (as Lee Sin Kwok)
Charlie Lo	....	sound effects editor
Charlie Lo	....	sound
May Mok	....	adr editor
May Mok	....	adr recordist
Kwok Fai Ng	....	boom operator (as Ng Kwok Fai)
Man Keung Ngai	....	boom operator (as Ngai Man Keung)
Kwong Heung Yam	....	foley artist (as Yam Kwong Heung)
Tomy Yu	....	foley supervisor (as Tommy Yu)

Visual Effects by
Kosby Fu	....	CGI animator
Pak Chung Kwan	....	CGI animator (as Kwan Pak Chung)
Stephen Ma	....	visual effects supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Ting Fung Kwong	....	best boy (as Kwong Ting Fong)
Hirotake Okazaki	....	still photographer
Hung Mo To	....	focus puller (as To Hung Mo)
Kwok Chiu Wu	....	gaffer (as Wu Kwok Chiu)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Shing Fook Ying	....	wardrobe assistant (as Shing Fok Ying)

Editorial Department
Christy Chan	....	post-production coordinator
Chi Kit Lau	....	assistant editor (as Lau Chi Kit)
Calmen Lui	....	post-production consultant

Other crew
Catherine Chan	....	production executive
Ho-ming Chan	....	continuity (as Chan Ho Ming)
Yuin Shan Ding	....	film coordinator (as Ding Yuin-Shan)
Jerome Fung	....	consultant
May Lam	....	craft service
Wing-cheong Law	....	associate director (as Law Wing Cheong)
Kuo Hsing Li	....	presenter (as Li Kuo Hsing)
Frank Michael Liu	....	consultant (as Frank Liu)
Helen Tong	....	production assistant
Hui Chun Wu	....	film coordinator (as Wu Hui Chun)

Production Companies

• Mei Ah Films Production Co. Ltd.
• Milky Way Image Company

Distributors

• Pandora Films (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Pathé (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Dragon Dynasty (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Media Cooperation One (MC-One) (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Mei Ah Entertainment
• Third Window Films (2007) (UK) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Cinerent  camera and lighting equipment
• Starview Production  camera and lighting equipment
• Tai Fung (Tsu's) Co. Ltd.  film supplied by
• Mandarin Laboratory (International) Ltd.  laboratory
• Mandarin Laboratory (International) Ltd.  subtitles
• China Star Production Services Limited  post-production facilities
• Cubists  cgi animation
• Fuji Film  negative film
• Milky Way Image Company  sound studio
• i Zone Sound Design  foley studio

Also Known As:

"PTU: Police Tactical Unit" - USA (DVD title)
"Police Tactical Unit" - International (English title) (long title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and some language

Runtime:

88 min | Germany:87 min (Berlin Film Festival) | USA:85 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Hong Kong:IIB | USA:R | UK:15

Company:

Mei Ah Films Production Co. Ltd.

Quotes:

Sergeant Lo Sa:Go fire twice, Madam. It will be easier for the report. Probably you will get bonus.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Johnnie Got His Gun! (2010)

good but not great...

We meet the PTU on one of their worse nights. Chasing a suspect, a police sergeant loses his gun, and streets away, the son of a crime lord is stabbed to death in a small restaurant. We follow the PTU in their attempts to both find the policeman's weapon and prevent the fallout from the murder escalating. While it sounds an intriguing premise, PTU is not the pacey action-thriller you might expect, but is instead a slow, dark, and tense journey through the HK underworld.

Some scenes are brilliant, the use of harsh light and almost omnipresent shadow works well, effectively capturing the mood of the underworld. There's some real artistry here, and it's for that reason that the pacing frequently seems to be a little slow; the scenes look so good that the camera lingers on them for perhaps too long, causing pacing issues in some sections. However, it does work well in terms of suspense as the film builds towards its inevitably violent conclusion.

On a negative note, the music is terrible, and significantly dates a film that's only four years old. You have to wonder if they ran out of action movie ambiance sounds and just hit the classic cheese guitar button instead, but I guess that's just an Eastern film meets Western audience convention clash. It does however, in my opinion, completely undermine the final scene, which comes across as faintly ridiculous instead of as a dramatic release.

While it suffers from pacing and score issues, PTU's style and sense of tragic irony are enough to make it enjoyable if not quite essential viewing.