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Overview

User Rating:
6.7/10   2,346 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 15% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Johnnie To
Writers:
Hing-Ka Chan (written by) &
Tin-Shing Yip (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Daai si gin on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2004 (Hong Kong) more
Genre:
Action | Crime | Drama more
Plot:
When an ambulatory TV news unit live broadcasts the embarrassing defeat of a police battalion by five bank robbers in a ballistic showdown... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
5 wins & 8 nominations more
User Comments:
Extra points for effort - tough, gritty, realistic, innovative more (22 total)

Cast

  (Credited cast)
Richie Ren ... Yuen (as Richie Jen)
Kelly Chen ... Commissioner Rebecca Fong
Nick Cheung ... Inspector Cheung
Siu-Fai Cheung ... Eric Yeung (as Cheung Siu Fai)
Shiu Hung Hui ... Hoi (as Hui Siu Hung)
Suet Lam ... Yip (as Lam Suet)
Yong You ... Chun (as You Yong)
Haifeng Ding ... Long (as Ding Hai Feng)
Haitao Li ... Chung (as Li Hai Tao)

Simon Yam ... Asst. Commissioner C.K. Wong
Maggie Siu ... Grace Chow (as Maggie Shiu)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chi Wai Wong ... Wong
Wah Wo Wong ... White Hair
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Breaking News (Hong Kong: English title) (Philippines: English title)
Da shi jian (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
more
Runtime:
Hong Kong:90 min | Argentina:90 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | Philippines:88 min (cut)
Country:
Hong Kong | China
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital

Fun Stuff

Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: During the opening shootout, one of the bad guys is firing out of a window with an AK-47. He then drops down to the street to shoot at a police van which arrives. During this time he clearly runs out of blanks as his gun stops firing, though gunfire sound effects can still be heard. more
Movie Connections:
References Finding Nemo (2003) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful.
Extra points for effort - tough, gritty, realistic, innovative, 15 April 2007
10/10
Author: (winner55) from United States

There aren't many films that even try to be innovative these days, so when one comes along that does, we ought to be willing to give it the benefit of any doubt. So yes, I think the film could have been just a little better polished; but it's a solid entry even as it is.

In an era when crime thrillers seem to be all made for MTV - flashy, glossy, video-game-play - Johnnie To has delivered a tough, gritty, realistic study in obsession and professionalism. It is the police who, in differing ways, are very obsessed, and the criminals who are all professionals. And of course, it seems up to the media to spin the story the other way around, so 'decent citizens' can feel safe in their grimy little apartments like that of the cowardly 'father' who slips out on his own kids.

I've read the review comparing this to "Natural Born Killers", but the visual innovations used here work on a completely different level. Oliver Stone references all kinds of media not as social comment (he uses them too frequently in many different contexts), but rather because he accepts that American culture today is its media. For Johnnie To, the issue runs a little deeper. His visuals are not so much satirical comment on media as they are attempts to raise the question, Just how do we define ourselves publicly in the age of electronic media? or does the media inevitably define us? Even the obsessed CID cop, who clearly has no interest in the media, becomes a TV prop at the end - only the criminals remain enigmas and thus retain a kind of humanity - despite the fact that they are cold-blooded killers through and through; being cold-blooded killers is part of their job, after all. When they're not committing crime, their probably just like the next-door neighbors (one has promised another to attend the funeral of his son after the job gets done). That's actually a pretty scary thought itself.

This is the kind of film the Ray Liotta film "Narc" wanted to be, but sentimentally backed down from at all the most important moments. While Hong Kong's better directors can get awfully sentimental, they never let this force them to pull any punches. In the recent Tsui Hark film "Time and Tide" (which has plenty sentiment to spare) a cop and a crook suddenly find themselves pointing guns at each other's heads; the cop says "So now we're equal." The crook immediately shoots him in the head, and only then remarks "my gun kills, it doesn't talk." He then shoots the dead cop a half-dozen more times, just for the heck of it.

To's film works on a similar level (and I like it more, since the criminals here are much more believable). It is very tense throughout and able to surprise in an era when most of us believe their are no surprises left to film. That gives it an added value, in my book. It kept me watching throughout, and I think it will do so for most viewers.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Daai si gin (2004)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Kelly Chan's performance makes me cringe... taktlis
a note on police shootouts kungfucowboy83
This movie is so stupid cute_hinano
Switching Missions update_panel
The opening 7 minute 1-take shot is master showmanship!!! wavingdragon
The first 15 minutes, in my opinion, brianhasbigears
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