IMDb RATING
7.1/10
8.1K
YOUR RATING
A rookie cop teams up with a former detective with a supernatural gift to hunt down a serial killer.A rookie cop teams up with a former detective with a supernatural gift to hunt down a serial killer.A rookie cop teams up with a former detective with a supernatural gift to hunt down a serial killer.
- Awards
- 7 wins & 11 nominations
Ching Wan Lau
- Bun
- (as Lau Ching Wan)
Ka-Tung Lam
- Ko Chi-wai
- (as Lam Ka Tung)
Kwok-Lun Lee
- Wong Kwok-chu
- (as Lee Kwok Lun)
Choi-ning Lee
- Gigi
- (as Karen Lee)
Eddie Cheung
- Violent Man - Ko's Inner Personality
- (as Cheung Siu Fai)
Suet Lam
- Fatso - Ko's Inner Personality
- (as Lam Suet)
Jay Lau
- Calculating Woman - Ko's Inner Personality
- (as Lau Kam Ling)
Jo Kuk
- Cunning Woman - Ho's Inner Personality
- (as Jo Koo)
Ling-To Yuen
- Policeman
- (as Yuen Ling To)
Jonathan Yat-Sing Lee
- Weak Boy - Ho's Inner Personality
- (as Jonathan Lee)
Apple Chow
- 7-11 Worker
- (as Apple Chau)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- GoofsAt the beginning of the movie, when the main character is cutting his ear off, we can clearly see the half of it. (at around 63 mins) when the ear unfolds from the bandage we see a whole piece of it.
- Quotes
Inspector Bun: [Bun talks to himself] If you shoot, you will be no different from everyone else.
Inspector Bun: [on second thought] I am human too. Why should I be any different?
[Bun pulls the trigger]
- Crazy creditsIn the part of the end credits sequence before the comprehensive lists of cast and crew begin to scroll, the lines of text of the credits are tilted counter clockwise, forming roughly thirty-degree slope/incline.
- Alternate versionsJohnnie To and Ka-Fai Wai approved a new cut of the movie for the international market, with two scenes from the Hong Kong cut removed:
- A scene after Bun buries himself under the ground visualizing a scenario where Ko Chi-Wai's spirits are planting fake evidence on the Indian as a murder suspect. The scene removed shows Bun "dreaming" and visualizing another scenario of Ho Ka-On's child spirit being chased and overpowered by Chi-Wai's seven spirits. One of Chi-Wai's spirits urges another of his spirits to shoot the child spirit dead, to complicate the police investigation, to which that spirit responds shooting the child spirit. This moment awakes Bun from his "sleep" under the ground.
- The scene where Ho Ka-On is chasing a mask-wearing suspect through the streets before the two of them bump onto a moving truck separating each other. What follows are two different outcomes for respective cuts. In the Hong Kong cut, Ka-On is about to get up and sees the suspect who looks at Ka-On. The suspect starts to run towards Ka-On, who tries to reach for his gun but realizes that it's missing. The suspect points his gun at Ka-On and proceeds to search him and asks him where Ka-On has his gun. Ka-On responds saying that he lost it, and then the suspect kicks him down and starts hitting him with his gun while repeatedly asking for Ka-On's gun while Ka-On, being on his knees injured, repeats saying that he lost his gun. The suspect is shown pointing his gun at Ka-On again while thinking it's not worth killing him, and starts walking away. An overhead shot of Ka-On lying on the ground is shown afterward.
- ConnectionsReferences Stray Dog (1949)
Featured review
It could have been a magnificent movie...
Right, well I stumbled upon "Mad Detective" (aka "San taam") in 2019, blissfully unaware of its existence prior to finding it. But given my love and admiration for the Hong Kong cinema, I needed no persuasion in sitting down to watch it.
While the storyline in "Mad Detective" sure was unconventional and rather avantgarde in terms of the usual movies that you see from the Hong Kong cinema and also by director Johnnie To himself, then this wasn't exactly the finest moment in Hong Kong cinema, nor in Johnnie To's directorial track record.
The storyline was somewhat befuddled and somewhat difficult to really keep up with, because directors Johnnie To and Ka-Fai Wai were setting out to accomplish a little bit too much in terms of what they managed to deliver. Which was essentially a shame, because the movie suffered from this. It could otherwise have been a truly outstanding and remarkable movie, but the end result, sadly, turned out to be mediocre at best.
Actors Ching Wan Lau and Andy On carried the movie quite well. And of course with the likes of Ching Wan Lau, then you know you are getting a top notch performance. And it was interesting to see him in a movie such as this, and this role shows what kind of a diverse actor he really is. Just a shame that the storyline was working like an anchor around the actors legs.
Aside from Ching Wan Lau and Andy On, then the movie also boasts some other interesting names and familiar faces to the cast list, especially for a long time fan of the Hong Kong cinema like myself.
Sure "Mad Detective" was entertaining enough, but something of the enjoyment was smoldering away because of the rampart storyline and the fact that the two directors seemed to work in opposites of one another. I got through the entire movie, but felt my attention span start to falter throughout the course of the movie. And despite of my love for the Hong Kong cinema, then "Mad Detective" is not a movie that I will be watching a second time around.
While the storyline in "Mad Detective" sure was unconventional and rather avantgarde in terms of the usual movies that you see from the Hong Kong cinema and also by director Johnnie To himself, then this wasn't exactly the finest moment in Hong Kong cinema, nor in Johnnie To's directorial track record.
The storyline was somewhat befuddled and somewhat difficult to really keep up with, because directors Johnnie To and Ka-Fai Wai were setting out to accomplish a little bit too much in terms of what they managed to deliver. Which was essentially a shame, because the movie suffered from this. It could otherwise have been a truly outstanding and remarkable movie, but the end result, sadly, turned out to be mediocre at best.
Actors Ching Wan Lau and Andy On carried the movie quite well. And of course with the likes of Ching Wan Lau, then you know you are getting a top notch performance. And it was interesting to see him in a movie such as this, and this role shows what kind of a diverse actor he really is. Just a shame that the storyline was working like an anchor around the actors legs.
Aside from Ching Wan Lau and Andy On, then the movie also boasts some other interesting names and familiar faces to the cast list, especially for a long time fan of the Hong Kong cinema like myself.
Sure "Mad Detective" was entertaining enough, but something of the enjoyment was smoldering away because of the rampart storyline and the fact that the two directors seemed to work in opposites of one another. I got through the entire movie, but felt my attention span start to falter throughout the course of the movie. And despite of my love for the Hong Kong cinema, then "Mad Detective" is not a movie that I will be watching a second time around.
helpful•10
- paul_haakonsen
- Apr 22, 2019
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Thám Tử Khùng
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,629
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,682
- Jul 20, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $2,160,790
- Runtime1 hour 29 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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