City on Fire (1987)

An undercover cop infiltrates a gang of thieves who plan to rob a jewelry store.

Director:

Ringo Lam

Writers:

Ringo Lam (story), Sai-Shing Shum (scriptwriter) (as Tommy Sham)

Stars:

Yun-Fat Chow, Yueh Sun, Danny Lee

2 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yun-Fat Chow	...	Ko Chow (as Chow Yun Fat)
Yueh Sun	...	Inspector Lau / Uncle Kung (as Yeuh Sun)
Danny Lee	...	Fu (as Danny Sau Yin Lee)
Carrie Ng	...	Hung
Roy Cheung	...	Inspector John Chan
Kong Lau	...	Inspector Chow
Elvis Tsui	...	Chan Kam-Wah (as Kam-kong Tsui)
Yeh Fang	...	Chow Nam
Chi Fai Chan	...	Chen Ching / Tai Song
Mang-Ha Cheng	...	Chow's Grandmother (as Mang-ha Cheung)
Parkman Wong	...	Ah Man
Bo-San Chow	...	Lily
Victor Hon	...	Bill
Kwong Leung Wong	...	Kwong
Maria Cordero	...	Lounge Singer

Storyline

Ko Chow is about to resign from the police force when he is asked to take on one more case. He is to go undercover in a gang that is robbing jewellery stores. He accepts the task and successfully infiltrates the gang. It is a very dangerous mission, not just because the gang might discover his true identity but because many of the police suspect he may well be a criminal.

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Plot Keywords:

undercover cop | police officer shot | male bonding | blood | robbery | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese Mandarin English

Release Date:

13 February 1987 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

City on Fire

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema City

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Karl Mak, the producer, gave four million HK dollars to Lam towards the film's budget, giving Lam absolute freedom to make any genre of film he wanted.

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Goofs

The blood on Ko Chow's shirt disappears.

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Quotes

Fu: [Fu talks about his family life] You know, my father was a crook. I got it from him. I just hope my son doesn't turn out like me.
Ko Chow: Is your old man still in jail?
Fu: He's been dead for ten years. My father was stupid. He got shot by the police.
Ko Chow: So you despise them?
Fu: Not at all. They were just doing their job, so why should I?

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Alternate Versions

The US version has scenes cut out

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Back-up Plan/The Losers/Paper Man (2010)

User Reviews

the movie that influenced Quentin Taratino's Resevoir Dogs

I have seen this movie and it really shows Chow Yun Fat's acting ability. The story is great and director Ringo Lam really shows how life is between opposite sides of the law.