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 | Thriller

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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

The scene which Ko Chow is running on Nathan Road so as to escape from the police was filmed when director Ringo Lam put the camera in a van and ordered Chow Yun-Fat to follow the van that is driving along the road.

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Goofs

The blood on Ko Chow's shirt disappears.

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Quotes

Ko Chow: [after Wah is killed, Inspector Lau asks Ko Chow to go undercover again, but Chow wants out] I sent in my resignation.
Inspector Lau: I never got it.
Ko Chow: Look for it.
Inspector Lau: Chow, only you know the people that Wah did. You asked for this, remember? You can resign... once we've captured the killers.
Ko Chow: Last time with Shing, it went bad.
Inspector Lau: What went bad? We got him.
Ko Chow: I betrayed a friend.
Inspector Lau: You helped capture scum, all right? This friend ordered the deaths of hundreds. He had to die. You're a cop. Who told you to make friends with ...
[...]

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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.