A História de Ricky (1991)

A young man with superhuman strength is incarcerated at a prison run by corrupt officials and seeks to use his martial arts to clean up the system.

Director:

Ngai Choi Lam (as Simon Nam)

Writers:

Tetsuya Saruwatari (manga "Riki-oh"), Masahiko Takajo (manga "Riki-oh")

Stars:

Siu-Wong Fan, Mei Sheng Fan, Ka-Kui Ho

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Siu-Wong Fan	...	Riki-Oh Saiga
Mei Sheng Fan	...	Cyclops Dan
Ka-Kui Ho	...	The Warden
Yukari Ôshima	...	Huang Chaun
Kan-Wing Tsang	...	Old Ma
Kwok-Pong Chan	...	Sa (as Chan Kwok-Bong)
Kôichi Sugisaki	...	Taizan
Frankie Chi-Leung Chan	...	Hai (as Chi-leung Chan)
King Chan	...	Ba Chu
Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok	...	Kuang (as Philip Kwok)
Ji Keung Wong	...	Guan Dao
Kwai-Hung Wong	...	Shorty
Kwok-Leung Wong	...	Manabu the Warden's Son
Kai Wing Lam	...	Wildcat Samuel
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Master Zhang Shangui

Storyline

The story is set in the year of 2001 in a prison owned by a major company. A new prisoner sees his friends being harassed and killed by the guards and seeks his revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

gore | black comedy | political exploitation | prison | martial arts | 

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Taglines:

The Greatest Hong Kong Martial Arts Action Revenge Gore-Soaked Prision Breakout Love Story Cult Film of 1991 Ever Put on DVD!!! (2010 Media Blasters Remastered DVD Edition)

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and gore, and for some drug content

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese English

Release Date:

9 April 1992 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

A História de Ricky

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company Credits

Production Co:

Diagonal Pictures, Paragon Films Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min (cut) 91 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Gang of Four" was an actual group that existed in China in the 1960's and 1970's. The members were Jiang Qin (wife of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong), Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen. All four were convicted of anti-party activies and given life sentences.

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Goofs

When one of the guys has a meat cleaver swung to the face, the cut out piece is obviously visible before it hits the guy's face.

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Quotes

Warden Cobra: I'm tougher than you think! The warden of any prison has to be the very best in kung fu.

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Alternate Versions

Upon remastering the film for a second time, the version mastered in 2015 by Fortune Star is the first version since its original theatrical release to feature on screen Chinese text when Ricky and the two other convicts are introduced in the beginning of the film. It is possible this text was originally added upon inserting the original burnt-in Chinese and English subtitles directly onto the film print, but was then originally lost when mastering the film from the original non-subtitled negatives.

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Connections

Featured in The Cinema Snob: Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (2010)

User Reviews

Gore epic.

Close second to "Dead Alive" as goriest film ever made. Rivers of ridiculously over-exaggerated red will fill your screen and turn your stomach.

Riki was just an innocent (though super-powered, think Mr. Incredible) youth until the day his girlfriend was killed in a botched rape attempt by gangsters. After dealing out his bloody revenge he is carted off to prison where he wishes to serve his sentence as peacefully and undisturbed as he can. However, this pseudo sci-fi Asian prison is any thing but peaceful. Prison film clichés ensue (ie. corrupt guards, an evil warden, an escape attempt).

Technically speaking, the movie isn't very good. The sets lack believability, the dialogue is pretty horrible, and the acting is way over board. The bad guys seem to be bad because they can be...either that or they are just bored, one or the other. Outside of Riki, there is no background attached to any of the characters and none of them are ever developed properly. Additionally, the plentiful fight scenes aren't choreographed very well. Top it all off with some of the cheesiest kung-fu dubs ever recorded and you have a film suffering from lack of talent.

So why the positive score? This is a damn fun movie, that's why. Each and every fight scene ends with a gory display of gruesome blood letting. Heads crushed, stomachs torn open, eyes popped out, faces cut off, one villain even tries to strangle Riki with his own intestines. Amidst the crimson flow, the dumb-as-a-brick story is awash in unintentional humor; the more serious it takes itself the funnier it is. Even the gore itself makes for a joke, it's so over the top it ceases to offend and becomes a sight gag.

Main stream viewers will not get this movie and will simply not like it. Genre fans, however, will find the holy grail of gore flicks.

8/10