City on Fire (1987)

disgusting, overrated, pointless

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

City On Fire is a gritty and bombastic action packed thriller and the first in the "On Fire" series by director Ringo Lam. The "On Fire" series also includes Prison On Fire 1 and 2(which also star Chow Yun Fat) and School On Fire. Roy Cheung appears in all four films and in this installment he is an overzealous cop at odds with Chow Yun Fat's character (Ko Chow)who is an undercover cop infiltrating a gang of violent jewel thieves. Chow Yun Fat gives a scathing and electrifying performance of an undercover cop who's life and career is on the edge of collapse. From his strained relationship with his girlfriend, to his reluctant undercover work with Danny Lee's gang and dealing with Roy Cheung's group of cops following and chasing him all over Hong Kong. Ko Chow is a cop with a lot on his plate, trying to make everything work and stay alive in the process. In a rare appearance as a criminal, Danny Lee is great as a charismatic but violent jewel robber with a code of honor. He and Chow Yun Fat have great chemistry and work well here and a year later in John Woo's classic The Killer. Make no mistake, City On Fire is also a classic. Ringo Lam, along with John Woo are ace filmmakers. Their styles are different however. Ringo's style is generally darker and rooted more in reality. John Woo is more over the top with a larger emphasis on action. Chow Yun Fat worked frequently with both directors, giving amazing performances for both parties. City On Fire is a very well made and brutal film and if you enjoy gritty crime thrillers, I give City On Fire the highest recommendation.

This is a no frills undercover cop story directed by Ringo Lam. With an average budget the film tells its story quite tightly with fine performances. Chow Yun Fat stars as the undercover policeman who is also having relationship problems. Danny Lee pops up as the jewel thief who will basically befriend chow as the system pushes them closer together. Yueh Sun Stars as an older cop who has lost his son years ago in the force and is bending the rules to have Chow undercover.I think Ringo Lam takes inspiration as much from French New Wave cinema as he douse from Hong Kong. The simple shooting style, at times like documentary, captures whats he needs and he is just concerned with making it all happen for the camera with settings and performances that ring true for the lens. Films like Un Flic and Le Samorai from French director Jean Piere Melville may have been the inspiration for Lam's raw, simple style. This approach is effective.We all know what film it ended up inspiring and Ringo Lams comparisons with his contemporary John Woo, Rather than ad to the subject dominance of the former I will just comment on the latter in That Woo only made one film better than this and it was The KIller. Despite Woo's amazing and influential style he doesn't tell perfect stories. City On Fire has a story that keeps you interested in what will actually happen. The dramatics of this picture are excellent. The performances all good. The characters are all concerned about their own situations and feel them all. The film is occasionally quite funny. Chow has a bit of a gift for comedy that transcends language and cultural barriers. This film and Lam's other film starring Chow, Prison On Fire, always amuse me in their moments.I was taken by this film. I cared about Chow and his vice like position. His impatient girlfriend, complicated job, going undercover and being followed by another police unit as if a criminal are situations closing in on him. Chow Yun Fat is a wonderful actor to watch. He can make you laph with his dances, wooing woman and can entrance you with his glare when he means business. There are some wonderful long takes in this film that lets chow bring you into his character. In his roles of cops and killers he makes you sympathetic. A gift to the genre.Ringo Lam brings many of his regulars together to make a class production. You will recognise some of the cast if you have seen his other films. I figure he didn't have the permission to shoot on some of the locations and it informs the shooting style, undercover in itself. Cameras lens poking out the window of a moving car to shoot the characters on the street. He just gets this film made. He has a pretty decisive vision. I have read you have to be tough directing films in Hong Kong. The schedules are busy, the budgets are low and the Authorities are strict. You have to be able to improvise and break the rules. Take risks like they do with stunt-work.The script is way above average for a Hong Kong cop drama. This is a character driven film with less emphasis on action. A solid 80's picture. One of my favorite films from Hong Kong.

Anybody that lambastes Tarantino for stealing ideas should also recommend that all of Shakespeare's works be ignored because either plot lines or situations are ignored. It clear to even the most casual observer that there are numerous things taken directly from "City on Fire" i.e. the three way standoff, the undercover cop taking one in the gut, and the likable thief taking out a squad car with a gun blazing in each hand.I'll even admit that these things were directly ripped off by Tarantino, but I firmly believe that "Dogs" absolutely stands on its own in terms of character exploration, and story structure, never mind acting, and cinematography. I liken it to "Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" which also directly lifts entire scenes from Hamlet, but is completely its own fully-fleshed work. Another reason this works is that old Billy himself didn't really invent any new stories because there are only about 14 stories anyway.Tarantino may have stolen more than a few ideas, but the Dog's story is made his own, and I mean come on, it's f***ing RESERVIOR DOGS. I didn't hear Steven Wright anywhere in City on Fire.The thing I enjoyed the most about COF is finally getting to see what went wrong in the Dog's heist.

Whoever doesnt like this movie should not watch it, or better yet, if you do watch it and don't like it, stay away from IMDB. Your comments are not needed. Not to mention the fact that you don't know what your talking about becaus ethis movie was great. Not only was it the basis for a great american film (reservoir dogs, Tarantino), but it's an example of how greatly americans have been influenced by great hong kong directors.