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Johnny To

Johnnie To has become arguably the most successful, prolific and famously versatile of Hong Kong film directors, having directed 43 films to date, mostly since 1990, one or two each year featuring in the Hong Kong year's top releases. These have been spectacularly varied, from romance and comedy to action films of many 'genre' categories ranging through, and often combing martial arts, horror, melodrama, cops and robbers and gangster movies.

Recently To has found acclaim overseas's, gaining critical respect and a cult following for his action and crime movie hits, The Mission, PTU - Police Tactical Unit, Election, Election 2, and Exiled.
Quentin Tarantino, called To's 2005 film 'Election' "the best film of the year".

Johnnie To heads the Hong Kong-based production company Milkyway Image with his frequent co-director Wai Ka-Fai.

His films frequently explore themes of friendship, fate and the changing face of Hong Kong society. Of particular interest is the influence he has on the trajectory of the action genre in Hong Kong cinema, where he has opposed John Woo's idolised and heroic gangsters such as in 'A Better Tomorrow', and introduced a stark sense of realism, stylistically different and more explicitly political Hong Kong gangster films.

Johnnie To has emerged as both a poet and post-1997 saviour of the Hong Kong film industry. Watch his films to be entertained.

What members say | Filmography

Johnny To - what members say

Election review by from Between the land and the sky

Still life in Hong Kong 27 October 2006
...years, being populated as it is by pretty pop stars instead of actors. Director Johnny To seems to be doing more than anyone to keep it afloat though, and watch this to ... Read customer review

Breaking News review by DTurley from Trowbridge

Breaking News 3 April 2008
...As much as Johnny To might be 'claimed' by arthouse critics as a formal genius (his exacting mise-en-scene bringing sighs to the lips of the likes of Fred Camper, John R... Read customer review

Election 2 review by from Birmingham

Hard hitting gangster drama 3 January 2007
... Cult HK director Johnny To has injected a political theme into his follow-up to 'Election (1)' that elevates this movie f... Read customer review

Johnny To - filmography

Vengeance - Blu-ray (2009)
Starring: Johnny Hallyday, Sylvie Testud, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang
Director: Johnny To
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
A French chef swears revenge after a violent attack on his daughter's family in Hong Kong, during which her husband and her two children are murdered. To help him find the killers, he hires three local hit-men working for the mafia.

58% from 511 members

Vengeance on DVD (2009)
Starring: Johnny Hallyday, Sylvie Testud, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang
Director: Johnny To
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
A French chef swears revenge after a violent attack on his daughter's family in Hong Kong, during which her husband and her two children are murdered. To help him find the killers, he hires three local hit-men working for the mafia.

57% from 619 members

Mad Detective (2008)
Starring: Lau Ching-Wan, Andy On, Gordon Lam
Director: Johnny To, Wai Ka-Fai
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
A missing police pistol is connected to a series of recent heists and murders. Its owner Wong vanished earlier while pursuing a suspect in the mountains. His partner Chi-Wai miraculously returned unharmed. Hotshot Regional Crime Unit inspector Ho is in charge of the serial murder investigation. He ..read more »

63% from 1,191 member
Not available for rental

Triangle on DVD (2008)
Starring: Louis Koo, Simon Yam, Honglei Sun
Director: Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark, Johnny To
Certificate:
Three masters. One masterpeice. Three giants of Hong Kong crime cinema - Tsui Hark (SEVEN SWORDS), Ringo Lam (CITY ON FIRE), and Johnnie To (ELECTION) - join forces to create Triangle. Longtime friends Bo-Sam, Fai, and Mokcontend with criminal hoods, a corrupt cop, and an unfaithful wife in their ..read more »

51% from 490 members

Mad Detective - Blu-ray (2007)
Starring: Lau Ching-Wan, Andy On, Gordon Lam
Director: Johnny To, Wai Ka-Fai
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
Directors Johnnie To (TRIAD ELECTION) and Wai Ka Fai (FULLTIME KILLER) team up for this quirky action film that was a huge hit in its native Hong Kong. Lau Ching Wan (BLACK MASK) plays Bun, a criminal profiler who's gone off the deep end. After slicing off his ear at a going-away party, he's forced ..read more »

63% from 519 members
Not available for rental

Breaking News on DVD (2006)
Starring: Kelly Chen, Nick Cheung
Director: Johnny To
Certificate:
Johnny To (MY LEFT EYE SEES GHOSTS) directs this crime thriller, which begins in explosive fashion as a televised bank robbery is dangerously mismanaged by the police. The criminals escape and leave a bloodbath behind them, and the police decide to use the media to broadcast their attempted capture ..read more »

60% from 482 members

Exiled on DVD (2006)
Starring: Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Francis Ng, Simon Yam
Director: Johnny To
Certificate:
The time is 1998. The setting is Macau. Every living soul jumps at every chance to make quick money before the Portuguese colony ushers in a new era under the Chinese rule. For the jaded hit men, they wonder where this journey will end. Against this backdrop come two hit men from Hong Kong sent to ..read more »

58% from 2,875 members

Election on DVD (2005)
Starring: Simon Yam, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Louis Koo
Director: Johnny To
Certificate:
A drama-thriller centered on a democratic election within an organized crime society.

64% from 1,207 member

Election 2 on DVD (2005)
Starring: Simon Yam, Louis Koo, Nick Cheung
Director: Johnny To
Certificate:
As election time nears, current Triad chairman Lok (Simon Yam) faces competition from his godsons as he looks to increase his business relations with mainland China.

62% from 907 members

PTU - Police Tactical Unit on DVD (2003)
Starring: Lam Suet, Simon Yam, Ruby Wong
Director: Johnny To
Certificate:
Johnny To (FULLTIME KILLER) directs this Hong Kong action film noir that takes place one dangerous night on the streets where the police tactical unit (PTU) are assigned to patrol. With shadowy alleyways, dingy restaurants, and seedy video game arcades setting the scene for the constantly violent ..read more »

57% from 805 members

Full Time Killer on DVD (2001)
Starring: Andy Lau, Takashi Sorimachi, Simon Yam
Director: Johnny To, Wai Ka-Fai
Certificate:
For many years professional assassin O has resided in an isolated world of killing and loneliness, which only becomes worse after the death of his love, Nancy. But his life begins to change once he meets the innocent Chin. Chin, hired to clean O's apartment, has never met her employer. However, ..read more »

62% from 1,178 member

Running Out Of Time on DVD (1999)
Starring: Wai Ai, Shiu Hung Hui, Suet Lam
Director: Johnny To
Certificate:
Wah's doctors tell him that he has 2 weeks left to live, so he figures he has nothing to lose by committing a few crimes. As he takes on the Hong Kong Police Force, one negotiator is determined to stop him from continuing with his plans, but who will put the most on the line in order to carry out ..read more »

57% from 843 members

All About Ah-Long (1989)
Starring: Yun-Fat Chow, Sylvia Chang, Man Tat Ng
Director: Johnny To
Certificate:
A sentimental family saga which follows Ah Long, a former gang member, through imprisonment, separation from his well-to-do wife, and eventual reunion with his son and the woman he loves.

54% from 20 members
Currently unavailable

Johnny To facts

5 most recent films

Vengeance - Blu-ray - 3.0 stars
Vengeance - 3.0 stars
Mad Detective - 3.0 stars
Triangle - 2.5 stars
Mad Detective - Blu-ray - 3.0 stars

5 highest-rated films

Election - 3.0 stars
Mad Detective - 3.0 stars
Mad Detective - Blu-ray - 3.0 stars
Election 2 - 3.0 stars
Full Time Killer - 3.0 stars

5 lowest-rated films

All About Ah-Long - 2.5 stars
Triangle - 2.5 stars
Vengeance - 3.0 stars
Running Out Of Time - 3.0 stars
PTU - Police Tactical Unit - 3.0 stars

Most frequent co-stars

Simon Yam - 9 times - show films
Ka Tung Lam - 8 times - show films
Suet Lam - 6 times - show films
Kelly Lin - 5 times - show films
Nick Cheung - 4 times - show films

Most frequent directors

Wai Ka-Fai - 4 times - show films
Ringo Lam - 1 times - show films
Tsui Hark - 1 times - show films
Hark Tsui - 1 times - show films

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Johnny To

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