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City On Fire
1987
An undercover cop, played by Chow Yun-Fat, infiltrates a gang of thieves who plan to rob a jewelry store. The film shows how he infiltrates the gang. Read more
| Starring | Yun-Fat Chow, Danny Lee |
|---|---|
| Director | Ringo Lam |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, World Cinema |
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City On Fire
An undercover cop, played by Chow Yun-Fat, infiltrates a gang of thieves who plan to rob a jewelry store. The film shows how he infiltrates the gang.
| Starring | Yun-Fat Chow, Danny Lee |
|---|---|
| Director | Ringo Lam |
| Studio | E1 ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 42 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, World Cinema |
| Language | Cantonese |
| Subtitles | English |
| Released | DVD: 25 Apr 2005 Production year: 1987 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (4)
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The designer sunglasses give it away as this violent Hong Kong thriller was the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs. Here, oriental superstar Chow Yun-Fat stars as an undercover cop who works his way into a gang planning a jewel heist. When it all goes wrong, the gang returns to its warehouse rendezvous, where the recriminations begin. Director Ringo Lam accelerates the violence with undoubted skill, though it lacks the poignancy that Tarantino was to inject into his ground-breaking crime drama.
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Brutal action thriller that was one of the inspirations for Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, though it concerns loyalty and rivalry between an elderly inspector and a brash new cop as much as dissension between gangsters.
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Most helpful member's review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Awesome
Chow-Yun Fat's second best movie (after The Killer), this is the film that Tarantino 'borrowed' Reservoir Dogs from. Realistic, action packed and looking even cooler than R.D, this is one you have to see: one of the best things ever to come out of Hong Kong!
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Most recent members' review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Reservoir Dogs on Fire
Being a huge Tarantino fan, I'd heard that Reservoir Dogs was (allegedly) a rip-off of this movie, so I thought I'd check it out. I was hoping to be able to prove Tarantino's critics wrong, but sadly they're pretty much correct. He took the basic plot, certain key shots and scenes (i.e. the lengthy sideways running shot of Chow Yun Fat being chased down the street is just like Mr Pink's escape in Dogs, and a Mexican stand-off occurs almost identically in both films), and certain elements of characterisations. In that sense, yes, this film IS the basis for Reservoir Dogs. But Dogs is a much, much better film - its dialogue crackles, the characters are more likeable and interesting, and it's non-linear structure is a vast improvement over City on Fire's conventional narrative. I'm quite happy to have seen this film, but I wouldn't bother watching it again. Reservoir Dogs, however, bears unlimited repeat viewings. Tarantino may have stolen the best bits, but he then made them even better and added his own idiosyncratic touches.
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News and features
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The Big Gundown
- 11 Sep 2007
The shoot-out. As both Shoot Em Up and 3:10 to Yuma demonstrate this week, this is one of those dramatic situations that's essentially cinematic. Writers, painters and playwrights might convey something of the tension and excitement, but none of them can compete with the full-blown experience of the expertly staged movie gunfight. That said, it was a novelist who started it all. Owen Wister's "The Virginian" was published in 1902, and set the template for what became the standard climax of the Read more
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