Prison on Fire

I first watched this movie when I was rather young. After 13 years, I've just re-watched it. Still a brilliant piece of work. Often, I'd be bored watching old films which I had thought the world of. But this movie still amazes and excites me after so many years.

I am sure the more violent scenes were cut from the version I watched, because I vaguely remember moments that were a lot more shocking. But I would't classify it as a "violent" movie, because there was a lot of meaning to it. If I as an elementary school child could take it, it shouldn't be any more gruesome than The Ring 2.

Simply watching Chow Yun Fatt was a treat in itself. His acting was intriguing and absolutely intense. Never did a moment pass that he wasn't giving in his best. The smiles and the stares, the jokes and the scorn, the singing and the scolding... and who would forget his orange with 3 cigarettes? No kid from a chinese-speaking family doesn't remember this classic arrangement.

Tony Leung, another great actor, could be seen shining in his own right. Although much of the glamour belonged to Chow Yun Fatt, Tony Leung's performance in the suicide scene, and the sheer ignorance in his eyes as he incurred the wrath of just about everyone, were truly commendable. He was the "stupid little lamb" in the film.

Watch this film, and you'd find "Anna and the King" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" terrible jokes. I still can't believe Chow Yun Fatt starred in these 2 films. From an Asian's point of view, his recent Hollywood films were disappointing. His roles in these new films were a far cry from his memorable performances in "The Story of Ah Lang", "A Better Tomorrow" and this film. Special effects can't be everything in a movie. Realism is more important.

And don't walk away without learning how to sing the prisoners' favourite song! *Yian sum yu sei shueang yao do siu...*

Hong Kong film maker Ringo Lam has done many extraordinary films during his career. They include the extremely bleak and violent "School on Fire" (1988), "City on Fire" (1987), the incredible "Full Contact" (1992) and "Prison on Fire 1 and 2" from 1987 and 1991. "Prison on Fire" stars the then raising star Chow Yun-Fat as Ching, a positive and friendly inmate in a prison in which Lo Ka Yiu, played by Tony Leung Ka Fai is sentenced. They are both judged for a manslaughter and now they'll have to survive the violence and triad corruption inside the stone. What follows is a very intense 100 minutes and a film that won't be remembered among the least effective works of the great Lam.

The film is pretty close to "School on Fire" even though it is not as fierce and pessimistic as that film which was made one year later. "Prison" is pretty powerful and believable depiction of the state of prisons in Hong Kong and how much power the triad members have there. Where "School" depicts the horrible violence among school children and triads, "Prison" depicts violence and terror among convicts and triads, and how it all may end as horribly as in "School". But this time Ringo leaves a hope for a better tomorrow (as Chow's character even mentions at one point) and so the film is much more optimistic than the harrowing "School". Still the finale in the prison is very violent and shocking so the ride through the prison won't be an easy or pleasant one at all, and why would Ringo do such a pointless and light film that wouldn't have its message and anything to say in the first place? That is exactly why his films are much more than just action and gun battles.

The cast is very good in "Prison" and it includes Roy Cheung as the violent warden "Scarface" and Roy can also be found as a triad leader in "School" and a cop in "City on Fire." The characters, especially Chow's and Tony's, seem to develop little too fast as their dramatic decisions and actions are not as carefully explained and introduced as possible. I mean the scenes like "the suicide attempt" and the angry and almost comical face expression Chow gives to "Scarface" at one point; they show that these men really can act (and they can) but these kind of actions should be little more restrained and explained, but still Chow's character is here much better than in "City on Fire" which suffers a lot from the weak character of Chow's.

The ending in "Prison" is near the rage and mayhem of "School" and I felt really bad during the finale, so once again Ringo has shown his unique talent and power of his cinema. Chow turns into the kind of wild animal that is hiding inside every one of us, and that just should be kept there forever no matter what the situation is. That kind of finale is very powerful and leaves the audience pretty stunned and often in pure disgust, as in the case of "School". Overall the violence in "Prison" is very strong and hurts almost as much the viewer as it does the characters and that is the only way to depict this horrible thing honestly and in a way that something important can be achieved and told by the film. I'm afraid the present day Hollywood wouldn't dare to do films like this, but fortunately there are alternatives and people who want to make films not just because of money.

"Prison" is composed by Lowell Lo, who has also made the soundtrack for films like "Naked Killer" (Clarence Fok, 1992), "The Killer" (John Woo, 1989) and Ringo's "School on Fire" but the usage of music is never as near as strong in "Prison" as it is in "School" and that is also among the elements that make "School" such a strong experience. "Prison" has also some very atmospheric photography inside the prison and there are some nice neon lights and almost mysterious lights coming through the windows at some points. There's also some very bright photography in the interiors and that creates almost a dream like feel to the film, and also depicts the state of mind of the inmates and how things vary from pure danger and alarm to peace and quiet inside the prison.

"Prison" is among the reasons why Hong Kong cinema is so powerful and unique and it is also among the reasons that make Ringo among the most talented directors in the field. His real masterpiece was still to come (Full Contact) but still "Prison" is among the most noteworthy achievements of his. 8/10

Tony Leung stars as Yiu, who has been jailed for manslaughter. Chow Yun Fat stars as Ching, another prisoner also jailed for manslaughter. Ching is a good-natured prisoner who tries to make the best of his situation, and helps naive Yiu out.

It's a familiar story of the savagery of prison life, as Yiu & Ching must deal with intra-prison triads and a sadistic warden.

The pressure of these elements pushes them to the edge, and by the end of the movie, Ching & Yiu completely lose it. This is a very violent and uncomfortable movie to watch. The storyline doesn't make any profound social observations. But Chow Yun Fat's acting is very intense: he really turns into a bug-eyed wild animal. And Tony Leung is good as a man who would easily fall apart in such an environment if not for Ching's support.

The movie also has other Ringo Lam regulars like Tommy Wong & Roy Cheung (playing Billy & Officer Hung, respectively.)

Gaam Yuk Fung Wan/Prison on Fire(1987) is the second film in the On Fire Trilogy(excluding Prison on Fire 2). The first film, City on Fire(1987) dealt with a man who's trapped between duty with the police and loyality with the triad gang he's working undercover with. Prison on Fire(1987) is about a man sent to prison for manslaughter who slowly learns how to survive in prison with the help of a fellow inmate. A harrowing look into the prison system of Hong Kong. Makes Midnight Express(1977) look like a pleasent experience. Like City on Fire, this film shows a world of brutality where only the strongest and toughest survive. Chow Yun Fat is brilliant as the prisoner, Ching who takes the new guy under his wing.

The role of the new guy was originally offered to Danny Lee who turned the role down. Tony Leung Ka Fai was given the role of Lo Ka Yiu and did a wonderful job. The actor gives a sense of naive honesty in his performance. Lo Ka Yiu gets in trouble when he accuses one of the prisoners of stealing sissors. This put him under the wrath of the prisoner in glasses who sets him up as a rat. Roy Cheung is sadistic and dislikable as Officer "Scarface" Hung. His best roles are when he plays dislikable and dispictable characters like the arrogant Police officer in City on Fire(1987) or the Triad punk in School on Fire(1988).

Ringo Lam deals with many issues involving the prison system in Hong Kong. excellently scripted from the writer of Xia Dao Gao Fei/Full Contact(1987). Emotional involving film with an realistic fight scene during the climax. One thing I would like to know is the name of the song that's playing on the radio during the New Year Celebration. Officer "Scarface" Hung gets what was coming to him when Ching becomes deranged. One of the best acting by Chow Yun Fat comes in the climax when he goes insane. He plays this scene with an emotional wildness that hasn't been seen from him since.

Director Ringo Lam would follow up the crime drama 'City on Fire' with this heated prison drama; 'Prison on Fire'. Then the excellent 'School on Fire' would round off his (unrelated) back to back fire trilogy. A couple years later Lam would return to this well with a less effective 'Prison on Fire 2'. 'City of Fire' might be the most iconic of the three, but I think it's the weakest of them, but that doesn't mean it's still not a great film.

'Prison of Fire' was rather systematic when it came to its story beats, however the pacing never lingers and it's Chow Yun-Fat who steals every scene whenever on screen. The affable chemistry with co-star Tony Ka Fai Leung grows, and shapes the plot holding everything together. Ka-Kui Ho (prisoner) And Roy Cheung (prison warden) made great antagonists. Which leads to a few unfortunate events and violent encounters, never making prison life all that easy.