Prison on Fire

Oddly enough I haven't seen "Prison On Fire" (aka "Gam yuk fung wan") from 1987 before now in 2020. I happened to get the chance to sit down and watch parts I and II, and being a big fan of the Hong Kong cinema, of course I did so.

And the fact that it had Chow Yun Fat and Tony Ka Fai Leung on the cast list, of course helped sweeten the deal.

While writer Yin Nam and director Ringo Lam definitely were on to something unique with "Prison On Fire", it just felt that the movie was lacking that particular something to make it truly outstanding. Perhaps it was the fact that the storyline felt a bit too scripted and predictable, or because oddly enough not a single police officer in the prison facility had a firearm.

"Prison On Fire" is a good prison movie, but it just feels like director Ringo Lam was cushioning the movie a bit, not making it fully as rough and gritty as it deserved to be.

Aside from Chow Yun Fat and Tony Ka Fai Leung, the movie does have a good cast ensemble of actors to help bring the movie to life on the screen.

This is definitely an enjoyable movie and one that is well-worth the time to sit down and watch. My rating of "Prison On Fire" is a six out of ten stars. I was genuinely entertained by what transpired on the screen.

The plot is concise, the rhythm is clear, tell the story well. It's much better than many movies nowadays.

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

This is a brutal portrayal of Hong Kong big-house life in Cantonese language. It concerns about a naive innocent(Tony Leung Ka Fair,The lover) who has been framed by accidental homicide and unjustly imprisoned behind bars. A mobster sets him up against other inmates and he's accused as informer. He becomes friend with a tough but sympathetic inmate(Chow Yun Fat,Better tomorrow) fighting Chinenes triads and against a cruel warden nicknamed scarface(Roy Cheung). The protagonists, each other, developing a fraternal friendship against their enemies and get involved with the unjust prison system commanded by nasties wardens.

The picture packs thriller, bloodshed, drama and lots of violence. Every prison clichés are exposed, including riots, fighting, abuse, evil security wardens, among others. The film contains a strong prison-drama in the wake of ¨Midnight express¨ with essentially the same argument but also displays touching images, such as the lyrical Christmas dance sequence and the emotive relationship between the two leading characters. This is the second and the best installment into ¨On fire ¨ trilogy , the first is titled ¨City on fire¨ and the third titled ¨ Prison on fire 2¨ where Ching again in prison troubled by an ongoing battle between local inmates and those from Mainland China. The trilogy is well directed by Ringo Lam. He's a nice Chinese director, filmmaker for Jackie Chan(Double dragon)and was hired in US for Jean Claude Van Damme vehicles(In hell, Replicant, Maximum risk), but nowadays he has returned Hong Kong for directing his usual Chop-Socky movies. Rating : Good and entertaining, the motion picture will like to Hong Kong movies enthusiastic and Chow Yun Fat fans.