News

The New York Asian Film Foundation and Film at Lincoln Center have announced two final titles, completing the lineup for the upcoming 20th edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff). The festival will be screening over 70 films, both virtually and in person, to audiences in New York and across the country from August 6 – 22, 2021. Tickets are already on sale.

Nyaff is thrilled to present as its festival Centerpiece the international premiere of Nyaff favorite director Benny Chan’s final work, Raging Fire. Completed shortly before his untimely death in August 2020, the Hong Kong-Chinese action film stars the inimitable Donnie Yen as Shan, a by-the-book cop whose past returns to haunt him. After a sting operation goes disastrously awry, Shan finds himself pitted against Ngo (Nicholas Tse), a former protégé who has turned criminal mastermind and is out for revenge. Nothing, it seems, can stop him, including his former mentor.

The 10th Chinese Visual Festival (Cvf) will be held in London 15 – 25 July at BFI Southbank and Genesis Cinema. The UK’s only festival dedicated to the cinema of the Chinese language speaking world, this year’s event sees a highly anticipated return to in-person screenings for Cvf, giving audiences the chance to catch a carefully curated selection of fantastic films on the big screen where they belong. This year’s line-up features a programme of unprecedented variety, covering a wide range of genres, forms and subjects, welcoming film lovers back to cinemas with ten days of unmissable films. Cvf 2021 is supported by the Department of Film Studies, King’s College London and the Taipei Representative Office in the U.K. and the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan (R.O.C.).

This year’s festival opens with the UK Premiere of Drifting, from Hong Kong writer director Jun Li, whose ground-breaking trans drama Tracey screened...

Trivisa was a big winner at this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards but judging by the number of new talents whose films were nominated and awarded, the Hong Kong film industry was perhaps the biggest winner of all, as a fresh new wave that could revitalize Hong Kong cinema has finally arrived. Trivisa won a total of five awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Editing. The film was made with the support of Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To, who co-produced with Yau Nai Hoi (screenwriter of The Mission, Ptu and Election, and future successor of To’s production company Milkyway Image) and gave three new directors (Frank Hui, Jevons Au and Vicky Wong) the opportunity to make this crime...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

My soft spot for Johnnie To’s crime thriller Ptu partly comes from having wandered onto one of Ptu’s sets during the film’s shoot and nearly shutting a door on star Simon Yam’s hand. It’s not that I’m thrilled to have almost caused Yam to lose his fingers (he was a real mensch about the whole thing, by the way). It’s just that stumbling into a movie production at 3 a.m. while looking for the 24-hour McDonald’s is a validation of just how authentically To portrays Hong Kong in his films. Sure, as with many Hong Kong action films, it’s usually another bunch of gangsters (and cops) doing a bunch of gangster shit. But they’re doing it within an authentic, everyday cultural context.

Take, for example, Ptu’s opening scene, filmed at the Fong Wing Kee hot pot restaurant in ...

The latest Chinese film to sneak into North American theatres with little fanfare, targeting immigrant communities with single multiplex screens in a handful of major metropolitan markets, is the new film from prolific Hong Kong director Johnnie To. His first crime film since 2013’s Blind Detective (yet to see a Us release) and his first film set in a hospital since his 2000 farce Help!!!, To’s latest is a bottle episode, a side-swipe at a psychological thriller about a cop, a crook and a doctor battling to see who can best exemplify humanity’s hubris in the face of chance and fate. This conflict between free will and universal randomness lies at the heart of most of the films To has made in the twenty years since he established the Milkyway Image studio, uniting both his crime thrillers and his romances, though rarely has it been stated so explicitly.Taking...

It’s worth noting that there’s probably a certain expectation when hearing the following words “a Johnnie To musical.” One thinking his classical formal talents would lean towards something that could resemble one of Vincente Minnelli’s MGM masterpieces, yet it’s probably closer to one of Fritz Lang’s nightmares; an architectural hell, the artificiality of the sets; lines and bars only enforcing the idea of a prison, and the giant clock in the center of the office, on a constant countdown to doomsday.

Set in 2008 at the point of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy (though one doesn’t remember the financial crisis seven years ago looking this cool), Office‘s tale of “corporate intrigue” sees young and old juxtaposed as two new employees attempt to work their way up through the company Jones & Sunn, all while two old guards at the very top engaging in greed and trickery behind the scenes.

Hong Kong director to speak on stage in London as part of BAFTA’s A Life In Pictures series.

BAFTA is to look back at the career of top Hong Kong director Johnnie To as part of its A Life In Pictures series.

The event, held with the Asian Film Awards Academy, will see the filmmaker discuss his craft and career at BAFTA’s headquarters in London on June 22.

Born in Hong Kong in 1955, To began his career in television, and in 1980 co-directed his first theatrical feature The Enigmatic Case. He came to wider attention in 1989 with All About Ah-Long starring Chow Yun-Fat.

In 1996, To founded, along with Wai Ka-Fai, Milkyway Image, an independent production company that became a flagship for Hong Kong cinema.

From 2000 onwards, To found international acclaim as a director and producer on the festival circuit, with films including The Mission, Ptu, Breaking News and Election. His most recent titles include Drug War and...

Johnnie To

The 65th Locarno Film Festival will honour Hong Kong director-producer Johnnie To with Lifetime Achievement Award for his exceptional contribution to cinema as a director and producer.

The presentation will be accompanied by the European Premiere of Motorway (Che sau), To’s latest production, directed by Soi Cheang.

Johnnie To, key figure in Asian cinema, has directed over fifty films and has as many to his credit as a producer. In 1980, To co-directed his first theatrical feature The Enigmatic Case. He came to wider attention in 1989 with All About Ah-Long. In 1996, To founded, along with Wai Ka-Fai, Milkyway Image, an independent production company that became a flagship for Hong Kong cinema, especially its noir side.

From 2000 onwards, Johnnie To has found international acclaim on the festival circuit, with films he directed and produced such as The Mission (1999), Ptu (2003), screened at Berlin; Breaking News (2004) and Election (2005), shown at Cannes.

Produced by Hong Kong favourite Johnnie To, tough revenge drama “Punished” is the latest from the popular Milkyway Image studio, which as usual means an emphasis on character and writing along with action and thrills. The film was directed by To regular Law Wing Cheong, who recently helmed “Ptu” spinoff “Tactical Unit: Comrades in Arms” and Miriam Yeung breast cancer comedy “2 Become 1”, and who also appeared in the likes of “Vengeance” and “Sparrow”. Headlining the film are another of his usual collaborators in Anthony Wong and Richie Jen, with support from Janice Man (“Frozen”), Maggie Cheung Ho Yee (“Men Suddenly in Love”), singer Candy Lo (“Split Second Murders”), Jun Kung (“Rebellion”), Charlie Cho (“Bet to Basic”), and Wong’s own real life teenage son Wong Yat Yat. The film follows Anthony Wong as property developer tycoon Wong Ho Chiu, whose daughter Daisy (Janice Man) causes him no end of trouble with her drug taking,...

I'm slowly running out of Johnnie To (Vengeance, Ptu, Mad Detective, Sparrow) films to watch, luckily there are still some hidden gems in his back catalogue that are waiting to be discovered. Throw Down was such a film, and even though it might be quite a challenge to find, it's worth the trouble as it's an essential link in understanding To's current trademark style. I went in with modest expectations, but was happily surprised by the level of wit and rhythm on display. When I first watched To's Sparrow I was completely baffled by the film's style and rhythm. Sure I had watched To films prior to that, but it was the first time I'd seen him so carefree and at ease, allowing a film...

One of the the most prolific directors in Hong Kong, let alone the world, Johnnie To is a filmmaker who I’m surprised has never been asked to join the Criterion Collection with any number of his films. Until now, perhaps. Not only did IFC Films pick up his critically acclaimed film Vengeance (which was put out by Mpi Home Video) but they also recently asked him what his 10 favorite Criterion films were, which you can see right here. He’s very short and sweet as to why he loves these films, but while perusing the list, one can see his influence and how he crafts his films.

So we here at the Criterion Cast like to play guessing games and are wishful thinkers, so here’s a top 10 Johnnie To films that we wish could enter the Criterion Collection. Remember, a lot of hands are on these films, in...

By Christopher Stipp

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Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp

Little Fockers - Screening

Live in Phoenix or the nearby environs? Interested in seeing Little Fockers on December 16? Then, pal, I have just the ticket for you. In fact, I have a lot of tickets so by all means shoot me a line at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com and I’ll see about hooking you up with passes to see it.

Need to know more? Here’s some information:

This holiday season come Little Fockers the third installment in this blockbuster series (Meet The Parents and Meet the Fockers.) The test of wills between Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) and Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) escalates to new heights as Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) and Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) and the family...

The first two labels I have profiled for Twitch have been mainly focused on bringing older or forgotten films to home video, so I thought it was time to check up on a label whose focus is on contemporary cinema, and I can hardly think of a better example than Third Window Films.  With our exclusive first look at Third Window's acquisition of Sion Sono's Cold Fish, a film that has just started making the festival rounds a couple of months ago, you can tell that they have their finger on the pulse of Asian cinema and they strive to stay ahead of the curve and we get the benefit of that foresight.

Third Window Films focuses on contemporary films from the Far East, so far that means Hong Kong, Korea, and especially Japan.  They began with several Korean box office and art-house favorites like Kick The Moon, Friend, Peppermint Candy,...

Fans of Battle Royale will surely be diggin' on the new flick from director Chao Feng, The Island, when it opens in China this October. We've got a one-sheet, an international trailer, and some stills for you to start cutting your horror-loving teeth on!

Details are sparse at the moment, but we can tell you that The Island follows a group of contestants who all must survive some horribly violent games. Someone should send them Russell from "Survivor".

The film stars Sek Tian-Lung, Yung Cheung and Lam Suet, who has starred in Fulltime Killer, Tsui Hark’s Vampire Hunter, Ptu, One Nite in Mongkok, Kung Fu Hustle, Election 2, Dog Bite Dog, Exiled, The Storm Warriors, The Legend is Born: Ip Man, and Triple Tap.

Click here to check out around thirty stills that include other posters and members of the cast and crew.

Dig on the goods below, and...

We love a good, nasty revenge tale, especially when they come from Asia like Chan-wook Park’s notorious Vengeance trilogy. We also love the work of cerebral Hong Kong action auteur Johnnie To, whose Election 1 & 2, Exiled, Mad Detective, Ptu, Fulltime Killer and A Hero Never Dies garnered To a major international fan base. So Fangoria just had to share these exclusive pix (see below the jump) from To’s own Vengeance, a gripping new thriller that Roger Ebert called “an elegant genre exercise.” The film, which premiered to great acclaim in competition at Cannes in 2009, is currently available nationwide on demand via IFC Midnight.

Cheung played by Andy Lau (House of Flying Daggers, Infernal Affairs, Fulltime Killer), is a man whose cancer is in the advanced stages, with a maximum of 4 weeks to live. Cheung however has a few scores left to settle and does not intend to sit around and pass into death quietly. He sets about executing an elaborate plan to see his scores settled. This starts a 78 hour game of cat and mouse between him and hard boiled cop Inspector Ho played by Ching Wan Lau (Colour of the Truth, Full Alert, Return to a Better Tomorrow).

Running Out Of Time was written by French writing team Julien Carbon and Lauraunt Courtiaud and then further adapted into the Chinese screenplay by Nai-Hoi Yau whose writing credits include Ptu and The Bare-Footed Kid. Although French the writers are long time fans of Hong Kong cinema and have created a great plot with...

Accident is the latest film from director Pou-Soi Cheang (Shamo, Dog Bit Dog, and Love Battlefield) and producer Johnnie To (Mad Detective, Election, Ptu) via To’s Milkyway Images production. It tells the story of a crack team of assassins led by Brains (Louis Koo) who instead of forcefully killing their foe, instead come up with elaborate plans to make the murders look like every day accidents. Each ‘accident’ is painstakingly put together with every minor detail taking care of. It’s this attention to detail which quickly grabs the viewers’ attention from the very opening scene.

The DVD cover for Triangle says “Three Masters. One Masterpiece.” Triangle does not in fact live up to the hype its cover hopes to generate, but I understand the desire to make a little-known (to Americans anyway) film’s cover eye-catching. This Hong Kong import did pique my interest with its distinction of bringing together three innovative and influential Hk directors: Tsui Hark (Zu Warriors, Once Upon a Time in China), Ringo Lam (City on Fire, which inspired Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, the underrated twin Jackie Chan comedy Twin Dragons, and Chow Yun Fat vehicle Full Contact), Johnnie To (Ptu, Election, and Breaking News).

The primary cinematic appeal of Triangle is invested in the collaboration between these three “masters.” Each director takes the reins on one 30-minute section of this 90-minute film. The trio maintains the same editor and cinematography to ensure continuity but bring their own stylistic choices and cinematic flair to their third.

[Our thanks to Christopher Bourne for the following review.]

From Johnnie To’s mighty Milkyway Image film factory comes Eye in the Sky, Yau Nai Hoi’s tense and visually dynamic cat-and-mouse thriller which often gives the viewer a Big Brother view of the characters. Yau, a screenwriter of many of Johnnie To’s best films (Running Out of Time, The Mission, Ptu, Running On Karma, Throw Down, the Election films), makes his debut as a director with this film. While Yau’s set pieces lack the visual flair of To’s films, as a whole Eye in the Sky is a lean, limber piece of entertainment that is a worthy addition to the impressive films emerging from this great production house.

The government of Thailand hires a squad of immigrant Chinese mercenaries to infiltrate the notorious golden triangle and capture a drug baron. If they can achieve this mission the squad will receive a nice fat pay check and green cards to emigrate to the Us. How ever the Drug lord in question General Samton has a tight grip on the area and a large force of armed troops to back him up. Can a five man team really get in, capture the general and make it back alive to claim the reward?

After trying his hand at several genres’ including comedy, drama and classic Martial arts director John Woo hit open the sub-genre that would make him famous in 1986. The year would see the release of Heroes Shed no tears (maybe a reissue from '83 I'm not sure) and A better tomorrow. It was these two films that would set...

The new “Tactical Unit” series inspired by Johnnie To’s classic “Ptu” continues with the latest instalment “Human Nature”, which offers up another tale of morally ambiguous cops and their struggle to uphold the law while battling their own personal demons. With To again serving as producer, the directorial reigns this time were handed to Andy Ng Yiu Kuen, best known to exploitation film fans for “The Untold Story 2” back in 1998. Ensuring a welcome sense of continuity are returning series regulars and Milkyway veterans Simon Yam, Maggie Shiu, and Lam Suet, with Gordon Lam jumping onboard in a villainous role. After beginning with a shootout in which robbers from Mainland China manage to evade squad leaders Sam (Simon Yam) and May (Maggie Shiu), the plot focuses mainly on officer Tong (Lam Suet), an unfortunate man who has run up an insurmountable debt with an unpleasant loan shark (Gordon Lam). With...

“Tactical Unit - No Way Out” is the second in the series of new films following on from Johnnie To’s acclaimed 2003 police thriller “Ptu”. This time around Lawrence Lau, previously responsible for the excellent “My Name is Fame”, steps up to direct, with To acting as producer. Giving a nice sense of continuity, the cast from the original and first sequel “Tactical Unit – The Code” all return, including stars Simon Yam and Maggie Siu, along with familiar faces Lam Suet, Derek Tsang and Samuel Pang. Although the series is known for its gritty plotlines and non-judgemental approach, the film is even more downbeat than its predecessors, though no less gripping. The film takes place largely in the Temple Street district, where the gangs and police co-exist in an uneasy balance. Trouble arises one night when a man is killed and the police decide to step up their efforts and crackdown on the gangs,...

A twisty tale of truth, honor and justice in which legendary Hong Kong actor, Anthony Wong (Infernal Affairs, Beast Cops, The Untold Story, Hard-Boiled) plays a cop who was forced to make a decision that will haunt him forever. In a bust gone bad he was forced to shoot not only the intended Triad boss target, but also a close friend and fellow cop. Ten years later his career is going well, but now the son of his dead friend is on his team and he wants the truth about his father’s death and maybe even revenge.

Twisty tales of Hk police infiltrating and taking on the Triad organizations are enjoying a popular time at the moment with films such as Cop on a Mission and the very successful Infernal Affairs series proving hits at home and with genre fans around the world. Colour of the Truth ,directed by...

“Tactical Unit – the Code” is likely to be an enticing prospect for fans of Hong Kong action cinema, being the first in a series of follow ups to Johnnie To’s seminal 2003 police thriller “Ptu”, a film which still stands as one of the best of the genre. Here, To serves as producer, passing the directorial reins to Law Wing Cheong, a member of the Milkyway stable previously responsible for “Hooked on You” and the comedy “2 Become 1”, and who recently starred in “Sparrow”. The film was written by Yip Tin Shing, another frequent To collaborator, who scripted “Election”, “Exiled”, “Throw Down” and others, and boasts a great cast of familiar faces including Simon Yam, Maggie Siu and Lam Suet. Thankfully, the film lives up to its impressive pedigree, proving itself worthy of the Milkyway brand, and manages to transcend its low-budget roots. The film revolves around an incident in which...

By R. Emmet Sweeney

Since the formation of his Milkyway Image production company in 1996 in Hong Kong, Johnnie To has been the most imaginative (and prolific) director of genre films in the world. Mainly known stateside for self-reflexively stylish gangster flicks like "The Mission" (1999) and "Exiled" (2006), he's also produced a slew of hit romantic comedies (including the delirious 2002 supernatural love story "My Left Eye Sees Ghosts"). Whatever the subject, his films hum with the skill of a committed craftsman, every shot jiggered for maximum lucidity and intensity. There's no wasted motion in a To film -- every gun crack or eye-poke carries the weight of the character behind it.

To's collaborated with screenwriter and Milkyway co-founder Wai Ka-Fai on his most daring projects, including the bodybuilding Buddhist thriller "Running on Karma" (2003), and they reteam again for "Mad Detective," which recently screened at the New York Asian Film Festival and which...

• Today's nine title announcement for the Berlin Festival’s main competition section (the 58th edition runs between Feb. 7-17.) is an early sign that the 2008 year in film is rich in international film from all corners of the globe and that the upcoming Cannes film festival is going to be loaded once again with heavyweight titles. Out of the titles I'm most looking forward to seeing are the little known Mike Leigh project called Happy-Go-Lucky and Erick Zonca’s French thriller Julia starring Tilda Swinton, and the postponed domestic release of Isabel Coixet’s Elegy. Here is the 9-list:Feuerherz (Heart of Fire) Germany/Austria (adapted from the bestseller by Senait Mehari) by Luigi Falorni (The Story of the Weeping Camel) with Letekidan Micael Julia France by Erick Zonca (The Dreamlife of Angels) with Tilda Swinton, Aidan Gould, Saúl Rubinek Lady Jane France By Robert Guédiguian (Le Promeneur du champ de Mars,

...

• Revenge is a dish best served raw in Triad Election, director Johnny To’s (Breaking News, Ptu) latest film and the second installment in his Wo Sing trilogy. Against the backdrop of a Hong Kong newly returned to mainland China, Mr. To has fashioned a political commentary disguised in gangster’s finery. His protagonist, Triad underlord Jimmy Lee (Louis Koo), yearns to assume a place in the legitimate business world but his talent for generating cash makes him invaluable to Hong Kong’s leading crime syndicate. Lee initially demurs when various forces within the Wo Sing encourage him to seek the top spot in their organization. Finally, a Hong Kong police chief forces Lee’s candidacy through an artful blackmail: the young mobster can free himself from his criminal past and attain his ambitions only by agreeing to lead the triad as a political puppet for a five-year term.

...

HONG KONG -- Breaking News director Johnnie To is set to produce the first film to roll from cable operator i-Cable Communications' new movie production subsidiary. The $2 million police thriller will be helmed by new director Yau Nai-hoi, who has previously scripted many of To's award-winning movies such as Running Out of Time and PTU. I-Cable Communications, a subsidiary of leading pay TV operator Cable Television, is set to invest $38.5 million in a two-year plan to produce between 10 and 15 movies through the yet-to-be-named production banner. I-Cable, which owns three movie channels, has previously invested in films produced by other production companies such as Universe Films and China Star. This marks the first time that the company will venture into movie production. Edko Films -- owned by House of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon producer Bill Kong -- will handle local theatrical distribution as well as overseas sales for the productions.

HONG KONG -- It was almost a clean sweep for director Johnnie To's dark and brooding police drama PTU at the 8th annual Golden Bauhinia Awards on Sunday. The film, about a police team's quest to find a colleague's missing gun over the course of one night, brushed aside stiff competition from Infernal Affairs II and Infernal Affairs III to win six out of eight awards up for grabs. PTU was named best film, To picked up the honors for best director, and the film's star, Simon Yam, recently seen as the villain in Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life, beat frontrunner Andy Lau for the best actor award. Yam and Lau will also be battling it out Sunday at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Meanwhile PTU's Lam Suet and Maggie Siu were named best supporting actor and supporting actress, respectively. Writers Yau Nai-hoi and Au Kin-yi took home the trophy for best screenplay.

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Hong Kong action movies dominated the nominations for the 40th Golden Horse Awards, Taiwan's top film honors for Chinese-language films. Infernal Affairs was nominated in 12 categories, while another Hong Kong police-crime movie, PTU, received 11 nominations, the Golden Horse executive committee said Thursday. Directors Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak for Infernal Affairs and Johnnie To and Ka-fai Wai for PTU are expected to have a close battle for the awards, which are scheduled to take place Dec. 13. The four have been nominated in the best director category, and both films are in the running for best picture nods. Goodbye, Dragon Inn by Ming-liang Tsai, Taiwan's entry for a foreign-language film Oscar nomination, was chosen in five categories, while The Missing, a film by Tsai's disciple Kang-sheng Lee, took four.

HONG KONG -- Far From Heaven and Adaptation have slots on the lineup for the 27th Hong Kong International Film Festival, which opens April 8 with PTU, Johnnie To's awaited return to crime drama, and the Japanese hit Twilight Samurai. PTU -- which stands for Police Tactical Unit, the equivalent of a SWAT team -- is To's follow-up to his highly stylized 1999 crime feature The Mission, which has been acquired for a remake by Intermedia in the United States. The film premiered last month in the Berlin International Film Festival's Forum section.