Crime fiction is one of the most popular and important genres in Hong Kong. Crime films attract an audience that is still as loyal as ever. The genre has also seen the emergence of many talented directors such as John Woo, Johnnie To or Tsui Hark. Many actors such as Chow Yun Fat and to a lesser extent Jackie Chan have also gained international recognition thanks to these films. The style of these productions has also influenced feature films around the world. And ultimate consecration, Hollywood has produced many remakes of these Hong Kong crime films like Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs inspired in part by City of Fire. We therefore offer you a top 10 of these thrillers classified by release date.
1. Police Story 1985 by Jackie Chan
The most successful example of a thriller mixed with the spirit of kung fu comedy. An intense, dark scenario, shootings and Dantesque chases embellished with a twirling staging. The cult scenes are legion: the crossing of the slum, the climax in a large area. A film that confirmed the full panoply of actor Jackie Chan.
2. The Killer, 1989, John Woo
A reference film that is constantly cited by Quentin Tarantino or Johnnie To. It was the work that revealed filmmaker John Woo to the rest of the world. Behind the confrontation between a policeman and a murderer, the story redefines the canons of the crime film. The whole is magnified by the staging of John Woo, poetic and bloody ballet based on creative gunfights.
3. A toute épreuve (1992), John Woo
Before leaving for Hollywood, John Woo delivers a film testament to his cinema of the 1990s. An action opera, an of action, a Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung at the top of their game. A staging that pushes the limits and culminates in a gigantic shooting in a hospital filmed in sequence. A baroque work whose influence can still be found in the John Wick saga.
4. The Mission, 1999, Johnnie To
Tsui Hark and John Woo left for Hollywood, a new generation of directors takes over the reins of the thriller. Johnnie To is one of the figureheads of this new generation that will impose a new style. No more baroque operas, place for more realistic thrillers, more raw scenes and scenarios that reinvent the mythology of the world of crime.
5. Time and Tide, 2000, Tsui Hark
After a mixed passage by Hollywood, the brilliant Tsui Hark returns to Hong Kong and finds all freedom. He delivers a real slap. Time and Tide , a scenario with drawers where protection society, mercenaries, robbery between Brazil and Hong Kong and love story intersect, all punctuated by dialogues worthy of Tarantino. The whole is also carried by a camera that dares everything, offers shots never seen in a thriller and in particular a gunfight sequence shot in real scenery with the own inhabitants of the neighborhood.
6. Infernal Affairs, 2002, Andrew Lau
This film was a huge success in Hong Kong and around the world. The reason: a grandiose scenario, an oppressive atmosphere and a terrible confrontation between a police officer infiltrated into the environment and a criminal posing as a policeman. The production is clinical and the 5-star cast immediately wins the adhesion. This feature film was such a shock that Martin Scorsese directed a remake, The Departed, awarded at the Oscars 2007.
7. Breaking News, 2004, Johnnie To
From the introductory sequence shot, the atmosphere is set. A gang of robbers is surrounded by the policeman and takes refuge in an apartment. Between the two groups a war of image and communication begins. Johnnie To expresses all his mastery to deliver a brilliant thriller.
8. S.P.L, 2005, Wilson Yip
The release in 2003 of the Thai film Onk Bak reshuffled the cards of the Asian action film. No more aerial choreographies, place to more realistic, violent scenes. S.P. L illustrates this adaptation of the Hong Kong thriller. The scenario once again striking and effective is based on Homeric confrontations between three outstanding fighters: Sammo Hung, Jing wu and Donnie Yen who begins with this film his meteoric rise.
9. Cold War, 2012, Sunny Luk and Lok Man
When two young directors, admirers of the filmmakers mentioned above, take off, it gives a nugget. Their film is based on an intelligent, mysterious script. The irruption of cliffhangers from television series reinforces the modernity of their work. The realization is also sumptuous served by a magnificent photography whether for the day scenes or those of night. A little gem of a thriller that will be entitled to two suites.
10. Helios, 2015, Sunny Luk and Lok Man
After their success with Cold War, the two young directors Sunny Luk and Lok Man embarked on an even more ambitious project. Their writing is always precise, their staging talented. The strongest is the risk represented by this thriller. Indeed, behind a seemingly classic plot around arms trafficking, they develop a complex story of which they will not reveal all the mysteries. And for good reason, this film is actually the first part of a future saga that nothing announced. We wish you a very good viewing and if you want to continue our exploration of cinema, we invite you to discover our Top 5 of Studio Ghibli films.
