News

Acclaimed director Johnnie To has weighed in on the censorship and funding challenges facing the Hong Kong film industry during an in-conversation event with Japanese filmmaker Yu Irie at Tokyo International Film Festival today (October 31).

The Hong Kong filmmaker, known for crime features such as Election, Exiled and Drug War, told the assembled audience that his once booming local industry is becoming “smaller and smaller in scale”.

Highlighting a lack of financial support, To pointed to the cutting of government funding for the Fresh Wave International Short Film Festival, which he founded in 2005 to nurture young talent. But he also...

Hong Kong film critic turned director Philip Yung’s latest feature begins with a harrowing crime committed by an unlikely culprit: One night, without any prior warning or explanation, a troubled 15-year-old boy named Ming (Dylan So) picks up a meat cleaver in the kitchen and then proceeds to murder his mother and sister in cold blood.

Yung explores the before and after of that shocking event through the eyes of Ming’s father, Yuen (Sean Lau), who tries to piece his life back together while also trying to figure out what may have caused his son to carry out such a horrendous act. In that sense, Papa is reminiscent of the director’s 2015 murder mystery, Port of Call, except this time the plot is not about who did it, but why. And even more so, it’s about how to go on living after facing such utter tragedy.

Shifting...

Hong Kong movie icon Tony Leung, now in the fourth decade of his celebrated career, still hasn’t lost the habit of getting out to the movie theater.

“Even to this day, I go and watch movies at the cinema four or five times a week,” the actor said Tuesday at the Tokyo International Film Festival, where he is serving as the president of the event’s competition jury. “I’ve been doing this since I was small.”

But the actor — beloved by cineastes for his work in Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love, Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution, and Zhang Yimou’s Hero, among so many others — said judging movies during a film festival makes for a “totally different” viewing experience and that tends to leave him anxious.

Leung is joined on the Tokyo jury this year by fellow Hong Kong film titan Johnnie To, Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi,...

Tokyo International Film Festival has unveiled the international competition jury for its 37th edition.

Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To, French actress Chiara Mastroianni, Hungarian writer/director Ildiko Enyedi and Japanese actress Ai Hashimoto will join Hong Kong star Tony Leung, who was previously named this year’s jury president.

The full line-up of this year’s programme will be announced in late September ahead of the festival, which is set to run October 28 to November 6.

To is the acclaimed director of films such as Breaking News and Drug War and sat on the Berlinale international competition jury in 2023. He is also a regular at Cannes,...

The full competition jury for the 37th Tokyo International Film Festival has been revealed.

On Friday, festival organizers announced that Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To, Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi, Japanese actress Ai Hashimoto and French actress Chiara Mastroianni will be members of the 2024 main competition jury alongside previously announced jury president Tony Leung.

To, like Leung a legend of Hong Kong cinema, is famed the world over for his action and crime films. The veteran and prolific filmmaker’s credits include Breaking News, Exiled, Mad Detective, Drug War and the Election films (Election, Election 2 (a.k.a. Triad Election). To, a regular feature of the international film festival circuit, has had six films screen at the Cannes Film Festival, two in competition, as well as had four films selected to compete at the Venice Film Festival.

Enyedi is best known for writing and directing the Hungarian drama On Body and Soul,...

Following the masterful “Limbo”, all fans of (classic) Hong Kong cinema were eagerly awaiting Soi Cheang's next step, with the director opting for an even more classic Hk approach, that will remind many of the Wa Ka-fai, Johnnie To classic, “Mad Detective” with the latter actually being the producer of “Mad Fate”.

Mad Fate is screening at San Diego Asian Film Festival

Although the movie begins in a supernatural, but also slightly comical fashion, having occultist Feng Shui Master temporarily bury a woman underground in a cemetery in order to change her fate, it soon turns into crime thriller territory. During the same night, the Master ends up by chance in an apartment that functions as a brothel, where eventually a heinous crime is committed by The Murderer, a serial killer who has a tendency to be triggered by rain storms into killing sex workers. On the scene, there are also present Siu-tung,...

Following the masterful “Limbo”, all fans of (classic) Hong Kong cinema were eagerly awaiting Soi Cheang's next step, with the director opting for an even more classic Hk approach, that will remind many of the Wa Ka-fai, Johnnie To classic, “Mad Detective” with the latter actually being the producer of “Mad Fate”.

“Mad Fate” is screening at Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival

Although the movie begins in a supernatural, but also slightly comical fashion, having occultist Feng Shui Master temporarily bury a woman underground in a cemetery in order to change her fate, it soon turns into crime thriller territory. During the same night, the Master ends up by chance in an apartment that functions as a brothel, where eventually a heinous crime is committed by The Murderer, a serial killer who has a tendency to be triggered by rain storms into killing sex workers. On the scene, there are also present Siu-tung,...

The Berlin International Film Festival’s jury press conference, headed by Hollywood star Kristen Stewart, concluded on Thursday, but remarks made by legendary Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To at the event are still reverberating a world away.

When the festival juror were asked by a journalist in the crowd to share their views on why cinema remains important in today’s world, To, considered on the greatest filmmakers Hong Kong has produced, responded: “For me, cinema has always been in the vanguard. When totalitarian rule emerges, when people lose their freedoms, cinema is the first to take the hit. In most cases, cultural production will be forcefully suspended, since the cinema speaks directly to the audience. That’s why dictators always target the cinema. I think Hong Kong… No, sorry. I think all the countries and peoples fighting for freedom across the globe should support the cinema. Because the cinema...

Solidly-established Hong Kong film director Soi Cheang returns to action with the new crime thriller “Limbo.” He says his ambition is to revive the former glory of the city’s action cinema by targeting international audiences outside China.

Announced just ahead of the opening of Wednesday’s FilMart, which has been postponed from its usual March slot and changed to an online format due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, “Limbo” is financed and distributed Sun Entertainment Culture, Erdong Pictures Group and Bona Film Group. It is aiming for a theatrical release in Hong Kong, Europe and the U.S. in 2021. Shan Ding is consulting on the film’s international sales.

It is unclear whether a mainland China release is either possible, or envisaged. “Regardless of the progress and situation in Mainland China, our release plan remains unchanged and Limbo is slated for a 2021 worldwide release. Our international sales and release plan won’t be affected,...

Johnnie To has managed to carve an independent career out of the densely saturated Hong Kong film industry. Along with frequent collaborator Wai Ka-Fai, they have established one of the industries most successful studios, Milkyway Image, a production company that has sustained a sense of artistic freedom even against the backdrop of the highly commercialised cinema that dominates the same market. His brand of noir-inspired crime films has penetrated even the international circuits, no easy task in the highly (even still) Anglocentric industry. “Blind Detective” sees To once again operating within the genre confines of the crime film, yet this time he brings a splash of comedy and romance to the mix, to create a more mainstream endeavour.

The story follows Johnston, played by Andy Lau, a former police detective that has become blind. Now unable to work on the force, he solves cold cases for police rewards,...

Alan Mak is a Hong Kong helmer whose legacy exceeds the boundaries of national cinema. The reason is quite simple and part of common knowledge: “Infernal Affairs” trilogy that has spread the influence of the contemporary Hong Kong genre cinema to the whole world. Mak was not the only person responsible for it since he collaborated with Felix Chong, with whom he also did another trilogy, “Overheard”. On his own, Mak has envisioned yet another crime thriller trilogy named Integrity, which is tonally different from his previous work. After a smart and out of the box theatrical release last year for the Chinese New Year (the slot is usually reserved for featherweight comedies and dramas) that resulted in decent earnings on the box office, “Integrity” is now available on video.

The story revolves around the relationship between an Icac (Independent Commission Against Corruption) chief investigator named King...

Synopsis

In this visually arresting action drama from acclaimed director Johnnie To, legendary Judo fighter Szeto Bo unexpectedly gave up the sport and now lives the life of an alcoholic gambler who runs a pub. However, cocky Judo newcomer Tony (Aaron Kwok) wants to challenge him, while old foe Kong demands Szeto to finish the match that never took place, Soon Szeto’s pub becomes the ultimate arena where the greatest Judo fighters challenge one another.

Filled with brutal, no-holds-barred Judo fight scenes, “Throw Down“ is director To’s ultra-stylish homage to the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, and is an emotional tale of one man’s determination to rediscover himself and win at all costs. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present “Throw Down” in its UK debut from a 4K restoration.

Special Features

Limited Edition O-card Slipcase [2000 units]

1080p presentation on Blu-ray, from a...

Before founding his own production company Milkyway Image in 1996, Johnnie To directed a few movies for Shaw Brothers, among them a messy action comedy called “The Mad Monk” (1993). In 1997, To delivers “Lifeline”, a swansong to the Hong Kong studio system and a milestone for his independent career.

The fiery action adventure tells the story of a group of firemen in Hong Kong, their rescue missions and personal dilemmas. The fire station seems to be cursed because bad accidents occur on a daily basis. In the beginning, the new grimly chief Raymond Cheung (Alex Fong) gets in charge and gives everyone a hard time. Even the veteran firefighter Yau-Sui (Lau Ching-Wan) is not spared. He has to moderate between the firefighters and the new boss. Sunny (Ruby Wong) is the only woman in the station and is struggling with her husband, who does not accept her profession. Yau-Sui...

After several years in television and the release of three romantic comedies including “Seven Years Itch” (1987), Johnnie To comes up with his first Action Movie “The Big Heat”. The extremely rare movie, famously known for its DVD release that falls short in terms of synchronization and subtitling, holds the blueprint of many later films of the director.

“The Big Heat” centers around the policemen John, played by Waise Lee also known as the bad guy from “A Better Tomorrow” (1986) and “Bullet in the Head” (1990), who has to solve the murder of his former partner before he can retire. Like many other of To’s heroes John has a disability. Due to a nerve damage, his hand is temporarily paralyzed.

Speaking of Johnnie To, one cannot dismiss the aspect of the auteur. Johnnie To is a prime example of a director that changed the nature of a genre...

Wai Ka-fai is no stranger to Hong Kong cinema and is best known for his collaboration with Johnnie To. Together they formed the very successful Milkyway Image independent film studio producing films like “Needing You”, “Fulltime Killer”, “Mad Detective” and so on. However, “Peace Hotel” is his first as a film director.

After making “Peace Hotel”, Chow Yun-fat said goodbye to Hong Kong and headed west to Hollywood. He also shares writing credits with director Wai Ka-fai whereas John Woo is credited as the producer. So there is a bit of film history associated with this film, interestingly, the Chinese title translates it as “Peace Restaurant” rather than “Peace Hotel”.

Chow Yun-fat plays a man with no name, but everyone knows him as ‘King of Killers’. Throughout the beautifully shot opening, we learn that his wife is killed and he’s killing off bandits from floor to...

“Told you sparrows bring bad luck.”

Every director has a passion project of his or her own. Although every project is one they had always been planning to do or were interested in doing, the difference to other project, sometimes is quite huge, which, of course, is not necessarily a positive aspect. Directors like Stanley Kubrick or Terry Gilliam have worked on their individual projects for many years, sometimes with no conclusion in sight, as in the case of the former and his “Napoleon” project.

In the case of Chinese director Johnnie To, “Sparrow” (2008) definitely qualifies as a passion project in the body of the work of the director. For a director and producer, who sometimes released three to four different films per year in his career, “Sparrow” is quite the oddity. Shooting took place over a period of three years during which he released many famous entries of his body of work,...

Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival, which will be held from July 14 to August 7, will kick off with Kevin Smith's Red State.

Fantasia also made the first announcement about the films that will be part of this 15th edition's line-up.

People can see the anthology film Theatre Bizarre. This coproduction between Canada, France, Germany, the UK, the USA reunites Richard Stanley (Hardware), Karim Hussain (La belle bête), Douglas Buck (Cutting Moments), Buddy Giovinazzo (Life Is Hot in Cracktown), David Gregory (Plague Town) and Tom Savini, as directors.

The festival will also hold the world premier of The Wicker Tree, from Robin Hardy. Moreover, a book launch is also expected because The Wicker Tree is based on the novel Cowboys for Christ, by Hardy.

As for a Canadian premiere, Ryoo Seung-wan's The Unjust will be screened. Besides, Ryoo will be invited by the festival's organizers to teach choreography for action films.

The Fantasia Film Festival is by far my favourite film festival in the world and I’ve been impatiently awaiting some news of what films they’ll be screening this year. Considered the world’s largest genre film festival and running over three weeks long, the event is celebrating it’s 15th edition this year and the lineup is already pretty incredible. In the past I’ve seen some of my favourite films premiere at the fest and last year I wrote up a list of the best films ever screened at the fest which you can read here. This year Kevin Smith’s Red State opens the festival and directors Robin Hardy (The Wicker Man) and Richard Stanley (Hardware, Dust Devil) will be in the house to discuss the occult on film. The full lineup which includes 130-feature titles will be announced on July 7. For now here is the...

With July rapidly approaching, that means two things - the one/two punch of both Comic-Con and Canada's incredible Fantasia Film Festival! Speaking of the latter, the first wave of announcements is here! Read on for details!

From the Press Release

While less than two weeks away from announcing the full line-up of its 15th edition, Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival has revealed a first wave of titles and happenings. The full 130-feature array of titles will be announced at our press conference on July 7.

Opening Film – Kevin Smith’S Red State

Fantasia is proud to open the 2011 edition of the festival with the Canadian Premiere of Kevin Smith's acclaimed Sundance hit Red State. The director of Clerks and Zack And Miri Make A Porno has made a jump to an entirely new genre with tremendous success. Red State is a powerhouse film featuring fantastic performances by Michael Parks,...

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...

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.

Time to call your cable or satellite provider and add the Sundance Channel to your lineup as the network is launching a new season of its late-night destination Asia Extreme™ on August 7, showcasing the sharpest of cutting-edge Asian genre fare every Saturday night at midnight.

You'll note that a few of the offerings aren't strictly horror fare, but we're including everything since just about all of them offer gore and violence, even if the supernatural/horror elements aren't quite there.

From the Press Release:

The 2010 season of Asia Extreme includes the U.S. television premieres of five films from South Korea: The Restless, Shadows in the Palace, Tazza: The High Rollers, Voice, and The Wig. The new season of Asia Extreme premieres on August 7 at 12:00 midnight Et/Pt.

In addition to their on-air presentations, the five premieres will be among the thirteen Asia Extreme titles available free from August...

Taking it easy this weekend? Want to just stay home and watch something new? Here are five picks newly added to Netflix Instant Watch this week that might just be the right ones you need, from an off-kilter romantic comedy to a hardcore suspense thriller.

• • •

The Chaser

I first saw this movie last year at the San Francisco International Film Festival, and it was definitely one of the fest's highlights. A brutal thriller to the bone, the plot can be humorously nicknamed "Pimp vs Slasher," because that's basically what it is. Yun-seok Kim plays a lowlife pimp who goes out looking for his missing worker with the assumption that she's been recruited by a rival pimp, only to discover that she's at the mercy of a sadistic psychopath. It's a thoroughly gritty story that effortlessly switches from pulse-pounding suspense to chilling horror, complete with an unapologetic anti-hero and a devastating conclusion.

The Pang Brothers, Danny and Oxide, have been making some cool ass terror tales for a while now what with The Eye franchise (let's just pretend The Eye 10 doesn't exist, shall we?), etc. And now one half of the duo is delivering a different kind of terror.

Word has come down that Danny Pang has just cast Ching Wan Lau (Mad Detective for his next film, which is now tentatively known as Fairy Tale Killer

The movie centers upon what happens when fairy tales turn ugly, twisted, and bloody. A fearless cop is appointed to investigate a series of puzzling murders that resemble fairy tales. Would there be a happy ending of the abnormality in real world?

Fairy Tale Killer is set to roll for Universe Films Distribution. The premise holds a lot of promise; as anyone who's actually read the real versions of the Grimms' fairy tales can tell you,...

Hong Kong director and all round horror auteur Danny Pang is a busy man it seems. Still putting the finishing touches - with his brother Oxide - to their latest scare flick (the newest “3D” instalment in their blockbuster ‘The Eye’ series) “Childs Eye,” he already has new project in the works, a horror thriller titled Fairy Tale Killer. Details are still sketchy but we do know that Hong Kong acting veteran Ching Wan Lau (Mad Detective," "Overheard") has signed on to star in the lead. Lau will play a hard nosed cop appointed to investigate a series of puzzling and grisly murders, arranged in such a way as to resemble Fairy Tales? Danny Pang directing an actor of Ching Wan Lau's calibre, in a story of Fairy Tales turned bad and bloody. Late 2010, just got a whole lot more interesting! More when we get it.

Thanks go to Marten in our forum, who alerted me that British distributor Eureka will be re-releasing René Laloux' "La Planète Sauvage" aka. "Fantastic Planet" next spring in a BluRay edition as part of their "Masters Of Cinema" label. Eureka has confirmed this news.

Often have I commented on the eternal friendly battle between Criterion and Eureka Moc, and how we all benefit from it. Sometimes Criterion has the best version, sometimes Eureka Moc. But so far, Eureka Moc doesn't show the annoying blind spots that Criterion seems to have for all non-Japanese Asian movies and animation. This is very much true for their BluRay line-up so far, which included Johnny To's "Mad Detective" last year and in 2010 includes this animated classic. 

 

For me this is the best news I've heard today: I reviewed their DVD-release of "Fantastic Planet" ( click here... ) and while I was very much taken by it,...

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.

I'm coming a bit late to the table on this one, but as a fan of all things awesome and Asian I feel compelled to alert you about something happening over at the Sundance Channel this month. And yes, "this month" is August, and yes, August only has a week left... I did say I was late to the table didn't I? Sundance Channel has a long-standing affection for Asian cinema and demonstrates it on a weekly basis with Asia Extreme, which is their series of some of the best genre films Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and Thailand have to offer. They run the gamut from horror, crime, drama, and just plain crazy-ass flicks, and have included excellent titles like Audition, Breaking News, Save the Green Planet, and The Bow. They're doing something a bit different this month though, and it involves premiering their new season of several brand new titles on Pay-Per-View for free. I...

We trust the movies. We have to. Most of them only work if we look up at the images changing 24-times-a-second in front of us and believe that they reflect some sort of objective reality where a man can fly his house to South America or alien robots can transform into cars. Even when a movie is told entirely from a character's perspective, we assume that the intimacy cinema provides to hear a person's thoughts or see things the way they do affords us some safety from deception. We are wrong. People lie; the movies can too.

Some movies take that trust and exploit it, or prey on it, or play with it. In "(500) Days of Summer," a man named Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) falls in love with a woman named Summer (Zooey Deschanel). The film begins with Tom's friends sitting him down and asking him to explain what happened in his relationship with Summer,...

Wai Ka Fai clearly has a penchant for the supernatural. His directorial collaborations with Johnnie To (Mad Detective, Running On Karma) often explore spiritual, philosophical and fantastic themes that To, when flying solo, tends to eschew in favour of more grounded, if super-stylised, interpretations of reality. When Wai works alone, however, the results can often be a little more haphazard.

[Our thanks to Ben Umstead for the following review.]

I wore shorts to a world premiere. Amidst a growing crowd of sharply dressed folks (many from the Hong Kong economic office) who were eager to see Johnnie To collaborator and Mad Detective co-director Wai Ka-fai’s latest, there I was in shorts…

By reading the plot synopsis on the fest’s website, one would assume Written By is entering some surreal Kaufman-esque territory; a girl who has lost her father in a car accident begins to write a novel in which he survives and she dies, and he in turn writes a novel etc. etc Yet what we get is a meta-physical family melodrama with multiple novels within novels, ghosts, reincarnations, spirit planes, doorways into parallel universes… and… and… It sounds complex but it isn’t, it is just confusing.

Wai Ka-Fai has written almost every single Johnnie To movie, and co-directed several others (Mad Detective, Running On Karma). In this film, Wai directs Hong Kong’s best actor, Lau Ching-wan, in the story of a woman whose dad dies, so she writes a book where she died and he lived, and in that book his character writes a book where he died and she lived…and on and on in an endlessly recursive loop as wounded characters desperately apply fiction to dull the sharp edges of their grief. Like a Charlie (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind) Kaufman movie made in Hong Kong.—From the New York Asian Film Festival notes

Though in recent years Wai Ka-Fai has generally been over shadowed by his long time business and creative partner Johnnie To - at least he has here in the west - Wai is a huge creative force in...

Chinese entertainment portal Sina has released some concept artwork from director Tsui Hark’s historical thriller Detective Dee and the Mystery of Phantom Flame. Reason enough for me to finally write an article on the project.

The film takes place in the Tang Dynasty and tells the story of the detective Di Ren Jie (or Dee) who gets called back from exile by the Chinese empress Wu Zetian to solve a series of mysterious deaths of high court officials. During his investigations Dee gains support from the bustling commander Bei and a master of disguise names Ghost Doctor.

Next to Hong Kong’s darling Andy Lau, Carina Lau (Ashes of Time), Li Bing Bing (Forbidden Kingdom), Tony Leung Kar Fai (Election) and Lau Ching Wan (Mad Detective) will star in this 13 million Us$ production. Sammo Hung will be responsible for choreographing the action scenes. Shootings have begun in May, Detective...

When I think of gourmet-distributors like Criterion and Eureka, I tend to think they only release the known classics from many years past, but this is not always the case. Criterion released several Wes Anderson movies very fast after their cinematic run, and yesterday their version of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” hit the shelves on the same day as Paramount’s single disc edition did.

And last year, Eureka surprisingly released Johnny To’s “Mad Detective” as part of their excellent “Masters of Cinema” series, both on DVD and Bluray! It was the title with the shortest cinema-to-disc time bearing the MoC logo.

Was? Indeed, was!

On the 22nd of June, Eureka will be releasing Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Tokyo Sonata” on DVD (spine number #81) and BluRay (spine number #3), both as part of their “Masters of Cinema” brand.

Now it’s not exactly a secret that we’re big...

So, Newsmakers - the Russian remake of Johnnie To’s Breaking News - is all set to take a bow at Tribeca so how better to celebrate (?) than by announcing a pair of pending English language spins on To’s films? There have been rumblings of an upcoming English remake of To’s Mad Detective for a good while now and that news just became official with Variety breaking the news that producer Arthur Sarkissian is behind a push to remake both Mad Detective and earlier To title The Mission. With the right director these could both be very strong but is Sarkissian the guy to get that director? The man was a producer on Rush Hour so you know a whole lot of Asian fanboys are very nervous right now, waiting to see if Brett Ratner tries to work his way in to the projects ...

I’ve been hearing rumors of Hollywood trying to remake Johnnie To’s 1999 movie “The Mission” for a while now. Nothing has come of it, thank God, but it appears a remake is closer to being realized if “Rush Hour” producer Arthur Sarkissian has his way. The man who brought us Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker making asses of themselves for three glorious movies have snapped up the remake rights to To’s “The Mission” and “Mad Detective” with an eye toward self-financing both pictures. According to Variety, Sarkissian is also sounding like he’ll be pursuing To to remake his movies for a Hollywood audience. And before anyone screams bloody murder at that idea, take note that To is not above remaking movies, as he’s already gearing up production on a remake of a French crime thriller called “The Red Circle”. But would he really stoop to remaking his own movies?...

Producer Arthur Sarkissian ("Rush Hour") will be remaking Hong Kong director Johnnie To's crime thrillers "The Mad Detective" and "The Mission."

"Mad Detective," released in 2007, centers on a schizo former police officer who decides to come out of retirement and help a rookie cop solve a difficult murder case that involves a missing colleague and a suspected cop with multiple personality disorder.

In To's 1999 action flick, "The Mission," a mob boss hires the protection of five killers after escaping an assassination attempt against him.

Sarkissian intends to self-finance development and is hiring writers immediately for the project.

"Rush Hour" producer Arthur Sarkissian has acquired rights to remake The Mad Detective and The Mission , two crime thrillers directed by Hong Kong helmer Johnnie To. Variety says Sarkissian described To's 2007 film as a psychological thriller about a police detective who uses his ability to see the inner personalities of suspects to solve crimes. To's 1999 film The Mission is the story of a mob boss who survives an assassination attempt and hires five bodyguards to protect him. The bonds of the guards are tested when the boss orders them to kill one of their own after he's suspected of bedding the boss's wife. To is preparing to direct The Red Circle , a remake of the Jean-Pierre Melville-directed 1970 film Le Cercle Rouge .

Yep, time for the old "remake of an Asian film bandwagon" to roll back into town. The next flick up for Americanization -- 2007's The Mad Detective.

According to Variety producer Arthur Sarkissian has nabbed himself the rights to remake Johnnie To's The Mad Detective as well as To's 1997 crime drama The Mission.

The Mad Detective was once referred to as "one of the blackest, darkest, most despairing films you’ll ever see". Sarkissian describes it as "a psychological thriller about a police detective who uses his ability to see the inner personalities of suspects to solve crimes". You can almost see how this one's gonna end up.

All's not lost though; there may be a chance that To will step up to direct both American remakes. "These are two of his best films, and if Johnnie wants to remake his own movies on an international level, that would be great,...

Two new trailers from the far east (Hong Kong and Japan) hit the web recently, and both are worth a gander.  Neither are truly offensive, but they're probably still not safe for work... First up is the latest film from prolific director Johnnie To.  Vengeance stars Johnny Hallyday as a grieving father who travels to Hong Kong to avenge the death of his daughter.  Looks like a promising mix of Taken and The Horseman... Stylish, bloody, and with a little humping thrown in for good measure.  To's films are hit and miss, but with his output that still amounts to a lot of incredibly cool movies.  Some of his best include Fulltime Killer, Mad Detective, and the very odd Running On Karma. (via the fine folks at Twitch) Next is the latest Wtf movie from Japan.  Samurai Princess is directed by Kengo Kaji, the writer behind the awesome Tokyo Gore Police.  I...

New trailer for Vengeance directed by Johnnie To the "King Midas" of crime cinema. To regulars Simon Yam, Anthony Wong and Suet Lam star alongside Johnny Hallyday. Wai Ka Fai who co-wrote To's excellent Mad Detective (Sun taam) penned the script, which sees an incomplete hit inspire bloody revenge.

Trailer via WildGrounds

Via: TwitchFilm Read More

tags: anthony wong, crime cinema, hong kong, johnnie to, simon yam...

It’s a fact: Johnnie To works so much that one day he’s simply going to spontaneously combust and disappear into a puff of smoke. At his current rate, however, he’s probably got another twenty or thirty films in him before that happens.

This year was actually supposed to be a slow year for To, what with him being in prep for his upcoming big budget, English language remake of Melville’s Red Circle. But the idea that To could ever contain himself to just one project at a time when word got out that he had reunited with Mad Detective star Lau Ching-Wan for a film that we now know to be Death of a Hostage - which you can check artwork for here. But apparently two projects at a time isn’t enough for To, either. Nope.

According to Kaiju Shakedown Johnnie To is now also...

With Mad Detective - a reunion of sorts for once inseperable duo of actor Lau Ching Wan and director Johnnie To after a few years apart - proving to be one of the most successful films in either of their careers it seemed inevitable that the pair would work together again at some point but with To currently preparing for his big English language debut - a remake of Melville’s The Red Circle - it seemed as though we’d probably have to wait a couple of years for that to happen.

Wrong.

A couple months back word got out that To and Lau had been spotted shooting something together but while it was confirmed that, yes, this was another feature project that Johnnie was at least starting before Red Circle - it may very well have to be finished afterwards - everyone was very tight-lipped beyond that. Well,...

It's been a long time coming, but Jonnie To's Cop thriller with a supernatural twist Mad Detective is finally available to order on R2 DVD. Last year’s largest grossing film at the Hong Kong box office –Detective – is one of the freshest and most satisfying films from that country in a decade. The traditional Hong Kong police film is turned on its head: the imaginative twist being our hero – Detective Bun (a role created for Lau Ching Wan) – who has the ability to ‘see’ people’s inner personalities or “hidden ghosts”.

Oh, Johnnie To ... when you told people you planned to slow down and make fewer films I actually believed you. With big budget international project The Red Circle due to shoot in December I figured you’d be kind of busy preparing and would give up your two-or-three films simultaneously working methods. Nope. I was wrong.

Johnnie To has reunited with Mad Detective actor Lau Ching-Wan on a picture titled Look, which To is obviously planning on sneaking through production before The Red Circle ramps up. I say obviously because it’s shooting right now and The Oriental Daily has set photos to prove it. Other than that it exists, however, I know nothing because To has snuck this one into production quietly and I have yet to see any English language info on it. I’m making enquiries but if someone could translate the story linked below that’d...

Changed dates and new additions:

August 26th: The Black House [r1], Brotherhood of the Wolf (DC) [r1], My Sassy Girl [r1], No Blood No Tears [r1], Postal [r1], Redbelt [r1], 29th: Sparrow [r3hk]

September 2nd: Fist of Legend [r1], Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea [r1], The Wolves [r1], 3rd: Hansel and Gretel [r3k], 9th: The Forbidden Kingdom [r1], The Forbidden Kingdom (Se) [r1], 23rd: Far North [r1], The Legend of Red Dragon [r1], Midnight Eagle [r1], Re-Cycle [r1], The Suicide Song [r1], 30th: Iron Man [r1], Iron Man (Se) [r1], The Rebel [r1]

October 7th: Psycho (Se) [r1], Rear Window (Se) [r1], Touch of Evil (Se) [r1], Vertigo (Se) [r1], 14th: Bad Guy / Time [r1], Ten Nights of Dreams [r1], 27th: Big Man Japan (Aka Dai Nipponjin) [r2uk], 28th: Kisarazu Cat’s Eye: The Movie [r1], Sukeban Boy [r1], Woman on the Beach [r1]

November 3rd: Mad Detective [r2uk]??????, 11th: Sukiyaki Western Django [r1], Sukiyaki Western Django [r1], Sukiyaki Western Django [r1], Sukiyaki Western Django [r1], Sukiyaki Western Django [r1], Sukiyaki Western Django [r1], Yo-Yo Sexy Girl Cop [r1], 18th: The Minoru Kawasaki Collection...

• Way back in the early ‘90s Hong Kong cinema was known for three things: Jackie Chan’s acrobatics, Jet Li’s bone-crushing , and John Woo’s bullet ballets. True to form, Hollywood made it a priority to poach these icons and bring them to America at large. While all three found great success in the transition, only Woo totally crossed over without looking back. As a consequence, Hk cinema was left scrambling to find someone to take up the mantle. Many tried to make their mark, from hacks like Joe Ma to the highly competent like Corey Yuen, but it wasn’t until Johnny To stepped up to the plate did the industry finally have a new action maestro. With an astounding 25 films to his credit in the last 8 years alone (and that’s just as a director!), few can boast his prolific output and sheer quality. Best known

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• Asian cinema fans rejoice, the New York Asian Film Festival is back with a vengeance! Every summer since 2002 Grady Hendrix and the fine folks over at Subway Cinema roll out a collection of some 30 films representing the best Asia has to offer. Now in its 7th year, the Nyaff has established itself as one of the very best Asian film fests going anywhere, with a cross-section of art-house, big budget, and plain weird pictures abound.This year’s fest promises to be the largest in its short history with 43 films screening along with two programs of short films out of South Korea. They’ve also scored some big time guests to present their latest works including Myung-se Lee (M) and Ryo Iwamatsu (Then Summer Came). In a major coup for the fest, legendary (and infamous) film provocateur Koji Wakamatsu will hold a live Q&A via satellite for his latest United Red Army.

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HONG KONG -- Director Johnnie To is eyeing Orlando Bloom to star in Red Circle for France's Studio Canal, a spokesperson from To's production shingle Milkyway Image said Tuesday. While an offer has gone out to the actor, negotiations have not yet begun.

Film is a remake of the 1970 Alain Delon crime thriller Le Rouge Cercle. Longtime To collaborator Wai Ka-Fai (Mad Detective) is developing the script under the helmer's supervision.

Chow Yun-Fat and Liam Neeson are in negotiations to co-star in the Media Asia co-produced project, which has a reported $40 million budget and is tentatively scheduled to start production in June in Hong Kong and Macau.

• Unless you have a multi-region DVD player and seek out obscure foreign imports, Johnnie To films usually come late to North American audiences. As was the case with low-budget thrillers Exiled and Election, To's films have no problems finding takers - its just that there is the hassle of finding the highest bid among low bidders. Variety reports that the folks over at IFC have picked up a Johnnie To/Wai Ka-fai title that played out at recent fall fests at Venice and Toronto but had yet to find a North American buyer. Mad Detective sees Lau Ching-wan play the title character, a loopy police inspector who solves cases by seeing a suspect's inner "ghosts." After a long absence from the force for mental-health reasons, he is brought back to track down a missing officer.This will be released via the profitable IFC First Take label and fans can

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