No, there are no subtitles.
No, you don't need them.

Nice. I haven't seen many of To's films, though I checked out Drug War a few weeks back and quite enjoyed it. I think I'll have to seek this one out.

*quality

Boosting this quality contribution up in the Hot Listing - declared quality by Sarzy.

Was this film any good?

My favorite Hong Kong flick from 2004 is New Police Story.

*promote

Promoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Saturday, February 15th, 2014 2:25pm PST - promote requested by lucky760.

And the original Hong-Kong long-take action shot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bozxgVQ9m0

Should we be submitting Russian Ark next?

@Sarzy, @lucky760:

To's output can be roughly divided into three categories:
- Straight Film Noir influenced by Jean-Pierre Melville, including his early Milkyway Image productions, his The Mission / Exiled / Vengeance sort-of-trilogy, etc, with a special mention for Election 1 & 2.
- Somewhat more 'commercial' ventures: Running Out Of Time, Full Time Killer, Drug wars, and Breaking News... Less edgy, but better production value.
- And his more 'out there' attempts, that are usually crime films with some surreal aspect: Running On Karma (Shaolin-monk-turned-stripper sees people's past incarnations, tries to reverse their karma), Throwdown (everyone is a secret Judo master), Mad Detective (schizo detective can see people's inner personality and dialogue with them)...

He sometimes misses the mark, but his films are usually worth their salt (this often extends to other Milkyway films he produces).

Breaking News, it turns out, is a minor To film. It's well directed (as you can see by yourselves), and it's definitely fun to watch, but ... it's just that his other films are better! My advice : start with PTU, Exiled, or Full Time Killer. Then if you like what you see, go for the rest.

And if you like Running On Karma, check out Wai Ka Fai, To's writer / Milkyway co-founder and sometimes-director. That guy is good.

Yep, that shot was crazy back then.

Russian Ark is disqualified -- no cops or guns!
(It was a technical feat, but also a pompous drivel, no thank you. If you like long takes, I do believe Kalatozov, Tarkovsky, or Jancso will make you forget Sokurov.)

Awesome sauce dude, thanks for dialing-in some great films and art to check-

It's like the NRA's wet dream for America.

One person pulls a gun, to protect himself from the oppression of the fascist socialist government lacky police....and then the whole city goes Liam Neeson. I can't wait!

Wow, that was intense!!! Amazing. All in one shot too.

Ironically, HK is quite a safe city, and firearms are fairly rare. People assume the contrary due to HK crime films being one of its main exports, but in fact they refer to a by-gone era (60s - 80s, when triads were active and cops corrupt).

Hong Kong might be the most free-market / right-wing / libertarian economy in the world, but its administration invested quite a lot in its police, and as a result not only are they quite respected by the locals (very few cases of abuse or corruption, and the majority of these reported by... police officers), but it's also become one of the safest large cities in the world*.
But please -- don't tell that guy roaming the comments with his rants on 'statists ruining everything', he would not understand.


*That does not involve an overreaching police state, like Singapore.