Dr Mabuse

I discovered last night that I am a fan of this guy, watching a blu of 'Vengeance' with Johnny Hallyday, Anthony Wong, and Suet Lam.

I loved it. Now I'm a sucker for Wong, and ever since Leconte's 'Man On the Train' I'm a huge fan of Hallyday. I could not have enjoyed this film more... his homage to Nolan, the whole 'edge' to the piece, none of the bubblegum bullshit that would have polluted such a film in the US. I liked his choices in the film throughout.

I am familiar with films from all over the world, but Hong Kong is easily my weakest spot as to a general knowledge of directors and etc. Which is a shame considering I own so many films from there, and appreciate the Chinese approach.

I see this guy is prolific, so I need some of you guys who know Hong Kong films to hip me to his best stuff, preferably similar in nature to 'Vengeance' - meaning maybe crime or gangster-based stuff.

Thanks in advance.

Sessa17

Exiled on Blu-Ray is fantastic. It's his ode to Spaghetti Westerns but in a modern setting. Anthony Wong is awesome in it.

rkndkn

I just received Vengeance and have not had a chance to watch it yet. I'm a fan of Johnnie To's films, though I find his output a bit uneven.

My favorites are "The Mission", "Running Out of Time" and "Fulltime Killer". Some of his films are a little lighter in tone than others, including the 3 mentioned. "Election" is good, too, and is darker/more brutal in tone. I have his "Election 2" and "Mad Detective" which I haven't watched yet. Lau Ching Wan is one of my favorite Hong Kong actors, and he's in "Running out of Time" and "Mad Detective". Among the other To films I've seen, the only one I really didn't care for was "Sparrow". It was way too light and whimsical in tone for me, though visually there were some eye-catching shots.

NoirFan

You should pick up MoC's Mad Detective Blu-ray, it's region-free.

asianxcore

Election
Election 2
The Mission

Love those

Dr Mabuse

Thanks guys.

I have 'Exiled', 'Election' blu , and 'Election 2' blu on the way as of a few minutes ago.

I'll definitely be checking out the others.

nitin77

Exiled and Mad Detective for sure.

Election and Election 2 didnt sit well with me but they have generally been favourably reviewed.

But Exiled is pure class and so is Mad Detective for most its running time.

zombeaner

I'd add Throwdown, Running on Karma (if only for Andy Lau in the absurd muscle suit), Justice My Foot! (for a change of pace), PTU, Breaking News, I could go on. I only discovered him a couple of years ago, but man is he good! Great casts, too. Anyone with Anthony Wong and Suet Lam on their speed dial has me as a customer.

Dr Mabuse

Oh man 'Exiled' was terrific.

Great stuff there.

Preterite

It's late and I'm tired and I'm probably expressing it wrong, but his work tends to fall into two camps: philosophical dramas with a bit of action thrown in, and action movies that feature a bit of philosophical drama. You often don't know what you're getting until the end of the film.

My favorites from the first group are "Where a Good Man Goes" and "Throwdown". I'm not entirely sure I liked "Running on Karma", but it's stuck with me. Of the latter group, my favorite is "The Mission", with "PTU" and "Expect the Unexpected" vying for a close second place.

Sessa17

Awesome, glad you liked it & appreciated what To was doing with the movie.

CritterYawn

Reminded me of the Kurosawa film (Yojimbo or Sanjuro, I don't remember exactly which one) that inspired Sergio Leone's script with the gangsters killing each other to the last man, except this time there wasn't any ronin/bounty hunter around.

zerotl

Oh man that scene in The Mission where they were kicking the paper ball while waiting is classic. I think I still have that R3 grainy dvd somewhere at home.

asianxcore

Dr Mabuse, how was Vengeance?

I saw it yesterday while I was shopping for DVD's, but passed on it because I hadn't heard anything on it.

zombeaner

DDDhouse finally has Exiled BD under $20, so as soon as I get paid, I'm ordering it, I've been lusting after that disc for months!

mrhan

Asianxcore,

I watched it the other week and it was very good. A good portion of it is in English.



Overall, it's a good movie and worth your time.

Dr Mabuse

Since the forum administrators screwed up so badly and lost so many posts and threads last night, I'll repost that I watched 'Election', and 'Election 2' and loved them. I'm hoping for a third installment, which was obviously something to be expected by the ending of 2.

I loved 'The Mission'. Just excellent.

Oh yeah and I'll repost that Asianx, I loved 'Vengeance' and would recommend it. That's why I started this thread, and I cover that in the OP.

asianxcore

I was just about to post if you loved Exiled, you'll naturally love The Mission

I'll have to pick up Vengeance sometime.

Dr Mabuse

You, or somebody else, already did post that as a matter of fact.

The forum disaster erased it.

asianxcore

That was me

Reposting...WOO!!

Frenzy

In addition to his self directed Milkyway movies I would also recommended to take a look at some projects where he only acted as the producer. For example Too many ways to be No. 1 (1997) and ACCIDENT (2009) are pretty amazing.

Earlier films like The Big Heat and The Barefoot Kid are also great movies. Not as stylized as the Milkyway stuff but still very entertaining.

Dr Mabuse

'PTU' is on the way.

Got 'Mad Detective' and 'Fulltime Killer' in but haven't watched them yet.

zombeaner

PTU is great. Having Suet Lam in a starring role, rather than a supporting one, is a great thing. He carries the film well.

Dr Mabuse

'Breaking News' was terrific.

Man I'm enjoying this Johnnie To film festival I've been pulling lately.

zombeaner

Must watch Running on Karma!