Ringo Lam’s City on Fire is a gritty crime drama that takes place on the streets of Hong Kong where criminals act with impunity knowing the public is too scared to help the police, who always seem a step behind. The movie has been given a pleasing new 4K UHD/Blu-ray release from Shout Studios.
Buy City on Fire (1987) UHDUndercover officer Low-Life Wan is stabbed to death after his cover is blown. It’s clear from this occurrence that Lam is not going to shy away from showing blood and violence. Ko Chow (Fat) is also an undercover officer. His girlfriend Hung (Carrie Ng), who has been keeping company with a businessman, causes him stress and wants to get married. Inspector Lau (Sun Yueh) wants Ko to discover who killed Low-Life. Yet Ko wants to resign, conflicted because he caused the arrest of a friend, Shing, a man who, although a drug dealer and a loan shark, was stabbed twice because of him. Lau refuses Ko’s request because he has no one else to infiltrate the gang.
A jewelry factory is robbed by the gang, who steals $1.2 million (the currency according to the subtitle) worth of jewelry and one of them kills a police officer. Chief Inspector Chow (no relation to Ko) assigns the younger Inspector John Chan (Roy Cheung) to investigate, causing tension between him and Lau.
Lau gets guns for Ko to give to the gang. However, Chan mistakenly thinks Ko was in on the factory robbery and has him tailed, making his undercover and real like difficult. Lau informs Chan and C.I. Chow that Ko is actually his informant. Although Ko was told by Lau he could quit after the gun exchange, he is pressed into taking part of an upcoming jewelry because the police need to catch the gang in the act.
The robbery is botched when an alarm is tripped, resulting in a store employee killed. In the ensuing getaway, both cops and gangsters are shot, including Chow, who takes one in the gut protecting Fu (Danny Lee). The movie wants the viewer to accept Chan develops a strong bond with Fu, but they’ve spent such little time together, it’s hard to believe, especially after Fu is revealed to be a murderer and a cop killer.
A new 4K scan has been created from the original camera negative, displayed in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Film grain is mostly natural, but increases a few times. Colors are solid, at their brightest hues during daytime exteriors and from neon signs at night. Blacks are rich. The image looks clean.
The audio is available in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono for both Cantonese and English. The Catonese track sounds free of hiss and crackle. Dialogue comes through clean. Sound effects, especially gunfire and explosions, are delivered with a big oomph. The sax rings out louder than the rest of the score. There are optional English newly translated subtitles for this release.
Both discs contains a new audio commentary by film historians Frank Djeng And F.J. DeSanto. The Blu-ray also offers the following new special features in HD:
- Burn It Down! – An Interview with Screenwriter Tommy Sham (18 min) -Happy that the film is still being given a Blu-ray, Sham talks about how he came to screenwriting and working on the film.
- Hong Kong Confidential – Inside City on Fire with Grady Hendrix (12 min) – Author Hendrix discusses Ringo Lam’s early career and how he came up with the concept for City on Fire, as well as actors Chow Yun Fat, Danny Lee, and Carrie Ng.
- Some Like It Hot: Ric Meyers on the Cult of Chow Yun Fat and the Hong Kong Kinetic Action Film (33 min) – Author/critic Ric Meyers talks about Chow Yun Fat’s career and what was occurring in Hong Kong concurrently.
- Burning Rivalries: The Influence of Ringo Lam on Reservoir Dogs (14 min) – Author Kim Newman compares and contrasts City on Fire and Reservoir Dogs.
- Theatrical Trailer (4 min)
- Image Gallery (3 min)
City on Fire is an engaging crime thriller with shifting, though not always plausible, alliances. Fans and those new to it will appreciate the high-definition presentation and the insightful extras that delve into the movie and those involved in making it.
