Gam yuk fung wan (1987)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Ringo Lam

Writer:

Yin Nam (writer)

Release Date:

13 November 1987 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Drama | Action | Crime

Plot:

An explosive crime-drama that caused a sensation upon its release. Audiences gasped for breath from the bloodshed and violence...

Plot Keywords:

Cantonese | Brutality | Beating | Chinese New Year | Manslaughter

Awards:

8 nominations

Cast

Roy Cheung	...	Officer 'Scarface' Hung
Yun-Fat Chow	...	41671 / Ching (as Chow Yun Fat)
Ka-Kui Ho	...	Micky
Victor Hon	...	Chiu Chow Man
Tony Leung Ka Fai	...	Lo Ka Yiu / 51910
Chi Hung Ng	...	Blind Snake
Fui-On Shing	...	Madly
Kwong Leung Wong	...	Bill
Shih Wu

Also Known As:

Jian yu feng yun (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Prison Turbulence (literal English title)
Prison on Fire (Hong Kong: English title)

Runtime:

Hong Kong:98 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 | Germany:16 | Singapore:PG | Canada:18A | Hong Kong:IIB | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Lautau islands, Hong Kong, China

Company:

Cinema City Film Productions

Quotes:

41671: I always talk so loud. I talk loud. Doesn't mean I'm rude. Sir!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Zhi zun sa liu ji zhi: Tou tian huan ri (1993)

Soundtrack:

Light of Friendship

Sombre Piece

Gaam Yuk Fung Wan/Prison on Fire(1987) is the second film in the On Fire Trilogy(excluding Prison on Fire 2). The first film, City on Fire(1987) dealt with a man who's trapped between duty with the police and loyality with the triad gang he's working undercover with. Prison on Fire(1987) is about a man sent to prison for manslaughter who slowly learns how to survive in prison with the help of a fellow inmate. A harrowing look into the prison system of Hong Kong. Makes Midnight Express(1977) look like a pleasent experience. Like City on Fire, this film shows a world of brutality where only the strongest and toughest survive. Chow Yun Fat is brilliant as the prisoner, Ching who takes the new guy under his wing.

The role of the new guy was originally offered to Danny Lee who turned the role down. Tony Leung Ka Fai was given the role of Lo Ka Yiu and did a wonderful job. The actor gives a sense of naive honesty in his performance. Lo Ka Yiu gets in trouble when he accuses one of the prisoners of stealing sissors. This put him under the wrath of the prisoner in glasses who sets him up as a rat. Roy Cheung is sadistic and dislikable as Officer "Scarface" Hung. His best roles are when he plays dislikable and dispictable characters like the arrogant Police officer in City on Fire(1987) or the Triad punk in School on Fire(1988).

Ringo Lam deals with many issues involving the prison system in Hong Kong. excellently scripted from the writer of Xia Dao Gao Fei/Full Contact(1987). Emotional involving film with an realistic fight scene during the climax. One thing I would like to know is the name of the song that's playing on the radio during the New Year Celebration. Officer "Scarface" Hung gets what was coming to him when Ching becomes deranged. One of the best acting by Chow Yun Fat comes in the climax when he goes insane. He plays this scene with an emotional wildness that hasn't been seen from him since.