Huo shao dao (1990)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Yen-ping Chu

Writers:

Lee Fu (writer)
Domonic Muir (dubbed version)

Release Date:

April 1992 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

When you're looking for the living dead you start your search in hell!

Plot:

A cop goes undercover to infiltrate a deadly prison where a team of mercernaries is being assembled.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Corruption | Warden | Chain Gang | Martial Arts

Cast

Jackie Chan	...	Lung / Steve Tong
Andy Lau	...	Lau / Boss Lee
Sammo Hung Kam-Bo	...	Fatty Liu Hsi Chia / John Liu
Tony Leung Ka Fai	...	Wei Wang / Andy Lau
Yu Wang	...	Kui / Lucas
Chun Hsiung Ko	...	Prison Chief / Prison Superintendent (as Chun-Hsiung Ko)
Chung Hua Tou	...	Chiu / Charlie
Barry Wong	...	Inspector Wong
Chuan Chen Yeh	...	Fong
Jack Kao	...	Ho

Also Known As:

Island of Fire (International: English title)
Jackie Chan Is the Prisoner (USA) (video title)
The Burning Island
The Prisoner (Europe: English title) (video title)
When Dragons Meet

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

Hong Kong:93 min | USA:96 min | Taiwan:125 min

Country:

Taiwan

Language:

Cantonese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:15 (video premiere) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Blaine and Blake Ltd.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Nikita (1990)

An unexceptional, but entertaining enough, prison flick.

With a stellar line up of HK stars including Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Tony Leung and Andy Lau (some of whom appeared as a favour to the director, who was in dire financial trouble with some 'dodgy types'), this brutal film mixes emotional drama, savage violence and OTT action to deliver an effective little addition to the prison movie sub-genre.

Tony Leung plays Andy, a cop who gets himself sent to prison after his future father-in-law is murdered by a supposedly executed convict. Whilst trying to figure out how a dead prisoner can become an assassin, he befriends various other prisoners, but himself becomes a target of some of the less desirable characters in the prison.

Those drawn to this film by the presence of 'wacky Jackie' will be sorely disappointed, since Mr. Chan appears in only a few scenes, and even the fights he participates in are not up to his usual acrobatic standard. However, fans of the other big stars should get their money's worth; Prison on Fire may be no classic, but it is entertaining enough to be worth a go.

Anyone who has seen their fair share of prison movies will know what to expect from this kind of affair: nice guy prisoners who we are supposed to root for; bad guys who make our hero's life a living hell; prison escapes and riots; and the occasional 'funny' scene to lift the mood (in this case, Sammo's ogling of a big breasted woman whose car breaks down near to his work detail). This one has it all!

It also has a rather enjoyably silly ending which features loads of gunfire and some slow-motion squib effects, and more disturbingly, a shocking scene which features an Alsatian being kicked in the head (the poor mutt flies through the air and lands awkwardly on its back!).

If you wish to check out this movie, find either the Taiwanese version, or the Hong Kong Legends DVD; the Taiwanese cut features several scenes missing from the US release, whilst the HK Legends disc includes them as an extra.