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Full
Alert |
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review | awards | availability | |
Lau Ching-Wan takes aim |
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Year: |
1997 |
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Director: |
Ringo
Lam Ling-Tung |
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Producer: |
Joe
Man Wai-Ho |
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Cast: |
Lau
Ching-Wan, Francis
Ng Chun-Yu, Amanda
Lee Wai-Man, Monica
Chan Fat-Yung, Chin
Kar-Lok, Emily Kwan
Bo-Wai, Jack Gao
(Ko Kin), Peter Yung Kam-Cheung,
Raymond
Tso Wing-Lim, Lee
Siu-Kei, Ng Chi-Hung |
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The
Skinny: |
A
near-perfect Ringo Lam film, possessing of a deceptive simplicity
that hides greater depths beneath it's uncluttered narrative.
Lau Ching-Wan and Francis Ng are both excellent. |
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Review
by Kozo: |
Ringo Lam returns to Hong Kong after the tepid Maximum
Risk with this top-notch cops ‘n robbers thriller. Lau
Ching-Wan is Officer Pao, a stressed cop who investigates
a routine murder. The culprit is a loser named Mak Kwan (Francis
Ng), who admits to manslaughter, but not the more serious
crimes that he’s planning with a mainland criminal (Jack Gao).
Problem is, Lau and his crew (Chin Kar-Lok, Emily Kwan, and
Peter Yung) are on to Mak Kwan thanks to the handy bomb-making
materials discovered during the investigation. This leads
to an elaborate stakeout as the cops try to discover just
exactly what Mak Kwan is up to.
The action in this film is fairly
routine, but Lam’s direction is terrific. Each moment in this
film leads to the next with expert precision. As the film
unfolds, we gradually discover the motivations and fears that
drive our protagonists, and the line between cop and criminal
blurs even more. This is a well-realized treatment of the
cop/criminal film, with excellent performances all around.
Francis Ng, especially, shines as the almost sympathetic bad
guy who’s all-too-human in his weaknesses and strengths. As
is usual with a Ringo Lam film, the resolution leaves us little
to be happy about, but the results are compelling. Full
Alert is rife with shades of gray, and the complexity
of action and character are fascinating. (Kozo 1997) |
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Awards: |
17th
Annual Hong Kong Film Awards
• Nomination - Best Picture
• Nomination - Best Director (Ringo
Lam Ling-Tung)
• Nomination - Best Actor (Lau
Ching-Wan)
• Nomination - Best Editing (Marco
Mak Chi-Sin,
Lam Nyn Ngai)
• Nomination - Best Sound Effects
4th Annual Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
• Winner - Best Picture
• Winner - Best Actor (Lau
Ching-Wan) |
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Availability: |
DVD
(Hong Kong)
Region 0 NTSC
Mei Ah Entertainment
16x9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks
Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1
Removable English and Chinese subtitles |
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image courtesy
of Mei Ah Laser Disc Co., Ltd.
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| LoveHKFilm.com
Copyright ©2002-2008 Ross Chen |
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