City on Fire: We checked out the 4K Blu-ray restoration of the movie that inspired Reservoir Dogs!
Truth be told, I’m not as well-versed in Chow Yun-Fat’s filmography as much as I am with the likes of his Kung Fu peers in Hong Kong action films. That being said, it has its benefits as I got to see City on Fire for the first time with this amazing ultra-high-definition restoration, which is part of Shout Factory’s new HK Cinema Classics label, which is currently on tour in North America with 4K restorations of golden age Hong Kong classics, including the work of John Woo, Tsui Hark, and the director of this film, Ringo Lam. I was able to go into the film fresh — only vaguely recalling that it influenced Quentin Tarantino and inspired Resevoir Dogs.
The first thing to mention off the bat is how some viewers (like me) would naturally prepare for this film to resemble Chow Yun-Fat’s chaotic action works with John Woo. However, Ringo Lam’s City on Fire is actually the perfect remedy for those who are looking for more of a slow burn character drama with less over-the-top action sequences. You do get some good action set pieces, but they are done in a more grounded fashion and Chow very rarely shoots guns in the movie. In fact, when someone does wield dual pistols, it’s his co-star, Danny Lee.
Although since its release, there have been some notable police dramas, which also tackle the complexities of going deep undercover, it’s easy to see how this movie became a great influence on cinema — especially to films like Infernal Affairs. While Chow’s girlfriend in the movie can be a little much, it still illustrates how his personal life and his job are difficult to juggle. The situation becomes even more grey when his Uncle is the one sending him in to do the undercover work.
Chow’s charisma is in full effect here. His comraderie with Danny Lee is great to watch and it makes me wish there was more time devoted to their friendship and less on Chow’s girlfriend. Despite that, I can see how important it is to establish how Chow can let personal feelings tug at his responsibilities and his duty.
It’s easy to understand that some action fans may prefer to check out some of Chow’s more kinetic films, but City on Fire is certainly a good way to go for an alternate choice and Lam’s direction is incredibly confident. Very impressive for a young filmmaker who had mostly done comedies at this point in his career.
Technical Details:
Having watched films classic action films from Hong Kong get glorious transfers to 4K, Blu-rays like this is still a wonder to behold. I’ve gotten so used to that particular quality of VHS picture for these kinds of older films, that it’s almost like truly seeing it for the first time when watching ultra-HD upgrades. City on Fire is seemingly no different.
Shout Factory has gone back to the original camera negative and scanned into in a brand new 4K digital quality and the picture really pops! It’s so great when tech details like these is paired with a filmmaker who have really captured the atmosphere and environment of their setting. Because seeing 1980s Hong Kong in such crystal clarity is about as close to time traveling as you can get. The details from the set design and the natural city is so dense that you can really feel the lived-in aspects of the movie.
The picture is presented in Dolby Vision and the contrasts truly enhance the film to make it look like amazing quality without having it look too modern. The sound is presented in DTS-HD and while there isn’t a lot of action, when the guns start blazing, you really feel the impact and the danger. Also, the soundtrack for this movie plays such a big part that when the saxaphone starts blasting, it fills the room with the appropriate film noir atmosphere. Equally, when the R&B theme plays with Maria Cordero belting notes like Aretha Franklin, the bluesy performance surrounds you like a concert.
The Blu-ray also features multiple audio tracks for the native language and the English dub. I personally don’t mind old school English dubs, but the one featured here (which I assume is newly recorded) was off-putting to me with the choice of voices and the acting.
Extras:
Audio Commentary: First off, there’s an audio commentary by film historians Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto. Both men show off their love of the film and offer some really interesting backstories, anecdotes and trivia about the movie. Djeng especially illustrates a lot from the Chinese point of view — including context on some of the Chinese dialogue and some cool history behind the film (It was interesting to find out that Chow Yun-Fat was once considered box office poison in Hong Kong).
“Burn it down!” An interview with screenwriter Tommy Sham: We get a recently-shot chat with Tommy Sham, who talks about how he came to write City on Fire and why he’s proud that it still lives on. He tells of his background and how he ended up in film despite not having any aspirations for it. Sham talks about his history with director Ringo Lam and the way they came up with the story, as well as interesting cultural differences of screenwriters in America and Hong Kong. This is some great inside insight for those who want to know more about the movie or about the Chinese movie industry.
“Hong Kong Confidential” Inside City on Fire with Author Grady Hendrix: Hendrix, who wrote These Fists Break Bricks, offers more analysis on the movie. We get more background in the genesis of the film, as presented in a video lecture with Hendrix with context clips edited in. He goes in-depth about the cast and creatives and how it led to the making of this movie. This is a fun docu-video with some fantastic retro logos.
“Some Like It Hot” Interview with Film Historian Ric Meyers: Meyers talks about Chow Yun-Fat’s rise to stardom with his John Woo films along with this film. Chow’s performance is analyzed, plus Meyers gives viewers the perspective of the Hong Kong audience of this period and why City on Fire resonated with them so well. Meyers also touches on how City on Fire was a major inspiration for Quentin Tarantino. This is another good in-depth retrospective that covers a multitude of topics.
“Burning Rivalries” Interview with Film Historian Kim Newman: This video specifically addresses how Reservoir Dogs was directly influenced by City on Fire. Kim Newman, who is a Film Critic and Author, is quite a character — with the vibe of a children’s show host or a quirky teacher — and this special feauture is his defense of Quentin Tarantino when people accuse him of ripping off the movie. Newman uses many examples of films that likely served as additional inspiration and how many similar themes have been explored in other movies.
Theatrical Trailer: The original theatrical trailer is preserved and restored into high definition quality.
Image Gallery: We’re shown a slideshow of high quality images either used for promotion or taken behind the scenes during the making of the film. It’s exactly what you’d expect. But it’s cool to see some high resolution scans of photographs from production. Interestingly, you also get some different cover art used for the various home video releases. Truly for the completionist collector.
Verdict:
If you’re already a fan of this movie (which I can assume you are if you’re reading this), Shout Factory put out an amazing looking version that is sure to give you a new great experience on a revisit viewing. Although they weren’t able to get the cast and crew to participate in the extras, Tommy Sham’s segment has some welcome insight and there are plenty of experts on hand here to give you some in-depth background and analysis. I highly recommend this Blu-ray!
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