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This movie had been on my radar for years, well before I'd developed any real interest in Hong Kong cinema. Its reputation was based on its numerous scenes of outrageous ultraviolence, the appeal of which could be conveyed easily in gif format. Having seen the whole movie now, I can confirm those gifs did not misrepresent the film. Every few minutes, and sometimes more frequently, there's a scene of violence that seems to defy what should be physically possible. Want to see someone punch through another character's stomach? Want to somebody explode another man's skull with their bare hands? Want to see a character commit seppuku and then try to strangle their opponent with their intestines? You need only wait a few minutes for the next gruesome highlight.
Of course, this means that the violence is set up like a series of gore gags, and likely as a result of the behind the scenes requirements to pull them off, lacks the speed and physicality I associate with Hong Kong action cinema. So it is perhaps not an immediate favourite, but I think the simultaneously more deliberate and punchy delivery of these scenes helps it work on its own terms. This is an adaptation of a manga (which I have not read), and the way the movie stylizes the dramatic qualities of such scenes, having characters stand off and bark out their motivations and then exploding into violence, brings to mind a live action cartoon. The prison environment here is similarly stylized, the guards' uniforms perfectly crisp and colour-coordinated, the interiors like a cartoon rendering of a prison, without the grit a real one would have. (In that respect, the movie stands in stark contrast with another recent viewing, Escape from Alcatraz, which was shot in its namesake and benefits tremendously from the physical reality of its environment.)
That stylization extends to the casting, with a cartoonishly bulked up Fan Siu-Wong in the lead role (a startling sight after seeing him play a scrawny punk in Righting Wrongs earlier this month) and supporting roles primarily cast with grotesque-looking or downright ugly actors. (Sorry, I guess that's mean, but there are a lot of uggos in this, to the movie's benefit.) The movie finds ways to humanize a number of them, giving the proceedings a covert political charge, but the cast member who steals the show is the incorrigibly cruel Yukari Oshima. Oshima has always stood out to me in her girls with guns movies because of her off kilter, androgynous presence (which was even more noticeable when paired with the more overtly girlish Moon Lee), and this movie pushes that even further by casting her as a man, replete with weird male dubbing. Perhaps there is something objectionable here, but you want someone to give off sinister live action anime vibes, with the physicality to back it up? This is your gal.
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (Lam, 1991)
This movie had been on my radar for years, well before I'd developed any real interest in Hong Kong cinema. Its reputation was based on its numerous scenes of outrageous ultraviolence, the appeal of which could be conveyed easily in gif format. Having seen the whole movie now, I can confirm those gifs did not misrepresent the film. Every few minutes, and sometimes more frequently, there's a scene of violence that seems to defy what should be physically possible. Want to see someone punch through another character's stomach? Want to somebody explode another man's skull with their bare hands? Want to see a character commit seppuku and then try to strangle their opponent with their intestines? You need only wait a few minutes for the next gruesome highlight.
Of course, this means that the violence is set up like a series of gore gags, and likely as a result of the behind the scenes requirements to pull them off, lacks the speed and physicality I associate with Hong Kong action cinema. So it is perhaps not an immediate favourite, but I think the simultaneously more deliberate and punchy delivery of these scenes helps it work on its own terms. This is an adaptation of a manga (which I have not read), and the way the movie stylizes the dramatic qualities of such scenes, having characters stand off and bark out their motivations and then exploding into violence, brings to mind a live action cartoon. The prison environment here is similarly stylized, the guards' uniforms perfectly crisp and colour-coordinated, the interiors like a cartoon rendering of a prison, without the grit a real one would have. (In that respect, the movie stands in stark contrast with another recent viewing, Escape from Alcatraz, which was shot in its namesake and benefits tremendously from the physical reality of its environment.)
That stylization extends to the casting, with a cartoonishly bulked up Fan Siu-Wong in the lead role (a startling sight after seeing him play a scrawny punk in Righting Wrongs earlier this month) and supporting roles primarily cast with grotesque-looking or downright ugly actors. (Sorry, I guess that's mean, but there are a lot of uggos in this, to the movie's benefit.) The movie finds ways to humanize a number of them, giving the proceedings a covert political charge, but the cast member who steals the show is the incorrigibly cruel Yukari Oshima. Oshima has always stood out to me in her girls with guns movies because of her off kilter, androgynous presence (which was even more noticeable when paired with the more overtly girlish Moon Lee), and this movie pushes that even further by casting her as a man, replete with weird male dubbing. Perhaps there is something objectionable here, but you want someone to give off sinister live action anime vibes, with the physicality to back it up? This is your gal.