Island of Fire

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Island of Fire
Hanyu Pinyin
Huǒ Shāo Dǎo
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingFo2 Siu1 Dou2
Directed by
Tou Chung-huaCinematographyChen Jung-shu
Yip Chun-wingEdited byChow Tak-yeungMusic byFu Lap
Chan Chi-yuenDistributed byGolden Harvest
  • 28 March 1990 (1990-03-28) (Taiwan)
  • 1 August 1991 (1991-08-01) (Hong Kong)
125 minutes (Taiwan)
93 minutes (Hong Kong)
96 minutes (United States)CountriesTaiwan
Hong KongLanguageMandarin

Island of Fire (

Tou Chung-hua. The film was shot in Taiwan and the Philippines in 42 days from 5 April until 17 May 1989.[1] The film's theme song, "The Last Gunshot" (最後一槍) by Cui Jian, was written as a response to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
in Beijing, China.

This is the third collaboration between producer

Jimmy Wang Yu and Jackie Chan, With their first, collaboration being Killer Meteors in 1976, the film's producer and co-star, Jimmy Wang Yu, came to Chan's aid when the then young actor sought his help in settling a dispute with the veteran director Lo Wei. The dispute was settled by Golden Harvest paying 10 million HK dollars (2 million US dollars) to Lo Wei. Chan repaid the favor by acting in Wang's 1983 film Fantasy Mission Force
.

As with both of those earlier films, recent DVD and VHS releases market Island of Fire & Jackie Chan Is the Prisoner as a Jackie Chan film, displaying an image of Chan on the cover as though the lead actor. In fact, Chan only appears in a supporting role, with Tony Leung Ka-fai as the central character.

The film was followed by a sequel, Island of Fire 2 (1997), also directed by Kevin Chu.

Synopsis

In the Taiwanese version, the film begins with the execution of a prisoner inside a prison.

Wang Wei (Tony Leung Ka-fai), a police officer, witnesses the murder of his father-in-law, a police commissioner, at the hands of an assassin. When the assassin attempts to escape, he is killed by a car bomb. Wei and his partner later identify the assassin but discover that he was a felon who was apparently executed in prison several months ago. Wei decides to go undercover in the prison by assaulting a group of gang members at a bar. While inside, he is immediately suspected of being a cop and is beaten in a prison-orchestrated fight, leaving him bloodied and bruised.

Wei's fellow prisoners include Da Chui (

Tou Chung-hua
), prompting a large-scale riot in which the head guard is assaulted by Chui and eventually killed by Wei. In response, Chui, Iron Ball, and Wei are executed.

Wei suddenly awakens in an undisclosed location where the Warden greets him. The Warden says that he fakes the execution of the inmates so that he can recruit them to be part of a vigilante hit squad. Wei is dispatched along with Chui, Fatty, and Iron Ball, to an airport where a drug lord is being extradited. They kill the drug lord, but are betrayed by the Warden, like the assassin that killed Wei's father-in-law, and barely dodge a car bomb meant for them. They become surrounded in an airport tower and take a police captain hostage. Wei's partner, who was present with the police escorting the drug lord, helps Wei hijack a plane and Fatty, Chui, and Iron Ball attempt to reach the plane. Fatty, Chui, and Iron Ball are all gunned down as Wei escapes.

When the Warden returns to his home, he finds Wei waiting for him, asking for answers. The Warden explains that those who were killed by the hit squad were actually connected to the Warden; the drug lord worked with the Warden and the Commissioner was getting too close to discovering the Warden's activities. Angered, Wei threatens the Warden, but is talked down from doing anything further from his partner, who replies that everything the Warden said is on tape. The Warden is arrested and Wei returns to his life as a cop.

Cast

  • Jackie Chan as Da Chui / Lung (Hong Kong version) / Steve (US version)
  • Andy Lau as Iron Ball / Lau / Boss Lee
  • Sammo Hung as Fatty John Liu Hsi-chia
  • Tony Leung Ka-fai as Wang Wei / Andy / Andrew
  • Tou Chung-hua
    as Chiu / Charlie (as Tao Chung Hwa)
  • Barry Wong as Inspector Wong
  • Jimmy Wang Yu
    as Kui / Lucas (as Wang Yu)
  • Ko Chun-hsiung as Prison Chief / Prison Superintendent
  • Jack Kao as Ho Lin
  • Ken Lo as Bodyguard
  • Rocky Lai as Iron Ball's thug / Prisoner
  • Chin Ho as Iron Ball's assistant
  • Teddy Yip Wing-cho as Prisoner
  • Wang An
  • Yen Ru-chen
  • Kao Ming
  • Kang Ho
  • Fang Jing
  • Yuen Yi
  • Wai Hung-ho
  • Tou Hu
  • Wang Yao
  • Bang Yu
  • Chien Tsao

Special Participation

  • Subas Herrero as a police officer (uncredited)
  • Conrad Poe as Col. Sam (uncredited)

Versions

There are two different versions of this film: a 96-minute Hong Kong version and a 125-minute Taiwan version which focuses more on character development and plot detail.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Island on Fire (Taiwan version)". Hong Kong Digital. Retrieved 5 October 2007.

External links

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