Saturday, June 27 8:30PM
Walter Reade Theatre
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, 165 W 65th St, New York, NY 10023
Chow Yun-fat plays a cop who’s gone so deep undercover that only his boss still knows he’s a cop. A bunch of ruthless strong-arm bandits have been ripping off jewelry stores and Chow gets a chance: break up the job they have planned for Christmas, and he can come in from the cold. Chow reluctantly agrees, but winds up discovering that he’s got more in common with the gang foreman, played by Danny Lee, than his own bosses.
Shot in 1986, what does City on Fire have to offer viewers in 2015? Two things. First, the performances. Danny Lee is the cool older brother everyone wishes they had, and bit parts are played by a rogue’s gallery of some of Hong Kong’s best character actors. But it’s Chow Yun-fat’s mercurial undercover cop that still delivers 20,000 watts of star power today. The other thing City on Fire offers is Lam’s worldview. A precursor of The Wire, this flick shows us a city whose institutions feed on the blood of the poor. It’s a passionate portrait of the little people trying to eke out a living on either side of the law, and dying for their trouble. City on Fire was released in 1987. 28 years later, that city still burns.
For information and tickets: subwaycinema.com