**Johnnie To** (Chinese: 杜琪峰; pinyin: Dù Qí Fēng) was born on April 22nd, 1955, in Hong Kong. His career, extending over 25 years, has established him as one of the leading directors in Hong Kong cinema.
In the 1980s, To achieved significant commercial success, a period when the Hong Kong film industry was thriving. This success marked the initial phase of his career, where he primarily focused on mainstream cinematic productions.
The mid-90s represented a turning point for To, with the creation of his film production company, **Milkyway Image (HK) Ltd.** This venture signaled a shift towards more personal and distinctive projects, diverging from his earlier mainstream work. Under Milkyway Image, To began to explore new themes and styles, thereby contributing significantly to the evolution of Hong Kong cinema.
To’s unique film aesthetic started gaining recognition in the West towards the late 90s and early 2000s, particularly through his participation in international film festivals. Films such as **”The Mission”** and **”Fulltime Killer”** were instrumental in showcasing his unique style, which blended traditional elements of Hong Kong cinema with his innovative approach. These films not only received critical acclaim but also played a pivotal role in introducing To’s filmmaking style to a global audience.
A significant highlight of To’s career was the premiere of **”Breaking News”** at the 2004 Cannes International Film Festival, where it featured in the Official Selection program. This exposure further enhanced his international reputation. Following this, his film **”Throw Down”** was invited to the Venice International Film Festival in the same year, demonstrating his versatility as a filmmaker and the growing international interest in his work.
The year 2005 marked another major milestone for To, with his film **”Election”** competing at the Cannes Film Festival. The film received widespread critical acclaim and led to 11 nominations at the Taipei Golden Horse Awards. It achieved considerable success, winning Best Picture and Best Director at the 2006 Hong Kong Film Awards. These accolades not only recognized To’s exceptional skills as a director but also his significant contributions to the Hong Kong film industry.
The evolution of **Johnnie To**’s career, from his local success in the 1980s to international acclaim in the 2000s, underscores his development as a filmmaker. His ability to adapt to new themes and maintain a commitment to personal and innovative storytelling has solidified his status as a key figure in the Hong Kong film industry.
Caught in the middle of a fierce gang war in Macau, a corrupt cop named Sam (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) handles negotiations between two Triad leaders who plan to join forces. He meets a suspicious bald man named Tony (Lau Ching-wan), who keeps following him around and disrupting his personal business. But when Sam finds out he’s a suspect in a nightclub owner’s murder, he’s sure his stalker has something to do with it.
A seven-part anthology film exploring the history of Hong Kong from the 1940s to present day.
A woman is revisited by the ghost of her ex-boyfriend, three years after a car crash took his life.
Ho Sheung Sang finds himself wrapped up in another cat-and-mouse game, this time against a tricky magician.
Police inspector and excellent hostage negotiator Ho Sheung-Sang finds himself in over his head when he is pulled into a 72 hour game by a cancer suffering criminal out for vengeance on Hong Kong’s organized crime syndicates.
May is a martial artist and Chinese medicine practitioner who resides in a temple in Omei mountain. Under the threat of her lovelorn master, Misery, she decides to seek the help of infamous womanizer, Tiger Hung, who she had helped earlier, in order to experience heartbreak and master the “Heartbroken Sword” technique to defeat her.
A car accident gives a spoiled, troubled young woman the ability to see ghosts, including one of a former classmate.
Lau Tin-Wai (Andy Lau) is a fighter pilot in the Chinese airforce who is forced to ditch in a field; he is taken in by the remote community of farmers who nurse him back to health, here he meets Ting Siu-Wo, a young woman who falls in love with him.
Fresh from a prison term, a former Triad boss resides in a hotel in Macau, where he befriends its owner and her young son.
Set some time after The Heroic Trio (1993) the city has been devastated by a nuclear attack. An evil deformed villain controls the city’s scarce water supply, exerting influence over both a popular leader and a militarist colonel. The trio of Chat the Thief catcher, Ching, and Wonder Woman (along with her young daughter) have to avert a military takeover and find clean headwaters to save the city.
Stephen Chow plays an angel-type being in this movie, in where he bets the other people in Heaven that he can change the ways of 3 misguided souls and make them better people. Resurrected as a monk, he must stop a prostitute, a beggar, and an all-around bad guy from being what they are (and have been for generations). To add to all of this, he must do this in 3 Heaven days!!!
An invisible woman is kidnapping newborn babies who are destined to be emperors and delivering them to the mysterious subterranean supernatural Evil Master. The police are powerless, and the city must be saved by three very different women who share a terrible past. Anita Mui plays the mild-mannered wife of a police inspector who’s also the mask-wearing, sword-slinging and knife-throwing crime fighter, Wonder Woman. Maggie Cheung plays the shotgun-toting, hard-boiled bounty hunter, Thief Catcher. Michelle … Read more
An unscrupulous lawyer with an equally eccentric kung-fu sidekick wife tries to bring justice to the court.
Two inventors encounter a friendly little ghost, and stumble onto a plot to capture the ghost’s uncle who was responsible for his untimely death. However, the inventors are warned by a spiritual master that humans and ghosts cannot co-exist in the same room at the same time. Doing so would cause a drainage of humans’ life force.
A poor barefoot young man from the country arrives in the city to start work with the friend of his dead father.
Lam Bo Sun, the richest man in Hong Kong, is expected to marry the ditziest of socialites in a matter of weeks. On a whim, he leaves everything behind and gets a job as a lowly busboy at a noodle restaurant, and finds the girl of his dreams.
Award-winning actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai shows his playful comic side in Royal Scoundrel, a winning action-comedy co-starring the divine Jacklyn Wu Chien Lien. Tony Leung is “Beach Boy”, a maverick cop whose unorthodox and incompetent ways are frowned upon by his uptight superiors. His inept partner Mrs. Chow (Ng Man Tat, not playing a female) isn’t much help, and is more concerned with taking care of his many, many children. On a routine stakeout, … Read more
Li Tzu-Liang is returning to Hong Kong with the ashes of his wife. He now has to bring up his two sons on his own. Though he is quite well-off, he his plagued by debts and when he loses a large sum of money betting on horses, he has to turn to dangerous loan-sharks. Here starts a spiral which gets him and his two sons deeper and deeper into trouble.
Chicken Feet (Andy Lau) assists in running an honorable gambling den owned by the crippled Uncle Fan (Siu-Ming Lau) and his son Kit (Wong Kit). Having previously tried to shut down the gambling den and take over by paralyzing Fan and framing Kit for another man’s murder, ruthless local Triad boss, James (Kelvin Wong) goes a step further by murdering Fan. Driven only by money and the pursuit of two valuable ‘Jade stones’, James kidnaps … Read more
A cop (Waise Lee) is losing the control of his right hand and cannot pull the trigger on time anymore. Before any accident happens, he decides to resign. Meanwhile his friend and informer is brutally murdered in Malaysia. Before leaving the force, he decides to find the killers with the help of his buddy, a young cop and an inspector from Kuala Lumpur.
Long’s wife was raped and murdered by a senior cadre’s child. The murderer got away from the law because of his influence. Along (Zheng Haonan) was inexplicably sad and angry, but on impulse, he killed the murderer by mistake. Liang Sihao) smuggled to Hong Kong together. Long and Wen arrived in Hong Kong after a lot of hard work, but they fell into the hands of the snakehead group. They were used by the gangster, … Read more
An introverted businessman who doesn’t get out much, Willie Ng (Raymond Wong) recently celebrated his seventh anniversary, but his marriage seems to be hitting a slump. His wife (Sylvia Chang) is a Cantonese opera aficionado who often complains that her husband is boring and doesn’t appreciate the arts. Willie himself is also eager for some action to break the monotony. When he goes to Singapore on a business trip, he encounters cute pickpocket Siu Hung … Read more
A young, unsuccessful singer, after committing suicide, is to be reincarnated, this time into a musical family. Her spirit must get to the hospital where her future mother is currently ready to give birth to her, so that she can enter the womb and be born. Unfortunately, she misses her appointed birth time, twice, due to the accidental intervention of a young man, Mr. Hong. At first she is angry and makes life hard for … Read more
Three oddball brothers go looking for love but unfortunately, their out-there personalities get in the way!
An seven-part anthology film exploring the history of Hong Kong from the 1940s to present day.
A young man and woman are meeting each other and establishes a special relationship due to debt problems. Him, finds that her have a singing talent and help her develop a singing career. For its part, he also strives to become the champion of the boxing championship. Both have the same state of mind and fight for their dream. Even if they burn their lives, they will have no regrets in this life.
Wah and Kinki both working at the same department of a computer company. Both of them are not getting on very well initially, but friendship develops when they get to know each other after a while. When Wah starts to realize his emergent fondness for Kinki, his ex-girlfriend reappears and plans to gain back his affection. In addition, he notices that his ex-girlfriend arranges a guy to pair up with Kinki. At the same time, … Read more
Chow Yun-fat plays Ah-Long, a father living a low-class lifestyle, while trying to raise his son, Porky (Wong Kwan Yuen). The strong bond between father and son is tested when a chance encounter from Ah-Long’s ex-girlfriend (Sylvia Chang) changes the course of their lives.
A criminal, a bank clerk and a police officer find their destinies entwined when a loan shark gets assaulted after having withdrawn $10 million from the bank in the midst of the world financial crisis.
As election time nears, current Triad chairman Lok (Simon Yam) faces competition from his godsons. At the same time, Jimmy (Louis Koo) looks to increase his business relations with mainland China.
Johnnie To’s character-centered drama follows a Hong Kong firefighting crew as they take on harrowing rescue missions and navigate personal dilemmas.
Mainlander & financial analyst Cheng Zixin (Gao Yuan-Yuan), who followed her then boyfriend Owen (Terence Yin) to Hong Kong, runs into her ex-boyfriend while riding the bus. Owen is now with his pregnant wife and when his wife spots Owen talking to his ex she she freaks out. Cheng hurriedly gets off the bus and, being in a daze, is almost run over by a car. A haggard drunk named Fang (Daniel Wu) then saves … Read more
Kei (Simon Yam) is the experienced leader of a team of pickpockets — also known as “Sparrows” in HK slang. He enjoys a carefree lifestyle taking photos. One day a dashing beauty, Chun-Lei (Kelly Lin), suddenly appears in Kei’s viewfinder. Kei is mesmerized. But behind Chun-Lei’s attractive facade lies a mysterious past and a mission to set herself free.
A rookie cop teams up with a former detective with a supernatural gift to hunt down a serial killer.
Johnnie To’s directorial debut. This period martial arts mystery stars Damian Lau Chung-yan as Lu Tien-chun, an imprisoned swordsman, accused of killing three men. Lu probably would have already been executed for his crimes but is kept alive because he knows the whereabouts of some hidden gold, a secret the ruthless, one-eyed warden Hsiung Chien repeatedly tries to torture out of him. Escaping with the help of a fellow inmate (Lau Kong), Lu encounters maiden … Read more
Mr. and Mrs. To are wealthy, creative jewel thieves who divorce for no apparent reason after a successful diamond heist. A year later, she’s engaged to the son of a rich woman who begrudgingly lets her son give his fiancée a family heirloom after she signs a pre-nup.
John Liu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is an aspiring violinist and Eve Choi (Gigi Leung) is a professional translator whose true passion is translating love poems. They live parallel lives and appear to be perfect for each other, but somehow fate seems to keep them apart. Living in different units of the same apartment building and separated by one thin wall, they never meet, because when they leave, one turns left, and one turns right.
Triad boss Lung (Eddy Ko), who has just escaped being killed in an assassination attempt hires the killers Curtis (Anthony Wong), James (Lam Suet), Mike (Roy Cheung), Roy (Francis Ng) and Shin (Jackie Lui) for his protection.
