Quan Zhi Sha Shou
Hong Kong,
2001, 100 min
Shown in 2002
CREDITS
- dir
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Johnnie To
- prod
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Emily Chan, Bob Wong, Shirley Lau, Esther Ko
- scr
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Wai Ka Fai, Joseph O’Bryan
- cam
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Cheung Siu Keung
- editor
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David Richardson
- mus
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Guy Zerafa
- cast
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Andy Lau, Takashi Sorimachi, Simon Yam, Kelly Lin, Cherrie Ying
- source
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Teamwork Motion Pictures, 3/F On King, Building 54, Tsun Yip Street, Kwun Tong Kowloon, Hong Kong. FAX: 852-2343-3248. EMAIL: caroline@teamworkcorp.cc.
-
COMMENTS
Joseph O’Bryan in person.
OTHER
This hypnotic and hyperactive new thriller from acclaimed Hong Kong directors Wai Ka-fai and Johnnie To portrays a lonely assassin named O, living in an isolated world of crime and despair after the death of his true love. Along comes Tok, a flamboyant and reckless hit man who wants to become the Number One killer. In order to do so, he must challenge O. How long will it be before their guns are pointed at each other? Based on the bestseller by Edmond Pang and starring superstar Andy Lau and Japanese heartthrob Takashi Sorimachi, this is an explosive blend of bullet ballet and kooky love story, crammed with references to other action films and bathed in beautiful hues of orange and blue. Dropkicking Hong Kong cinema out of the doldrums it has been stuck in for years, the filmmakers keep everything firmly in the realm of super-stylized total fantasy, rarely pausing to take a breath. Fulltime Killer is a deeply satisfying piece of intelligent pulp, screaming with operatic emotions and soaked in sensational thrills, exactly the type of film that Hollywood has forgotten how to make in this age of expensive yet soulless CGI effects and bloated blockbusters.
—Joel Shepard
FACTOID #95
Later to find fame with the amnesia-tinged film noir update Memento, British director Christopher Nolan was nominated for the SKYY Prize in 1998 for his first feature Following. Nolan shot the film about a writer who stalks strangers, on weekends over the course of a year on a budget of $6,000.
