Customer Reviews

People's Hero

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great film, in spite of the terrible 80s hairdo's and clothes. A very young Tony Leung and the always reliable Ti Lung shine in it as a hapless bankrobber-wannabe and a wanted criminal whose paths cross in a bank they both want to rob. Heartily recommended. The subtitles aren't the best sadly - they keep referring to the hold-up of the bank as a "rubbery", detracting from the seriousness of the film. Unfortunately the DVD - which I bought from Sensasian - kept "getting stuck" on my DVD player. Hopefully other discs/players don't have the same problem.

Don't be deceived by the stylish DVD cover. This 1980's movie has been re-packaged and the supporting actor (a young Tony Leung in jean shorts) has been given the top billing.

It received multiple film awards in Hong Kong when it was first released. Considering it's contemporary films (Jackie Chan action comedies and vampire movies), it might have been an early "thriller". There are moments of tension and really good acting by the hodge podge, cross section of society characters. But there are some moments that really don't up well, like a central rock-paper-scissors type of game with sing-song chanting in Cantonese. The last few seconds of the ending also seem over-the-top and unnecessary.

In terms of style, cinematography and action/choreography, there is nothing special here. There is a good amount of character development for a 1980's Hong Kong film.

Don't bother with the special features. There are only 2. The first is a static list of the 4 or 5 principal actors. Yes, you read that right. I never considered information that you could gleam from the back of the DVD box to be a special feature. The other is a 2 minute trailer which may actually be a commercial for this DVD. It doesn't seem like a trailer you'd see in a movie theater.

I had no problems playing this DVD. (If you get it direct from Amazon, it should not be a problem).