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Long Arm of the Law (Chinese: 省港旗兵; lit. 'Red Guards in Guangzhou and Hong Kong') is a 1984 Hong Kong crime film directed by Johnny Mak (麥當雄).

Plot

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  • Ho Yiu-tung, a former Red Guard who illegally crossed the border into Hong Kong in February 1979, is traveling back home to Guangzhou to meet his former Red Guard friends
  • Nicknamed Big Tung, he is named by the Royal Hong Kong Police Force as a top 10 most wanted criminal for multiple crimes, including kidnapping, armed robberies, and assaults
  • With his friends, Ho schemes a jewelry store heist in order to fund their retirement:
    • They plan to sneak in on 19 October to take advantage of lax security on Buddha's Birthday the following day
    • After climbing a mountain to get into Shenzhen, and then travel onward to Hong Kong, where they will rendezvous with Tung, who will travel separately and wait at a hotel
    • They estimate that a successful heist will net each person $250,000 HKD, an extravagant sum far surpassing their meager salaries on the mainland
    • Ho reminds the crew that to limit the chance of their plan failing, they must agree to only spend two days in Hong Kong
  • Using fake IDs, the gangsters plan to sneak across the border into Hong Kong to rob a jewelry store in order to fund their retirement
  • Bull's Eye gets shot by the border guards while trying to climb the chain-link fence and is mauled to death by guard dogs
  • The next day, they successfully pretend to be a lion dance troupe while being questioned at a police checkpoint
  • The gangsters plan their heist; however, they find out when they get to their targeted jewelry store that a lone robber had already unsuccessfully attempted to rob it earlier, resulting in the store being closed and an increased police presence
  • When a policeman becomes suspicious of the gangsters, they flee their car and cause a shootout, resulting in them killing a police officer and hijacking a taxi
  • Ho Yiu-tung reiterates that they will try to rob the store again after three days, surmising that the store's security will be more lax after catching a criminal

Cast

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  • Lam Wai (林威) as Ho Yiu-tung (何耀東), nicknamed Big Tung (大東): a former Red Guard turned career criminal who plans a jewellery store heist in Hong Kong
  • Wong Kin (黃健) as Sik Koo (肥姑)
  • Kong Lung (江龍) as Ah Chung (八中)
  • Chan Ging (陳敬) as Rooster (生雞)
  • Lam Seung-sam (藍湘森) as Bull's Eye (打靶仔; daa2 baa2 zai2; 'hit target son'; Cantonese slang for a useless kid): a Mainland gangster who dies trying to illegally cross the border into Hong Kong
  • Lee Ying-git (李英杰) as Blockhead (烏蠅頭)
  • Shum Wai (沈威) as Tai (阿泰)
  • Ng Hoi-tin (吳海添) as Inspector Li

Lau Sun-lun (劉珣麟) plays Fatso (肥狗; fei4 gau2; 'fat dog'): a police informant killed by Ho Yiu-tung's gang

Production

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Conception

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  • Johnny Mak, who had previously directed and produced several realistic and gritty television series at Rediffusion Television, had left the station in 1981 to form his own production company[1]
    • Under Johnny Mak Productions, he produced several films, such as Lonely Fifteen (1982)
  • With the backing of Sammo Hung's Bo Ho Films, Long Arm of the Law was Mak's directorial debut film[1]

Writing

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  • Long Arm of the Law was made to emulate the violent and gritty aesthetic of Mak's earlier television series like Ten Sensational Cases (十大奇案, 1975)[1][2][3]
  • The script was written by Philip Chan, a former Royal Hong Kong Police Force superintendent who had starred in one of Mak's television series called Operation Manhunt (大丈夫, 1977)[4][5]: 95 

Development and pre-production

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  • The stunts were choreographed by Chan Wui-ngai and the stunt team of Sammo Hung[6]
  • Art direction was handled by Cheung King-hung (張景熊), Fung Yuen-chi (馮元熾), and Yank Wong (黃仁逵)[7][8]

Casting

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  • The vast majority of the cast was made up of amateur actors with the exception of Lam Wai, who had appeared in multiple Shaw Brothers films[9][10]

Filming

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  • Long Arm of the Law was shot throughout Hong Kong, including the Kowloon Walled City as part of the film's final shootout[10]
  • Intentionally shot in a documentary-like style, relying on natural lighting to illuminate the scene[11]: 263 
    • Mak: "I don't understand why others have to use lighting in making a realistic film. It really is a waste, and detrimental to the film too. It ruins the realistic feeling."
  • Mak utilised guerrilla filmmaking throughout production, shooting with both a handheld camera and a hidden camera[10]
  • According to film expert Frank Djeng, the exterior shots of Lam Wai at the beginning were allegedly shot in secret in mainland China[10]
  • Other film locations include Mody Road for the jewelry store getaway sequence, and Cityplaza for the ice skating shooting[6]
  • The jewelry store sequence was shot in a vacant store, with six cameras placed along the shooting route[11]: 264 
    • This sequence was rehearsed for two days, with unknowing passersby believing it was a real robbery[11]: 264 
  • For the scene where a car containing a tied-up Tai is set on fire, Mak did not tell Wai beforehand that the vehicle would be doused in gasoline and lit on fire; this nearly suffocated Wai and led to a genuinely fearful reaction from the actor that was captured on film[10][12][13][14]
    • This incident would severely strain the relationship between the two; when he ended up winning Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film, Wai did not thank Mak in his speech
  • Mak got permission to shoot the final fight scene in the Kowloon Walled City after spending eight months negotiating, and more than ten scouting trips[11]: 265 

Post-production

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Music

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Design

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  • Mak's orders to Hung were to keep the stunts grounded in realistic street fighting[10]
  • Yuen Mo (元武), a member of Sammo Hung's stunt team, blacked out after performing a stunt where he fell from the fifth floor of a shopping mall onto an ice rink; he recalled that he knew he would suffer serious injuries from landing on the ice on his back, and would not have performed the stunt if Hung had not personally invested in the film[15][16][17]

Release

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Context

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  • During the 1970s, Hong Kong public had acquired an appetite for socially conscious programming; seeing the success of public broadcaster RTHK's Below the Lion Rock (1972), which tackled a myriad of social issues, commercial stations like TVB and Rediffusion began broadcasting more realistic crime dramas[18]: 71 
  • During his time at Rediffusion, Mak produced multiple popular crime dramas that offered a more violent depiction of the Triads[19]: 43–44 

Box office

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  • Long Arm of the Law was released on 11 July 1984, and ran for two weeks until 25 July[20]
  • The film was never shown in mainland China[10]

Reception

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Critical response

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Awards and accolades

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Post-release

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Home media

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  • 88 Films will be releasing the film and its sequel on Blu-ray in 2023[10]

Other media

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Themes

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Themes notes

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Sek Kei, "Achievement and Crisis: Hong Kong Cinema in the '80s, Bright Lights Film Journal #13 (1994)[23]

  • Compares the film to Yim Ho's Homecoming (1984) by noting it casts its mainland protagonists unfavourably
  • However, Sek Kei notes that the film "indirectly recognizes that Hong Kong people have discriminated against immigrants from the Mainland"

Li Cheuk-to, "The Return of the Father: Hong Kong New Wave and its Chinese Context in the 1980s", New Chinese Cinemas: Forms, Identities, Politics - ed. Nick Browne, Paul G. Pickowicz, VIvian Sobchack, Esther Yau

  • Long Arm of the Law examines the Big Circle gangs, whose members are mainland immigrants[24]: 169 
    • Li compares the movie to the Yim Ho film Homecoming (1984), which was released the same year
    • According to Li, the setting of the final gunfight, the Kowloon Walled City, represents "a Chinese island in the heart of British-ruled Hong Kong", and thus sets the scene in pitting past versus present[24]: 172 

Steve Fore, "Long Arm of the Law (1984): The Kowloon Walled City (now Kowloon Walled City Park)", World Film Locations: Hong Kong - ed. Linda Chiu-Han Lai, Kimburley Wing-yee Choi

  • The Kowloon Walled City was a densely-populated six-and-a-half acre space containing a "ramshackle labyrinth" of businesses and living quarters housing many mainland immigrants[25]
  • According to Fore, the film is "one of the most significant pre-1997 ruminations on the stakes of [Hong Kong's] return to Chinese sovereignty"
  • The film portrays the mainland gangsters as "violent invaders", while also simultaneously treating the Hong Kong police and local gangsters equally cynically
  • Despite the film's depiction of the Walled City as a "dangerous and claustrophobic trap", in reality most of its residents were regular people living under tough circumstances

Legacy

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  • Despite the film's success, Long Arm of the Law would be Mak's only film that he would direct[2]
  • He would still continue to act as a producer for several other movies, many of them gangster films[26]: 276 

Cultural impact

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Critical reassessment

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  • The Hong Kong Film Awards Association ranked the film #6 in its 100 Best Chinese Motion Pictures in 2005[29]
  • In 2011, the Hong Kong Film Archive listed Long Arm of the Law at #74 in its "100 Top Must-See Hong Kong Movies" programme[30]
  • Hong Kong museum M+ screened the film for one of its inaugural programmes for the newly-constructed M+ Cinema in 2022[31]
    • The programme, titled "Hong Kong: The Establishing Shot", was intended as a celebration of the city's rich cinematic history and how its films are interconnected with its urban architecture[32][33]

Sequels and spin-offs

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Johnny Mak 麥當雄" (PDF). Hong Kong Film Archive. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b Stokes, Lisa Odham (2007). "Mak, Johnny Tong-hong (1949–)". Historical Dictionary of Hong Kong Cinema. Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts. Oxford, UK: Scarecrow Press. pp. 310–311. ISBN 978-0-8108-5520-5. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  3. ^ Chu, Yingchi (29 August 2003). Hong Kong Cinema: Coloniser, Motherland and Self. London, England: Routledge. pp. 65–. ISBN 978-1-135-78626-7.
  4. ^ Stokes, Lisa Odham (2007). "Chan, Philip Yan-kin (1945–)". Historical Dictionary of Hong Kong Cinema. Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts. Oxford, UK: Scarecrow Press. pp. 43–44. ISBN 978-0-8108-5520-5. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  5. ^ O'Brien, Daniel (2003). "Blood Curses and Hell Virgins". Spooky Encounters: A Gwailo's Guide to Hong Kong Horror. Manchester, Great Britain: Headpress. p. 95. ISBN 978-1-900486-31-6. Retrieved 8 July 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ a b Fonoroff, Paul. "Art house: Long Arm of the Law". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Yank Wong 黃仁逵" (PDF). Hong Kong Film Archive. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  8. ^ Tsui, Clarence (1 May 2008). "Also showing: Yank Wong Yan-kwai". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  9. ^ Murray, Darren (17 May 2017). "The Long Arm of the Law Series 1984 - 1990". Screen Anarchy. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Havis, Richard James (21 May 2023). "In Long Arm of the Law, classic 1980s Hong Kong movie, there are no heroes – police and criminals are as bad as each other". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d Ho, Sam, ed. (2005). Wild Blooms of Imagination: Art Direction in Hong Kong Films, 1979–2001. Hong Kong: Joint Publishing. ISBN 9620423585. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  12. ^ 許, 育民 Heoi Juk-man (11 June 2022). "「一代奸人」沈威逝世終年71歲　憑《省港旗兵》獲最佳男配險燒死" ["The villain of a generation", Shum Wai, dies at the age of 71: The winner of Best Supporting Actor for "Long Arm of the Law" nearly burnt to death]. HK01. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  13. ^ ""一代奸人"沈威逝世，拍《省港旗兵》时因导演假戏真做险烧死" [Shum Wai, "the villain of a generation", passes away: Was nearly burnt to death due to director's fake instructions on "Long Arm of the Law"]. Sina. 16 June 2022. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  14. ^ "《省港旗兵》阿泰病危　香港一代奸角沈威插管搶救" [Ah-Tai from "Long Arm of the Law" is critically ill: Shum Wai, Hong Kong's traitor of a generation, is rescued by intubation]. Apple Daily Taiwan. 19 April 2019. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  15. ^ Wong, Zung-jin 王誦賢 (26 September 2021). "龍虎武師│洪家班全行出名搵命搏 行家見導演係洪金寶︰即說沒空". HK01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  16. ^ Wei, Junzi 魏君子 (2020). Kung Fu Stuntmen (Motion picture) (in Chinese). Event occurs at 34:00.
  17. ^ Yau, Elaine (13 October 2021). "They kept Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li safe: Kung Fu Stuntmen film hails the unsung heroes who risked life and limb for Hong Kong movies". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  18. ^ Yang, Jeff (2003). Once Upon a Time in China: A Guide to Hong Kong, Taiwanese, and Mainland Chinese Cinema. New York: Atria Books. ISBN 978-0-7434-4817-8. Retrieved 3 March 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ Kar, Law (2001). "An Overview of Hong Kong's New Wave Cinema". In Yau, Esther C. M. (ed.). At Full Speed: Hong Kong Cinema in a Borderless World. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-3234-3. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  20. ^ "Long Arm of the Law (1984)". Hong Kong Movie Database. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  21. ^ "List of Nominees and Awardees of The 4th Hong Kong Film Awards". Hong Kong Film Awards. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  22. ^ "Nominees and winners of the 21st Golden Horse Awards". www.goldenhorse.org.tw (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  23. ^ Sek, Kei (1 January 2001). "Achievement and Crisis: Hong Kong Cinema in the '80s". Bright Lights Film Journal (13).
  24. ^ a b Li, Cheuk-to. "The Return of the Father: Hong Kong New Wave and its Chinese Context in the 1980s". In Browne, Nick; Pickowicz, Paul G.; Sobchack, Vivian; Yau, Esther (eds.). New Chinese Cinemas: Forms, Identities, Politics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-44409-5. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  25. ^ Fore, Steve (2013). "Long Arm of the Law (1984)". In Lai, Linda Chiu-han; Choi, Kimburley Wing-yee (eds.). World Film Locations: Hong Kong. Bristol, England: Intellect Books. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-78320-021-4. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  26. ^ Teo, Stephen (2019). Hong Kong Cinema: The Extra Dimensions. London, England: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-83871-626-4. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  27. ^ Cowan, Noah (28 May 2014). "A Century of Chinese Cinema: an introduction". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  28. ^ Vesia, Michael (August 2002). "The Gangster as Hero in Hong Kong Cinema". Offscreen. 6 (8). Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  29. ^ Chow, Vivienne (15 March 2005). "Mainland classic tops list of 100 best films". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  30. ^ ""100 Must-See Hong Kong Movies" programme brochure" (PDF). Film Programmes Office. Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  31. ^ Chow, Vivienne (3 June 2022). "Russian 'DAU' Films Among Inaugural Lineup of Hong Kong's M+ Visual Culture Museum". Variety. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  32. ^ Lui, Mabel (8 June 2022). "What to see at the newly opened M+ Cinema in Hong Kong's museum of visual culture". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  33. ^ "Hong Kong: The Establishing Shot". M+. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
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