Beast Cops (film)
Encyclopedia
Beast Cops is a 1998
Hong Kong
action film
co-directed by Gordon Chan
and Dante Lam
which stars Anthony Wong Chau-Sang and Michael Wong
. The film was one of the first Hong Kong films to be filmed with sync sound
; up to this point Hong Kong films were normally filmed without sound due to the inherent cacophony of noises prevalent in the hyper-active streets of Hong Kong.
who is friends with a Triad dai lo named Fai (Roy Cheung). Fai hires a hitman to murder a business rival; the hit goes wrong and Fai, implicated in the incident, goes on the run. This leaves Tung in the put-upon position to look after Fai's affairs.
Soon, however, Tung's squad is assigned a new Commanding Officer in the form of Lieutenant Michael Cheung (Michael Wong - no relation to Anthony), a no-nonsense, tough-as-nails cop who was transferred for having punched out his own previous Commanding Officer. In an attempt to keep tabs on Cheung—and similarly introduce him to their precinct—Tung takes Cheung to the disco owned by Fai. There, Cheung meets a madam named Yoyo (whose name in dubbed versions is sometimes given as Yo Yo Ma), who is also Fai's moll. Angry and upset that Fai left on such short notice without her, Yoyo accepts Cheung's overture and the two soon find themselves genuinely in love.
In the meantime Fai's eager underling, Push-Pin, moves himself into Fai's role and attempts to force Yoyo to peddle customers drugs through her escorts. Yoyo refuses, an action which results in Push-Pin slapping her across the face. Cheung finds out and takes revenge by inspecting Push-Pin's establishments every night.
As Cheung and Yoyo's relationship turns serious, Tung finds his own relationship with a married woman turning sour. She routinely asks him for money [note: seems she's paying him for sex], which leaves him constantly broke. When Push-Pin realizes slapping Yoyo has resulted in Cheung becoming an enemy, Push-Pin hands Tung a handful of money, "as a gift." Actually, this act is a bribe, and when Cheung is later attacked by a group of Push-Pin's men and Tung, having made the connection, attempts to bring Push-Pin in, Push-Pin reminds Tung of the money he'd given him. Tung finds himself powerless to arrest Push-Pin without exposing himself as having been bribed.
Things come to a head when Fai returns to town and learns that Yoyo is seeing Cheung. Fai goes after Cheung; their fight leads to a stand-off with Tung between them, and Yoyo proclaiming she and Cheung are in love and are having a baby. Fai storms off, followed by Tung. The two decide it's time to pay a visit to Push-Pin, who has now been officially promoted by the area's lead Triad boss, Tai, into Fai's place as dai lo.
While Tung waits outside the disco, Fai goes in to confront Push-Pin. After an emotional confrontation, Push-Pin chops Fai in the neck with a machete, killing him. Tung sees Push-Pin leaving the club; when he runs inside to see what happened, the sight of Fai's body on the floor leaves him devastated and wanting revenge.
Tung, loaded with alcohol and barbiturates, cruises town to find Push-Pin. He receives word Push-Pin is back at his underground casino and goes there to bring Push-Pin down once and for all. This results in Tung taking on not only Push-Pin, but all his underlings as well. Cheung shows up with his officers to help, only to find Tung moments later seemingly dead from a steel spike Push-Pin has rammed into Tung's gut. Seconds later, Push-Pin is killed by one of Fai's men as revenge for his killing of Fai.
As it turns out, Tung survives and he and Cheung pay a visit to the lead Triad boss, Tai, where the two promise to eventually bring him down.
Hong Kong films of 1998
A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 1998:.-1998:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 1998 at...
Hong Kong
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
action film
Hong Kong action cinema
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. It combines elements from the action film, as codified by Hollywood, with Chinese storytelling and aesthetic traditions, to create a culturally distinctive form that nevertheless has a wide transcultural...
co-directed by Gordon Chan
Gordon Chan
Gordon Chan Kar-Seung , born in 1960, is an a Hong Kong film director, writer and producer. His most notable works include Beast Cops, Fist of Legend, Painted Skin, 2000 AD and Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen...
and Dante Lam
Dante Lam
Dante Lam Chiu-Yin is a Hong Kong film director, an assistant director, actor, producer, writer, and action choreographer. In 2008 he won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director for his work on Beast Stalker.-Director:* Option Zero...
which stars Anthony Wong Chau-Sang and Michael Wong
Michael Wong (actor)
Michael Fitzgerald Wong aka Wong Man-Tak is a Chinese-American and a Hong Kong based actor, director, singer and producer.He is fluent in English, but not so in Chinese, which is reflected in many of the characters he has portrayed. His most notable film is the 1998 film Beast Cops which won a...
. The film was one of the first Hong Kong films to be filmed with sync sound
Sync sound
Sync sound refers to sound recorded at the time of the filming of movies, and has been widely used in movies since the birth of sound movies.-History:...
; up to this point Hong Kong films were normally filmed without sound due to the inherent cacophony of noises prevalent in the hyper-active streets of Hong Kong.
Plot
Sergeant Tung (Anthony Wong) is a street cop in Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
who is friends with a Triad dai lo named Fai (Roy Cheung). Fai hires a hitman to murder a business rival; the hit goes wrong and Fai, implicated in the incident, goes on the run. This leaves Tung in the put-upon position to look after Fai's affairs.
Soon, however, Tung's squad is assigned a new Commanding Officer in the form of Lieutenant Michael Cheung (Michael Wong - no relation to Anthony), a no-nonsense, tough-as-nails cop who was transferred for having punched out his own previous Commanding Officer. In an attempt to keep tabs on Cheung—and similarly introduce him to their precinct—Tung takes Cheung to the disco owned by Fai. There, Cheung meets a madam named Yoyo (whose name in dubbed versions is sometimes given as Yo Yo Ma), who is also Fai's moll. Angry and upset that Fai left on such short notice without her, Yoyo accepts Cheung's overture and the two soon find themselves genuinely in love.
In the meantime Fai's eager underling, Push-Pin, moves himself into Fai's role and attempts to force Yoyo to peddle customers drugs through her escorts. Yoyo refuses, an action which results in Push-Pin slapping her across the face. Cheung finds out and takes revenge by inspecting Push-Pin's establishments every night.
As Cheung and Yoyo's relationship turns serious, Tung finds his own relationship with a married woman turning sour. She routinely asks him for money [note: seems she's paying him for sex], which leaves him constantly broke. When Push-Pin realizes slapping Yoyo has resulted in Cheung becoming an enemy, Push-Pin hands Tung a handful of money, "as a gift." Actually, this act is a bribe, and when Cheung is later attacked by a group of Push-Pin's men and Tung, having made the connection, attempts to bring Push-Pin in, Push-Pin reminds Tung of the money he'd given him. Tung finds himself powerless to arrest Push-Pin without exposing himself as having been bribed.
Things come to a head when Fai returns to town and learns that Yoyo is seeing Cheung. Fai goes after Cheung; their fight leads to a stand-off with Tung between them, and Yoyo proclaiming she and Cheung are in love and are having a baby. Fai storms off, followed by Tung. The two decide it's time to pay a visit to Push-Pin, who has now been officially promoted by the area's lead Triad boss, Tai, into Fai's place as dai lo.
While Tung waits outside the disco, Fai goes in to confront Push-Pin. After an emotional confrontation, Push-Pin chops Fai in the neck with a machete, killing him. Tung sees Push-Pin leaving the club; when he runs inside to see what happened, the sight of Fai's body on the floor leaves him devastated and wanting revenge.
Tung, loaded with alcohol and barbiturates, cruises town to find Push-Pin. He receives word Push-Pin is back at his underground casino and goes there to bring Push-Pin down once and for all. This results in Tung taking on not only Push-Pin, but all his underlings as well. Cheung shows up with his officers to help, only to find Tung moments later seemingly dead from a steel spike Push-Pin has rammed into Tung's gut. Seconds later, Push-Pin is killed by one of Fai's men as revenge for his killing of Fai.
As it turns out, Tung survives and he and Cheung pay a visit to the lead Triad boss, Tai, where the two promise to eventually bring him down.
Cast
- Anthony Wong Chau-sang as Tung
- Michael WongMichael Wong (actor)Michael Fitzgerald Wong aka Wong Man-Tak is a Chinese-American and a Hong Kong based actor, director, singer and producer.He is fluent in English, but not so in Chinese, which is reflected in many of the characters he has portrayed. His most notable film is the 1998 film Beast Cops which won a...
as Michael Cho (Michael Cheung in some prints) - Kathy Chow Hoi-meiKathy Chow Hoi-MeiKathy Chow Hoi-mei is a Hong Kong actress. She was a former Miss Hong Kong pageant participant and during the late 1980s and 1990s she actively modeled and starred in Hong Kong TVB series. Over time her roles were reduced and she switched work to ATV during 1998. During all this time she would...
as Yoyo - Roy CheungRoy CheungRoy Cheung Yiu-Yeung is a Hong Kong-based actor, best known on-screen for his roles as Triad gangsters in a number of films.- Early life and career :As a child, Cheung idolized kung-fu legend Bruce Lee but never seriously considered a career in acting....
as Brother Fai - Patrick Tam as Push-Pin
- Sam Lee as Sam
Awards
- 1999 Hong Kong Film Awards:
- Best Actor - Anthony Wong Chau-Sang
- Best Director - Gordon Chan, Dante Lam
- Best Picture
- Best Screenplay - Hing-Ka Chan, Gordon Chan
- Best Supporting Actor - Patrick Tam
- 1999 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
- Best Actor - Anthony Wong Chau-Sang
- Best Film