Island of Fire
Encyclopedia
Island of Fire is a 1991 Taiwanese
Cinema of Taiwan
The history of Chinese-language cinema has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of Mainland China and Cinema of Taiwan . Taiwanese cinema grew up outside of the Hong Kong mainstream and the censorship of the People's Republic of China.Taiwanese cinema is deeply rooted...
action
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...
-crime film
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
directed by Chu Yin-Ping. The film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
is also known in the UK as Island on Fire and in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as The Prisoner. It was shot in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
As with both of those earlier films, recent DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
releases market Island of Fire as a Jackie Chan film, displaying his image on the cover as though he was the lead actor. In fact, Chan only appears in a supporting role, with Tony Leung Ka-Fai
Tony Leung Ka-Fai
Tony Leung Ka-fai is a three-time Hong Kong Film Award-winning Chinese film actor.Because he is often confused with actor Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Tony Leung Ka-fai is known as "Big Tony", while Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is known as "Little Tony", nicknames which correspond to the actors' respective...
as the central character. The film also co-stars Sammo Hung
Sammo Hung
Sammo Hung is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in many martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema...
, Andy Lau
Andy Lau
Andy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...
, and Barry Wong
Barry Wong
Barry Wong Ping-Yiu was a Hong Kong screenwriter, film producer and actor. He was hailed as one of the most prolific screenwriters of Hong Kong cinema penning scripts for some of the top filmmakers and actors during the 1980s and early 1990s...
.
After appearing with Chan in Killer Meteors in 1976
Hong Kong films of 1976
A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 1976:.-A-B:-C-:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 1976 at...
, the film's producer and co-star, Jimmy Wang Yu
Jimmy Wang Yu
Jimmy Wang Yu is a Chinese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. He shot to fame with the Shaw Brothers Studio's martial arts film, The One-Armed Swordsman, in 1967...
, came to Chan's aid when the then young actor sought his help in settling a dispute with veteran director, Lo Wei
Lo Wei
Lo Wei was a famous Hong Kong film director and film actor best known for launching the martial arts film careers of both Bruce Lee, in The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, and Jackie Chan, in New Fist of Fury....
. Chan repaid the favour by playing roles in Wang's films, which included this film as well as the 1982 film
Hong Kong films of 1982
A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 1982:.-1982:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 1982 at...
Fantasy Mission Force
Fantasy Mission Force
Fantasy Mission Force is a 1983 Hong Kong action-comedy film directed by Chu Yin-Ping and starring Jackie Chan in a supporting role, Brigitte Lin, Jimmy Wang Yu....
.
Synopsis
Tony Leung Kar-fai plays a police officer who goes undercover in the pen, hoping to determine how the finger prints of a recently killed felon could belong to a con who had been executed three months before. While inside, he goes through the tortures of hell, after getting involved in matters that were better left alone. His fellow prisoners include Chan (in for accidentally killing a card player, while trying to raise money to pay for an operation to save his girlfriend's life), Andy Lau Tak-wah (as the brother of the dead man, who has himself thrown in jail to exact revenge), Wang (as one of the leaders of the prisoners), and Sammo Hung Kam-po (as a compassionate but pathetic inmate, who frequently escapes to visit his young son). When Leung kills an especially corrupt guard and is sentenced to a firing squad, the film goes reveals that the convicts that are assumed to be executed are actually being used by the warden (Ke Chuen-hsiang) as hitmen to assassinate untouchable criminals.Cast
- Jackie ChanJackie ChanJackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
as Da Chui / Lung (Hong Kong version) / Steve (US version) - Barry WongBarry WongBarry Wong Ping-Yiu was a Hong Kong screenwriter, film producer and actor. He was hailed as one of the most prolific screenwriters of Hong Kong cinema penning scripts for some of the top filmmakers and actors during the 1980s and early 1990s...
as Inspector Wong - Sammo HungSammo HungSammo Hung is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in many martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema...
as Fatty Liu Hsi Chia / John Liu - Andy LauAndy LauAndy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...
as Iron Ball / Lau / Boss Lee - Tony Leung Ka-faiTony Leung Ka-FaiTony Leung Ka-fai is a three-time Hong Kong Film Award-winning Chinese film actor.Because he is often confused with actor Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Tony Leung Ka-fai is known as "Big Tony", while Tony Leung Chiu-Wai is known as "Little Tony", nicknames which correspond to the actors' respective...
as Wei Wang / Andy - Jimmy Wang YuJimmy Wang YuJimmy Wang Yu is a Chinese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. He shot to fame with the Shaw Brothers Studio's martial arts film, The One-Armed Swordsman, in 1967...
as Kui / Lucas - Chun Hsiang Ko as Prison Chief / Prison Superintendent
- Chung Hua Tou as Chiu / Charlie
- Jack KaoJack KaoJack Kao is a Taiwanese actor. He began his career in the late 1980s films of Hou Hsiao-Hsien.-Filmography:*Daughter of the Nile *Rouge of The North *A City of Sadness *Island of Fire *Dust of Angels...
as Ho Lin - Ken LoKen LoKen Low Wai-kwong is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist and a ex-member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team.-Early life:...
as Bodyguard - Rocky Lai as Iron Ball's thug / Prisoner
- Chin Ho as Iron Ball's assistant
- Teddy YipTeddy YipTheodore "Teddy" Yip was a businessman from Indonesia who was instrumental in developing Macau as a tourist destination and who was a Formula One team owner in the 1970s.-Early life and business career:...
as Prisoner - Wang An
- Yen Ru Chen
- Kao Ming
- Kang Ho
- Fang JingFang JingFang Jing is a famous TV anchor for China's CCTV station. She is notable for numerous programs including the prime-time military program Defense Watch. In 2009 she was suspected of spying for Taiwan.-Career:...
- Yuen Yi
- Wai Hung Ho
- Tou Hu
- Wang Yao
- Bang Yu
- Chien Tsao
Versions
There are three different versions of this film. There is a 93-minute 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...
version, a 96-minute American version and a 125-minute Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese version which focuses more on character development and plot detail.