Prison on Fire is a 1987 Hong Kong action film

Action film

Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...

 directed by Ringo Lam

Ringo Lam

Ringo Lam Ling-Tung , born in 1955 is a Hong Kong film director, producer and scriptwriter.He is known for gritty, dark and realistic action thrillers. He was born in Hong Kong and studied film at York University film school in Toronto...

 and starring Chow Yun-fat

Chow Yun-Fat

Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...

. The film was followed by a sequel, Prison on Fire II

Prison on Fire II

Prison on Fire II is a 1991 Hong Kong action/prison film. It is the sequel to the 1987 film Prison on Fire. Both films were directed by Ringo Lam and star Chow Yun-fat.-Plot:...

, in 1991.

Plot

The plot mostly involves the two main characters, Ching and Yiu and problems they face with Mickey, a fellow inmate and "Assassin", a prison guard. Yiu is sentenced to three years for manslaughter

Manslaughter

Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...

. In a fight for his father, he pushed a man that was then run over by a bus.

Ching was sent to prison for killing his wife for being a prostitute.

During the end of the film, inmates decide to go on hunger strike

Hunger strike

A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...

 to protest against the cigarette price rise, this causes problems with Assassin.

Ching bit Surface's ear off and gets an extended sentence, continued on Prison on Fire II

Prison on Fire II

Prison on Fire II is a 1991 Hong Kong action/prison film. It is the sequel to the 1987 film Prison on Fire. Both films were directed by Ringo Lam and star Chow Yun-fat.-Plot:...

,
Yiu is released later on.

Cast

• Chow Yun-fat
  Chow Yun-Fat
  Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
  
  
• 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...
  
  
• Roy Cheung
  Roy Cheung
  Roy 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....
  
  
• Ng Chi Hung
• Shing Fui-On
  Shing Fui-On
  Shing Fui On was a Hong Kong actor, best known for his supporting roles in Hong Kong cinema. He had only one leading role in his entire career.-Biography:...