Zodiac Killers

Zodiac Killers

Film poster
Traditional 極道追踪
Simplified 极道追踪
Mandarin Jí Dào Zhuī Zōng
Cantonese Gik6 Dou6 Zeoi1 Zung1
Directed by Ann Hui
Produced by Eric Tsang
Screenplay by Raymond To
Wu Nien-jen
Starring Andy Lau
Cherie Chung
Junichi Ishida
Music by Wong Sze Yuen
Cinematography David Chung
Edited by David Wu
Kam Ma
Production
company
Friend Cheers Limited
Paragon Films
Distributed by Golden Harvest
Release dates
  • 20 July 1991 (1991-07-20)
Running time
 95 minutes
Country Hong Kong
Language Cantonese
Japanese
Box office HK$9,081,083[1]

Zodiac Killers is a 1991 Hong Kong action thriller drama film directed by Ann Hui and starring Andy Lau, Cherie Chung and Junichi Ishida.

The inspiration of Zodiac Killers came from the case of a mainland Chinese female student studying abroad in Japan who died when she fell onto the tracks. Zodiac Killers is Hong Kong New Wave's representative Ann Hui's first attempt at making a commercial film, which, however, did not perform very well at the local box office. Even after finishing the film for a long time, no film producers came to her to make a film.

Plot

Hong Kong student Ben Lee becomes friends with his mainland Chinese classmate Chang Chih while studying abroad in Japan. Ben is unmotivated to study and only cares about money and on the other hand, whenever Chih encounters a Chinese person, he would ask whereabouts of his childhood sweetheart. Ming is also from Hong Kong and in order to elevate his social status, he becomes involved with a bar hostess and owner Yuriko, hoping to become Yakuza leader Yamada Ishikawa's brother in-law.

In Yuriko's bar, Ben encounters Chinese student Mang Tit Lan, who is there to earn some extra money, and falls in love with her at first sight but is not favored. Lan and her friend Mei Mei live with their guarantor and suffers a lot of humiliation.

Lan is in love with Hideyuki Asano, who works as Yamada's top assassin, who went to South America to kill Yamada's enemy, nut eventually came back to reunite with Lan. However, Yamada send his men to have Asano silenced and right before he dies, he asks Lan to expose Yamada to the police but Lan faces the underworld's pursue to kill her.

Since Lan's passport was detained by her guarantor, Ben had to help her sneak out of Japan on a boat, but the thugs arrive right after hearing the news. Ben and Lan attempt to leave the oppressing country.

Cast

Theme song

Release

Considering its large budget for this commercial film compared to Ann Hui's other art films, Zodiac Killers grossed a disappointing HK$9,081,083 during its theatrical run from 20 July to 8 August 1991 in Hong Kong.[1]

Reception

Ben Sachs of the Chicago Reader wrote, "As an action movie, this is just fine [..] But as a portrait of cultural displacement, this is evocative and sometimes very moving."[2]

Awards and nominations

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Zodiac Killers at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase
  2. ↑ Sachs, Ben (2012-05-09). "What's new again: Ann Hui's Zodiac Killers". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2014-06-20.

External links

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