The Missing Gun

Starring:Wen Jiang, Jing Ning, Yujuan Wu, Nina Huang Fan, Xiaoning Liu, Shi Liang, Wei Xiaoping, Pan Yong
Director: Chuan Lu
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Not at all what you might expect...
A thoughtful film
Not a bad effort

The Missing Gun
Starring: Wen Jiang , Jing Ning , Yujuan Wu , Nina Huang Fan , and Xiaoning Liu
Director: Chuan Lu
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6301481356
Release Date: 2004-05-04

Customer Reviews:

Not at all what you might expect..........2006-02-27

The Missing Gun aka Xun Qiang is one of those films that creeps in under the radar and surprises you. Arriving on DVD with no reputation and packaged as an action movie, it's really a rather good drama with more in common with The Bicycle Thieves than your average Hong Kong action movie (although thankfully the hero leaves his kid at home on his quest). In fact, it's not even that, but a Chinese drama about a small-town cop (the wonderfully hangdog Wen Jiang) who wakes after a drunken wedding reception to find his gun missing and no-one able to remember the previous night's events any better than he can. The poor small town China setting is intriguing, a mixture of mostly old with flashes of the new China - supermarkets, imported cars and Italian suits. Of course, this being a Chinese film, the latter are frowned upon as the fruits of corruption, but it's not an overt propaganda piece, more a character driven drama executed with an interesting but strangely appropriate visual style (the shot of a murder victim's hair spread out on the ground is hauntingly beautiful) and compassion. The final revelation feels a bit awkward (that pesky Asian cinema habit of having the killer become Irving the Explainer), but it even finds its way out of that with some imagination. Quietly impressive.

A thoughtful film.......2004-08-15

The Missing Gun (Xun Quang) is a surprising film. At first it appears to be a comedy, but soon reveals itself to be much more.

Ma Shan (Jiang Wen) is a detective in the People's Republic of China who wakes up one day to find that his gun was stolen at his sister's wedding the night before. This is a very serious matter that threatens to end Ma's career - or worse - and bring shame upon his department. The movie follows Ma's efforts to find out who stole the gun, which is subsequently used in a murder. It also presents an accurate picture of life in China.

I couldn't help admire Ma's abilities as a very sharp detective, but it is his devotion to duty that left me thinking about this film long after it finished. There is a wonderful scene where Ma is chasing a criminal and, after arresting him, explains where his power to catch him comes from. But the film touched me most as a meditation on personal integrity, and what it means to honor that integrity.

Not a bad effort.......2004-05-04

The storyline is simple enough. The main character, Ma is a respected policeman in a rural town in China. He woke up after having too much to drink the night before from his brother's wedding. As he readied himself to work, he realised that his gun was missing. For those of us who were accustomed to international news regarding human rights issue in China, about the police & military being gun totters, you would be surprised to know that gun is strictly forbidden in China & to lose it is a serious offence. That's when the movie starts to warm up, with Ma's frantic search for his gun with three bullets remaining. He requires to do it in the nick of time. His supervisor says it well that for an amateur, that means three potential loss of lives. For a professional, that would mean six potential loss of lives! Ma endeavours to retrace his steps the night before & naturally, there are many potential suspects. The matter gets worse when his girlfriend from the past was killed by his own gun & that, he's listed as a potential suspect. Therefore, not only he needs to solve the crime as soon as possible but that he needs to prove his innocence as well. I wouldn't term this movie a gut-wrenching, white knuckle, guess-till-the-last-minute-who-did-it kind of thriller movie but a bit of everything. The movie can be hillarious at times and ocassionally, oddball-ish depending upon how you see it. It's assuring that this movie is not two-dimensional but character driven as well. Ma is revealed to have his issues with his wife & his son (good cop but lousy husband & father situation), the contrast between the capitalist who owns an Italian suit, driving a huge sedan, living in a big mansion and the rest of the town that lives on the edge of bread line. The cinematography style has spruced up with the Western technique, i.e. visually stimulating, MTV-style. The ending is a bit abstract for me, though. Overall, a well-done movie. Suffice to say that the movie has lost its steam towards the final quarter, or in another words, anti-climax. Still, a movie worth watching, even just to compare the old Chinese movies against the new.

Average customer rating:

this movie beats anything from hollywood
A FIRST CLASS CRIME DRAMA
Loved watching this
(3.5 STARS) A Missing Gun: Stylish Noir from Hong Kong New Wave Director
Police Tactical Unit

PTU
Starring: Simon Yam , Suet Lam , Ruby Wong , Maggie Siu , and Eddy Ko
Director: Johnny To
Manufacturer: Tai Seng
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00025ETNM
Release Date: 2004-07-20

Description

This ultra-stylish actioner from acclaimed director Johnnie To (Running On Karma, The Mission) swept the board at the recent Golden Bauhinia Award, winning 6 of the 8 major awards including Best Picture and Best Director. When a colleague's handgun is missing, a maverick squad of PTU (Police Tactical Unit) officers conducts an all-night search through the gritty streets of Kowloon. The search unexpectedly triggers a suspenseful chain of events that will eventually lead to the inevitable, explosive showdown between the good and the bad. With startling cinematography and an award-winning performance by Simon Yam (Tomb Raider 2), PTU is a mesmerizing, atmospheric visual ballet punctuated with unforgettable action setpieces.

Customer Reviews:

this movie beats anything from hollywood.......2007-05-04

compare to this coolest noir out of hongkong, 'running scare' from hollywood, 'the missing gun' from china and all those from elsewhere, are nothing but peanuts lamer. this ptu is one of the best scripted cop stories i've ever watched. very very dark, cool and, of course, extremely noir. there're strong sense of humor in it too. the tension built up so smartly. the plot was also so wick and tricky. the running around, the desperation to find the missing gun, the vicious killings, the cover-ups, the brotherhood of the copland, all legally or illegally transcribed: who's absolutely innocent and not guilty? this is even better than 'the departed' or the 'infernal affairs'. it'll be on my top shelf as one of the best movies.

A FIRST CLASS CRIME DRAMA.......2006-08-25

I thought that "PTU" was an excellent drama. This movie takes place during the night in Hong Kong, where an inept policemans handgun winds up missing. The PTU [Police Tactical Unit] start a search for it: instead of reporting it as they are supposed to do. At the same time, the PTU are also investigating the murder of a young gang member during the night. The PTU inspector, Ho, aptly portrayed by (Simon Yam) helps the incompetent policeman look for his gun; while at the same time the CID [Criminal Investigations Division] another autonomous police unit is also butting heads with PTU investigator Ho. I liked how the film depicted the night scenes of the Hong Kong streets. Although I thought there would be shades of "Stray Dog" in this film, there were not. This is a very, very good film. I highly recommend this movie.

Loved watching this.......2006-05-28

This is not an action flick, this is a film. A piece of cinema. There are some stylized scenes in this movie that stick in my head. A film noir in the glaring lights of Tsim Tsa Tsui. I really enjoyed the 'caper' quality of the film (i.e. everyone all connected to everyone else) but found the film just really interesting to look at, even with whatever quality film they were using.

(3.5 STARS) A Missing Gun: Stylish Noir from Hong Kong New Wave Director .......2006-01-20

`PTU' stands for Police Tactical Unit, which really exists as one special force in Hong Kong police. `PTU' follows a series of events triggered by one killing of young gangster in the middle of the night. The murder is followed by one police officer's blunder - he loses his gun - and the special police forces led by dead serious inspector Ho (Simon Yam, `Tomb Raider 2') searches the lost gun, using whatever method they can use. Ho knows that his decision could compromise the team's position, and that he has to find the missing gun by the morning. And there is another police force CID (Criminal Investigation Department) that is suspicious of Ho's moves.

Johnny To spent two years to complete the film and you can see he made great efforts to get the stylish shots. The lighting (and the spotlighting) in each frame of shots is beautifully done, and considering the fact that almost all the scenes were shot at night, the results are simply wonderful. Moreover, Johnny To provides dark humor in the most unexpected way, See how the disgraced cop loses his gun, for example. Some viewers might find it impossible and ridiculous. But if you are a Johnny To fan, you know he means it.

However, the film's story is not strong enough to sustain its 90 minutes. It starts brilliantly, and develops to some extent, but is finally reduced to a familiar theme of morality among the police. The theme itself is interesting, but the film dwells too much on it, and as a result the actions that interest us at the beginning of the film get slower as the film unfolds. Though the final chapter has a big shoot-out, the film's wrap-up is weak and slightly confusing.

`PTU' would never disappoint the fans of prolific Hong Kong director Johnny To with ultra-stylish photography and detailed descriptions of characters. But even the fans would not ignore the obvious weakness of the second half, which should be faster and simpler. Still, among many entries in his filmography, `PTU' is above average, if not as good as `The Mission' his best for me.

Police Tactical Unit.......2004-11-24

Johnnie To's police drama/dark comedy about a night with Hong Kong's PTU is a taut, efficient piece of cinema.

The movie follows the events that transpired when a roguish anti-organized crime police officer loses his gun after a confrontation with some young gang members. A roving team of PTU chances upon him. Since he is up for promotion, he asks the PTU not to report the loss of the gun. Despite objections from other officers, the squad leader (Simon Yam) promises to help him find it. These set a chain of events that will lead to major repercussions in the Hong Kong underworld.

The joy of watching PTU is in the intense, dead-pan performance and the chuckles brought by the darkly-humorous situations, even if the movie's plot and resolution is highly reminiscent of Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels with some elements of InterMission (although this came before the Irish movie).

A film about honor, duty, and commitment, PTU is well worth a watch, if not a purchase. It is not a "loud" movie, as compared to stereotypical HK police films. One of the best I've seen in the genre, the somewhat predictable ending notwithstanding.

What prevents me from giving this a perfect score is the VERY cheesy 80s era guitar/synth score. To think this film was made in 2003, Johnnie To could've used a less-grating/irritating musical score that would've accentuate the mood of the film. Normally, I wouldn't mind but the soundtrack was so intrusive and yes, I will say again, very cheesy, you cannot help but not notice it.

Although, not in the level of the first Infernal Affairs, PTU is still a solid addition to one's Asian movie collection.

Average customer rating:

PTU
Starring: Frank Michael Liu , Simon Yam , Raymond Wong , Ko Hung , and Lo Hoi-Pang
Director: Johnny To
Manufacturer: Tai Seng
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002JC66K
Release Date: 2004-07-20

Album Description

Asian exclusive NTSC/All Code DVD. 2003 action flick involving an elite police unit, gangsters, & punks. An oblique, off center thriller with a unique flavor...completely unpredictable. Cantonese & Mandarin with English subtitles. Mei Ah.

Average customer rating:

PTU
Starring: Frank Michael Liu , Simon Yam , Raymond Wong , Ko Hung , and Lo Hoi-Pang
Director: Johnny To
Manufacturer: Tai Seng
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Comic Action | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( P ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B0006JJGEG
Release Date: 2004-07-20

Average customer rating:

Gozu
Starring: Shohei Hino , Ryo Ishibashi , Kimika Yoshino , Sho Aikawa , and Harumi Sone
Director: Takashi Miike
Manufacturer: Pathfinder Home Ent.
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000641D88
Release Date: 2004-11-23

Description

From the acclaimed director, Takashi Miike, comes a Yakuza/horror film to shock and amaze audiences everywhere! When Minami is sent to kill his mentor, Ozaki, who is in the midst of a nervous breakdown, he embarks on a journey of unexplained natural phenomenon that only the director of such films as Audition, Dead or Alive and Ichi the Killer can provide in this surreal Lynchian/Cronenberg-like odyssey!

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