Underplayed Gems

Island of Fire (1990)

Island of Fire poster
Original title
火燒島
Directed by
Chu Yen-ping
Genre
drama film, comedy film, action film, prison film, thriller film, martial arts film
Country
Hong Kong
Runtime
2h 05m
Rated
IIB
Rating
6.3 of 10 from 144 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A cop goes undercover in a brutal prison island to investigate a series of murders. He teams up with other inmates to take down the corrupt prison officials.

action-packedtensegrittydramaticfast-pacedviolentearneststylish

What happens

Island of Fire (Chinese: 火燒島) is a 1990 action film directed by Kevin Chu, and starring Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Sammo Hung, Tony Leung Ka-fai and Tou Chung-hua. A Taiwanese-Hong Kong co-production, the film was shot in Taiwan and the Philippines in 42 days from 5 April until 17 May 1989. The film's theme song, "The Last Gunshot" (最後一槍) by Cui Jian, was written as a response to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre in Beijing, China. This is the third collaboration between producer Jimmy Wang Yu and Jackie Chan, With their first, collaboration being Killer Meteors in 1976, the film's producer and co-star, Jimmy Wang Yu, came to Chan's aid when the then young actor sought his help in settling a dispute with the veteran director Lo Wei. The dispute was settled by Golden Harvest paying 10 million HK dollars (2 million US dollars) to Lo Wei. Chan repaid the favor by acting in Wang's 1983 film Fantasy Mission Force. As with both of those earlier films, recent DVD and VHS releases market Island of Fire & Jackie Chan Is the Prisoner as a Jackie Chan film, displaying an image of Chan on the cover as though the lead actor. In fact, Chan only appears in a supporting role, with Tony Leung Ka-fai as the central character. The film was followed by a sequel, Island of Fire 2 (1997), also directed by Kevin Chu. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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