Running Out Of Time. 1&2 (15.)
Directed by Johnnie To. 1999
Starring Lau Ching Wan, Andy Lau, Shui Hung Hui, Yo Yo Mung, Waise Lee, Ruby Wong and Lam Suet. Subtitled. 93 mins
Part 2. (PG.)
Directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai. 2001.
Starring Lau Ching Wan, Ekin Cheng, Kelly Lin, Shui Hung Hui, Ruby Wong and Lam Suet. Double disc Blu-ray from Eureka Masters of Cinema. 96 mins.
According to the IMDB hive mind, the first Running Out Of Time is rated as Hong Kong master Johnnie To's best film, or at least the best of the ones I've seen. It gets a 7.3 rating which puts it ahead of such classics as Throw Down and PTU and Sparrow which all rate somewhere around 6.7 or 6.8. Most of his films fall into that zone with just a few sneaking above 8. Quite why the DeeBees are so grudging in their acclaim for the magnificent Mr To is one of that site’s many mysteries, though they are quite right that the 2001 sequel is nowhere near as good, even if the 5.9 rating seems well harsh.
Both films are Ta Da epics, cat and mouse games between the unorthodox detective Inspector Ho (Lau Ching Wan) and an almost omnipotent criminal with unlimited resources: Andy Lau in the first film, Ekin Cheng in the second. It’s Sherlock vs Moriarty but with a jokey, flippant tone that allows them to deliver various outrageous contrivances and implausibilities and, just about, get away with them. Whatever the situation, you know that some Ta Da moment is coming to pull the rug away from beneath our, and the characters’, feet.
The first is definitely the superior one, mainly due to Andy Lau's villain. At the start we see him being informed that he has contracted one of those marvellous movie ailments that have left him with four weeks to live but, apart from coughing up blood occasionally, has no impact on his physical capabilities. A master of disguise, and with unlimited resources at his disposal, he sets out on an elaborate revenge mission and to have fun with Ho, who he sees as a worthy adversary.
The magic of these films is Lau Ching Wan’s Inspector Ho. With his darker-hued skin and lugubrious face he really stands out from the other faces who generally divide up into opposing ranks of pretty and characterful. He's a unique performer; he moves with a lightness that suggests he doesn't have a care in the world while his face suggests that he's carrying the weight of it on his shoulders.
The second film pits Ho against a new adversary, Ekin Cheng’s magician. The new baddie is a big part of the reason why the sequel doesn’t match up: as an actor he doesn’t have the charisma of Lau and as a character his schemes and showpieces are just a bit too silly. It’s also the case that he lacks the limited gravitas Lau’s baddy had from only having a few weeks to live. A pet cgi bald eagle flying unconventionally around Hong Kong and a Mary Poppins/ Man on a Wire sequence are just some of the elements that test your patience.
It would be easy to give up on it but the film springs a couple of pleasingly offbeat sequences. There is an epic chase sequence where Ho pursues the magician on foot for hours, during which they both stop for a refreshment break in the middle. Plus there is the culmination of a recurring gag (perhaps cribbed from Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) where the gormless Lam Suet, To's favourite pudding, keeps calling heads and it keeps falling tails. What makes it special is the moment Suet suddenly accepts his status as a loser, a moment that frees him from a ruinous gambling habit. Though it can seem frivolous, this casual acceptance of life's inequities, this defiance of the western credo of winners and losers is rather magical.
Special Features.
Limited Edition slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju) [2000 copies]
Directed by Johnnie To. 1999
Starring Lau Ching Wan, Andy Lau, Shui Hung Hui, Yo Yo Mung, Waise Lee, Ruby Wong and Lam Suet. Subtitled. 93 mins
Part 2. (PG.)
Directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai. 2001.
Starring Lau Ching Wan, Ekin Cheng, Kelly Lin, Shui Hung Hui, Ruby Wong and Lam Suet. Double disc Blu-ray from Eureka Masters of Cinema. 96 mins.
According to the IMDB hive mind, the first Running Out Of Time is rated as Hong Kong master Johnnie To's best film, or at least the best of the ones I've seen. It gets a 7.3 rating which puts it ahead of such classics as Throw Down and PTU and Sparrow which all rate somewhere around 6.7 or 6.8. Most of his films fall into that zone with just a few sneaking above 8. Quite why the DeeBees are so grudging in their acclaim for the magnificent Mr To is one of that site’s many mysteries, though they are quite right that the 2001 sequel is nowhere near as good, even if the 5.9 rating seems well harsh.
Both films are Ta Da epics, cat and mouse games between the unorthodox detective Inspector Ho (Lau Ching Wan) and an almost omnipotent criminal with unlimited resources: Andy Lau in the first film, Ekin Cheng in the second. It’s Sherlock vs Moriarty but with a jokey, flippant tone that allows them to deliver various outrageous contrivances and implausibilities and, just about, get away with them. Whatever the situation, you know that some Ta Da moment is coming to pull the rug away from beneath our, and the characters’, feet.
The first is definitely the superior one, mainly due to Andy Lau's villain. At the start we see him being informed that he has contracted one of those marvellous movie ailments that have left him with four weeks to live but, apart from coughing up blood occasionally, has no impact on his physical capabilities. A master of disguise, and with unlimited resources at his disposal, he sets out on an elaborate revenge mission and to have fun with Ho, who he sees as a worthy adversary.
The magic of these films is Lau Ching Wan’s Inspector Ho. With his darker-hued skin and lugubrious face he really stands out from the other faces who generally divide up into opposing ranks of pretty and characterful. He's a unique performer; he moves with a lightness that suggests he doesn't have a care in the world while his face suggests that he's carrying the weight of it on his shoulders.
The second film pits Ho against a new adversary, Ekin Cheng’s magician. The new baddie is a big part of the reason why the sequel doesn’t match up: as an actor he doesn’t have the charisma of Lau and as a character his schemes and showpieces are just a bit too silly. It’s also the case that he lacks the limited gravitas Lau’s baddy had from only having a few weeks to live. A pet cgi bald eagle flying unconventionally around Hong Kong and a Mary Poppins/ Man on a Wire sequence are just some of the elements that test your patience.
It would be easy to give up on it but the film springs a couple of pleasingly offbeat sequences. There is an epic chase sequence where Ho pursues the magician on foot for hours, during which they both stop for a refreshment break in the middle. Plus there is the culmination of a recurring gag (perhaps cribbed from Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) where the gormless Lam Suet, To's favourite pudding, keeps calling heads and it keeps falling tails. What makes it special is the moment Suet suddenly accepts his status as a loser, a moment that frees him from a ruinous gambling habit. Though it can seem frivolous, this casual acceptance of life's inequities, this defiance of the western credo of winners and losers is rather magical.
Special Features.
Limited Edition slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju) [2000 copies]
- High Definition Blu-Ray (1080p) presentations of both films, scanned and restored in 2K
- Original lossless Cantonese and Mandarin 5.1 audio options, plus lossless English mono (Running Out of Time) and lossless English 5.1 (Running Out of Time 2)
- Optional English subtitles, newly revised for this release
- Brand new audio commentary tracks on both films by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
- Audio Commentary on Running Out of Time by writers Laurent Cortiaud and Julien Carbon, moderated by Hong Kong Film expert Stefan Hammond
- Archival interviews with screenwriters Julien Carbon and Laurent Courtiaud from 2003 and 2005
- Archival interview with director Johnnie To
- Archival interview with Lau Ching Wan
- Archival interview with composer Raymond Wong
- The Directors’ Overview of Carbon and Courtiaud – archival featurette
- Hong Kong Stories – 52-minute documentary from 2003 by director Yves Montmayeur (Johnnie Got His Gun!) about Hong Kong cinema mythology via Julien Carbon and Laurent Courtiaud’s experience as screenwriters in the HK film industry, working for Wong Kar-wai, Tsui Hark, Daniel Lee and of course Johnnie To
- Making of Running Out of Time 2 – featurette
- Trailers
- Stills Galleries
- A collector’s booklet featuring new writing on both films
