The best kind of discovery is one that aligns with your cinematic tastes. On the Run is cut from the same darkly violent cinematic stylings of Hong Kong directors Ringo Lam and Johnnie To. This action thriller goes hard and continues to do so for its 89-minute runtime, an unrelentingly propulsive tale of corruption and vengeance.
HK Police Officer Heung Ming’s (Yuen Biao) life is ripped apart when his soon-to-be ex-wife is executed in a restaurant. Now embroiled in the case, trying to find her killer (Pat Ha) sinks him deeper and deeper into a case that involves drugs and police corruption. Can he keep his daughter and mother safe long enough to figure everything out?
On the Run is as sobering a thriller produced out of Hong Kong in the 80s and 90s. Director Alfred Cheung has made a heady tale of the anxieties that rose and came to a boil during the decade before the 1997 turnover to China. Those anxieties have been turned into a film where there is no escape for any characters from their misdeeds – imagined or real. Heung Ming is as trapped as his wife’s assassin (Pat Ha), as is his young daughter, as is the corrupt Narcotics officer (Charlie Chin) and his crew of Cops hunting them down.
Cheung’s script (co-written with Keith Wong) is an exercise in tension and character. Coupled with his taunt direction, makes On the Run a truly unexpected piece of bracing cinema. The action set pieces are crisp and effective because of the unexpected story and character work that is the focus of the film. On the Run, like Infernal Affairs, fifteen years later, is a film that takes the tropes and stylings of HK Action Thrillers and puts them to use in a more dramatic film. The result is a harrowing piece of kinetic cinema.
The Transfer
The 2K Restoration from the original negative is flawless. The image is sharp and without defects. The color reproduction pops off the screen. The image’s slight grain structure ensures the transfer retains that 35mm cinematic neo noir look that cinematographer Peter Ngor took care to create. Bravo to 88 Films for their beautiful restoration work on this film.
The Extras
They include the following;
Audio Commentary with Kenneth Brorsson and Phil Gillon of the Podcast On Fire Network
Audio Commentary with Asian Cinema Experts Frank Djeng and FJ DeSanto
Running Away – An Interview with Alfred Cheung
Predicting the Future – An Interview with David West
Alternate Ending
Hong Kong Trailer
The first of two Audio Commentaries is a track by Kenneth Brorsson and Phil Gillon of the Podcast On Fire Network. The duo opens with their credentials before diving into this dark action thriller starring Yuen Biao. Some of the details include how the violence sets the darker tone for this film; the rare starring role for Yuen Biao; the release of the film and its failure at the box office; a discussion of the career and directorial style of director Alfred Cheung; a discussion of the personal and professional history of Yuen Biao; a discussion of the personal and professional history of Pat Ha; and much more.
The second Audio Commentary track is by Asian Cinema Experts Frank Djeng and FJ DeSanto. The duo opens with their respective credentials before diving into the film. Some of the details include the literal translation of the title; a discussion of the cinematography of Peter Ngor; the work and career of Pat Ha; the work and career of Yuen Bao; a discussion of the various voice actors that dubbed the actors, some of whom were not the star’s normal voice actors; a discussion of the social and political context that this film was made under; acting roles by both cinematographer Peter Pau AND the cinematographer of the film Peter Ngor; a larger discussion of the various locations that the production used; discussion throughout the commentary track about the various actors and their work here and throughout their career – keep your notes app open, you’ll want to write some of the films down; and much more.
Running Away – An Interview with Alfred Cheung (20:35) – the director of On the Run opens with how he became a filmmaker, starting out screenwriting to fund his college education. Cheung goes on to discuss how comedy was easy, but it was darker drama (like On the Run) that was much closer to his heart; how out of the politics and worry of the time that On the Run was developed; the difference of working with Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung; shooting the action and bringing on the stunt crew from Sammo Hung and how he had to work with them on making the action differ from Sammo’s style – making it much darker and gritty; and much more.
Predicting the Future – An Interview with David West (18:49) – the critic opens his interview with a discussion of the plot of On the Run, the status of Hong Kong Cinema at the time (over 300 films released at the time in 1988), and the anxiety over the 1997 Handover to China. West goes on to discuss the context in which On the Run tells its story; the bleak nature of the film and other films that follow similar themes (Ringo Lam’s films, he brings up); the filmmaker Alfred Chueng’s career before and after On the Run; why the film wasn’t a success at the time – which leads to a discussion of HK Audience tastes; and much more.
Alternate Ending (1:29) – the alternate ending omits one scene.
Hong Kong Trailer (4:54) – in Cantonese with English Subtitles
The Final Thought
88 Films has given this hard-hitting action film the Blu-ray release it deserves. Recommended!!!
On the Run is another electrifying 80s Hong Kong Action film that 88 Films has brought to life in a new Blu-ray edition.
The Film
The best kind of discovery is one that aligns with your cinematic tastes. On the Run is cut from the same darkly violent cinematic stylings of Hong Kong directors Ringo Lam and Johnnie To. This action thriller goes hard and continues to do so for its 89-minute runtime, an unrelentingly propulsive tale of corruption and vengeance.
HK Police Officer Heung Ming’s (Yuen Biao) life is ripped apart when his soon-to-be ex-wife is executed in a restaurant. Now embroiled in the case, trying to find her killer (Pat Ha) sinks him deeper and deeper into a case that involves drugs and police corruption. Can he keep his daughter and mother safe long enough to figure everything out?
On the Run is as sobering a thriller produced out of Hong Kong in the 80s and 90s. Director Alfred Cheung has made a heady tale of the anxieties that rose and came to a boil during the decade before the 1997 turnover to China. Those anxieties have been turned into a film where there is no escape for any characters from their misdeeds – imagined or real. Heung Ming is as trapped as his wife’s assassin (Pat Ha), as is his young daughter, as is the corrupt Narcotics officer (Charlie Chin) and his crew of Cops hunting them down.
Cheung’s script (co-written with Keith Wong) is an exercise in tension and character. Coupled with his taunt direction, makes On the Run a truly unexpected piece of bracing cinema. The action set pieces are crisp and effective because of the unexpected story and character work that is the focus of the film. On the Run, like Infernal Affairs, fifteen years later, is a film that takes the tropes and stylings of HK Action Thrillers and puts them to use in a more dramatic film. The result is a harrowing piece of kinetic cinema.
The Transfer
The 2K Restoration from the original negative is flawless. The image is sharp and without defects. The color reproduction pops off the screen. The image’s slight grain structure ensures the transfer retains that 35mm cinematic neo noir look that cinematographer Peter Ngor took care to create. Bravo to 88 Films for their beautiful restoration work on this film.
The Extras
They include the following;
The first of two Audio Commentaries is a track by Kenneth Brorsson and Phil Gillon of the Podcast On Fire Network. The duo opens with their credentials before diving into this dark action thriller starring Yuen Biao. Some of the details include how the violence sets the darker tone for this film; the rare starring role for Yuen Biao; the release of the film and its failure at the box office; a discussion of the career and directorial style of director Alfred Cheung; a discussion of the personal and professional history of Yuen Biao; a discussion of the personal and professional history of Pat Ha; and much more.
The second Audio Commentary track is by Asian Cinema Experts Frank Djeng and FJ DeSanto. The duo opens with their respective credentials before diving into the film. Some of the details include the literal translation of the title; a discussion of the cinematography of Peter Ngor; the work and career of Pat Ha; the work and career of Yuen Bao; a discussion of the various voice actors that dubbed the actors, some of whom were not the star’s normal voice actors; a discussion of the social and political context that this film was made under; acting roles by both cinematographer Peter Pau AND the cinematographer of the film Peter Ngor; a larger discussion of the various locations that the production used; discussion throughout the commentary track about the various actors and their work here and throughout their career – keep your notes app open, you’ll want to write some of the films down; and much more.
Running Away – An Interview with Alfred Cheung (20:35) – the director of On the Run opens with how he became a filmmaker, starting out screenwriting to fund his college education. Cheung goes on to discuss how comedy was easy, but it was darker drama (like On the Run) that was much closer to his heart; how out of the politics and worry of the time that On the Run was developed; the difference of working with Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung; shooting the action and bringing on the stunt crew from Sammo Hung and how he had to work with them on making the action differ from Sammo’s style – making it much darker and gritty; and much more.
Predicting the Future – An Interview with David West (18:49) – the critic opens his interview with a discussion of the plot of On the Run, the status of Hong Kong Cinema at the time (over 300 films released at the time in 1988), and the anxiety over the 1997 Handover to China. West goes on to discuss the context in which On the Run tells its story; the bleak nature of the film and other films that follow similar themes (Ringo Lam’s films, he brings up); the filmmaker Alfred Chueng’s career before and after On the Run; why the film wasn’t a success at the time – which leads to a discussion of HK Audience tastes; and much more.
Alternate Ending (1:29) – the alternate ending omits one scene.
Hong Kong Trailer (4:54) – in Cantonese with English Subtitles
The Final Thought
88 Films has given this hard-hitting action film the Blu-ray release it deserves. Recommended!!!
88 Films’ Blu-ray Edition of On the Run is out January 20th.
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