Full Contact
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| Full Contact | |
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| Directed by | Ringo Lam |
| Produced by | Ringo Lam |
| Written by | Nam Yin |
| Starring | Chow Yun-Fat Simon Yam Anthony Wong Ann Bridgewater Bonnie Fu |
| Music by | Teddy Robin Kwan |
| Editing by | Tony Chow |
| Release date(s) |  23 July 1993 |
| Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country |  Hong Kong |
| Language | Cantonese/English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Full Contact is a 1993 Hong Kong action film produced and directed by Ringo Lam. The film stars Chow Yun-Fat, Simon Yam, Anthony Wong, Ann Bridgewater and Bonnie Fu.
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[edit] Synopsis
Gou Fei's (Chow Yun Fat) friend Sam Sei (Anthony Wong) borrows money from a loan shark to give Gou Fei's departed mother a proper burial. The loan shark kidnaps Sam and Gao Fei rescues him by confronting the loan shark and persuade him to give more time for Sam to re-pay the loan. The loan shark does not comply and orders his cohorts to kill Sam but Gou Fei punches two of them before he engages a knife fight with the remaining gang members. After doing so, the loan shark attempts to shoot Gou Fei but he wrestles the gun out of the shark's grasp, frees a trapped Sam Sei and escapes. Not wanting to lose face, the loan shark promises to kill them, so Gou Fei and Sam Sei flee the city.
To earn money, they team up with Sam's cousin Judge (Simon Yam) for a heist. The group meets up, although a fight between Gou Fei's and Judge's friend (Chung and Psycho respectively) breaks out which is triggered off by Gou Fei making remarks about Lau Ngang. After the initial group meeting, Judge, meanwhile, is offered money from the loan shark to kill Gao Fei and Sam during the heist. The heist begins with Gou Fei blocking traffic while Lau Ngang tosses a grenade into an irate driver's car, which explodes. The intended target is a lorry and the group shoots and kills the passengers. Psycho gets in the truck but kicks Chung out and prevents him from boarding. The heist is successful but Judge betrays Gou Fei by attempting to kill him only to kill Chung instead. A car chase ensues between the two. The scene ends when Gou Fei flips his car up-side down. Judge examines the wreckage only to be ambushed by Gou Fei. Another fight ensues, Judge slices Gou Fei's right finger and thumb but is interrupted by a resident who shoots in the air telling them to leave. The stolen truck, now occupied by Lau Ngang and Psycho shoot at the house killing everyone but a girl. Gou Fei takes shelter but Sam Sei appears with a gun intending to kill Gou Fei (at the behest of Judge) but shoots him once in the chest and the rest at the floor. Sam Sei walks out with a pair of bloody eyes to prove that he has "killed" Gou Fei (Judge made remarks about Gou Fei's "mesmerising eyes" earlier). Convinced, he shoots the pressure cooker, causing it to explode, burning alive the previously shot resident and the girl, leaving her with 3rd degree burns.
Gou Fei, assumed to be dead, returns to the city, finding Sam now a competent gangster. Seemingly seeking revenge, he steals the shipment of guns Judge was hoping to sell and ransoms them back. The money is for the hospital bed stricken girl burned in the fire fight. The pair meet again but not before Gou Fei guns down all of Judge's cohorts including Psycho. Judge gives Gou Fei the money and asks for the goods but Gou Fei simply detonates the goods in the end, much to Judge's chagrin. The two shoot at each other but it's Gou Fei who gains the upper hand when he throws his butterfly knife at Judge. Gou Fei finally kills Judge before quipping "Go masturbate in hell!"
[edit] Reception
This film did poorly at the Hong Kong box office, where fans were not interested in seeing Chow play such a violent criminal. It was however a critical and cult favorite in the US and UK.
[edit] Alternate versions
- The Hong Kong Laserdisc release is severely edited to remove finger and wrist cutting, a gun shot through the cheek, Psycho (called Deano in some prints) suffering under Gou Fei's bike, and several gunshots to the head. The Tai Seng DVD release is the original uncut version.
- Taiwanese video includes extended version of the car scene with Sam and Lau Ngang and has a total of 3 more minutes than Hong Kong video.
- The BBFC cut 34 seconds for its cinema and video release.
- In the original cut of the film, Judge tells Sam to bring him Gou Fei's eyes as proof of his death. Sam can't kill Gou Fei, so he cuts the eyes out of one of the bodies of the family in the house. Judge takes the eyes and eats them. This also helps explain Judge's comments about Gou Fei's "mesmerising eyes". If you watch Sam in the current versions, as he comes out of the house you can see his right hand is clenched and holding something - the eyes, of course. Director Lam says these scenes were cut and never saved. He stated had he known about the influence of DVD special features, they would have been.
- Despite every prior UK video release of the film being cut in some way (for violence, violence against women, banned weapons, sexual content), it was released without any cuts and fully intact by Hong Kong Legends DVD. It also features the film fully uncut, as well as with the original (subdued) music track.
[edit] Quotes
- Gou Fei- "Well! Masturbate in Hell!"
- Lau Ngang- "Check if there is a hole in my underpants"
- Gou Fei- "No, but I saw a vomiting crab"
- Judge--"Business is like shitting. Smoothness is most important."
[edit] Cast
- Chow Yun-Fat as Gou Fei
- Simon Yam as Judge
- Ann Bridgewater as Mona
- Anthony Wong as Sam Sei
- Bonnie Fu as Lau Ngang
- Frankie Chin as Psycho
[edit] Crew
- Directed by Ringo Lam
- Written by Nam Yin
- Music by Teddy Robin Kwan
- Edited by Tony Chow
[edit] Soundtrack
- "The World has Gone Insane" by Alan Tam
- "Get the Funk Out" by Extreme
- "When I'm President" by Extreme
- "Bring the Noise" by Public Enemy
[edit] Other uses of "Full Contact"
There is also an Amiga game called Full Contact that was developed and published by Team17 in 1991. The game has no connection with the movie.
[edit] External links
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