Ringo Lam | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lam in 2015 | |||||||
| Born | Lam Ling-tung (1955-12-08)8 December 1955 | ||||||
| Died | 29 December 2018(2018-12-29) (aged 63) | ||||||
| Alma mater | York University | ||||||
| Occupations | Film director screenwriter film producer | ||||||
| Years active | 1983–2018 | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 林嶺東 | ||||||
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Ringo Lam Ling-Tung (simplified Chinese:林岭东;traditional Chinese:林嶺東;Jyutping:lam4 ling5 dung1, 8 December 1955 – 29 December 2018) was a Hong Kong filmmaker. He was known for hisaction andcrime films produced during theHong Kong New Wave, many of them comprising entries in theheroic bloodshed subgenre. He was nominated for sixHong Kong Film Awards, winningBest Director for his 1987 filmCity on Fire, which he followed with other similar films that shared a dark view of Hong Kong society, collectively known as the "On Fire" cycle.
Lam's other notable films includeAces Go Places IV (1986),Prison on Fire (1987),Undeclared War (1990),Twin Dragons (1992, co-directed withTsui Hark), andFull Contact (1992). Many of his films starredChow Yun-fat. He also directed several films in the United States, beginning with 1996'sMaximum Risk, withJean-Claude Van Damme. He would continue working on film productions in both Hong Kong and two more American productions with Van Damme until 2003.
In 2016, he won theHong Kong Film Critics Society Award for Best Director for hisWild City, his first film in 8 years. His final film, a segment in the omnibusSeptet: The Story of Hong Kong, was released posthumously in 2020, two years after his death.
Ringo Lam was born inBritish Hong Kong in 8 December 1955.[1][2] Lam started his career by enrolling in theTVB Actors Training Program in 1973.[2] At the program, he metChow Yun Fat with whom he would later collaborate on several films.[2] He graduated from the training program in 1974 alongside Chow.[3] After taking a few acting roles, Lam went toCanada and studied film atYork University inToronto. Lam returned to Hong Kong in 1981.[2]
Lam's first four films were not written by him.[4] Lam took over as director forPo-Chih Leong after he had finished about one-third of the filmEsprit d'amour as the film's producerKarl Maka needed a cheap replacement and hired him.[5] Lam explained that he had "no choice, I need food, so I do the best I can ..." Lam received sole directing credit for the film.[5] The film was released on 15 December 1983 in Hong Kong.[6] Lam's next feature film wasThe Other Side of Gentleman, which was released 28 June 1984 in Hong Kong.[7] Lam followed this with the romantic comedy filmCupid One released 1985.[8] The film grossed HK$6,382,935, which was less than his previous two films which both grossed over ten million Hong Kong dollars.[6][7][8] Lam's next film was the fourth film in theAces Go Places film series,Aces Go Places IV.[9] Lam stated in interviews that he directed the film as a favor toKarl Maka, who helped give Lam his start.[10] The film was very successful at the box office grossing HK$27,012,748 in Hong Kong.[11]
AfterAces Go Places IV, Karl Maka allowed Lam to make whatever type of film he wanted.[4][12] Lam had two films released in 1987.[13] one of which was the first of hisOn Fire films,City on Fire.[4] The film is a gangster movie which was made in Hong Kong in the footsteps ofA Better Tomorrow (1986) which re-invented the gangster film genre in Hong Kong.[4] The film was released on 13 February 1987 and earned $19,723,505 in Hong Kong.[13] Lam won the award for Best Director award at the 1987 Hong Kong Film Awards forCity on Fire.[2] Lam's next film that year wasPrison on Fire which had a script that was written in nine days while the film was shot in 20 days.[12]
In 1988, along with Karl Maka, Lam had a brief acting role in the filmThe Eighth Happiness.[14] Lam then continued hisOn Fire series withSchool on Fire which was released in Hong Kong on 20 August 1988.[15]School on Fire was edited with many scenes censored on its release in both Hong Kong andTaiwan.[16] Lam's final film of the 1980s wasWild Search released in 1989. It grossed a total of HK$15,944,333 in Hong Kong.[17]
Lam's first film of the 1990s wasUndeclared War released in 1990.[18] The film contained an international cast includingOlivia Hussey, Peter Lapis,Danny Lee andVernon Wells.[19] The film was not as popular as Lam's previous films in Hong Kong, grossing HK$5,523,958.[18] Lam's next filmTouch and Go was released on 16 May 1991 in Hong Kong.[20] The film was a comedy starringSammo Hung.[21] Lam stated in interviews thatTouch and Go was an assignment took for hire in order to keep himself in the film business.[22] The film grossed less thanUndeclared War in Hong Kong.[18][20] Lam released a second film in 1991 titledPrison on Fire II. The film was very popular with Hong Kong audiences where it grossed $24,367,261.[23] Lam's next filmTwin Dragons had him partnered withTsui Hark as a director.[24] According to Hark, Lam handled most of the action scenes in the film.[24] Lam also briefly appears in the film as a car mechanic.[25] Lam's next filmFull Contact was released in Hong Kong on 23 July 1992. It grossed a total of HK$16,793,011.[26] Lam followed it up withBurning Paradise which differed from his previous films by being a period film featuring the Chinese folk heroFong Sai-yuk opposed a film set in an urban environ.[27][28] The film was poorly received at the box office in Hong Kong, being the 145th highest-grossing film of the year.[28] In 1995, Lam directed another period film set in 1975 starringAndy Lau titledThe Adventurers.[29] The film was shot partially in thePhilippines and the United States and grossed HK$14,839,584 in Hong Kong.[29][30]
In 1996, Lam made his American debut with the filmMaximum Risk starringJean-Claude Van Damme.[2] The film was not a big draw at the box office.[2] Lam returned to Hong Kong where he shot his next filmFull Alert which was budgeted at $13 million. The film was shown at film festivals in 1997 includingRotterdam andBerlin.[31]Full Alert was nominated for five awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards and won the award for best film and best actor (Lau Ching-wan) at theHong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.[32][33] Lam followed upFull Alert the next year withThe Suspect which was shot in the Philippines.[34]The Suspect was not as financially successful asFull Alert, grossing around ten million less.[35] In 1998,Variety announced that Lam would direct the filmSimon Sez withKevin Elders.[36] Lam later only contributed to the film as a producer.[37] Lam directed a Hong Kong production titledVictim. The film featured a supernatural storyline and had its ending changed on its Hong Kong theatrical release.[38] Half of the release prints contained a scene stating whether or not the actor was possessed by a ghost.[38] The other half of the movie reflected the original script and did not reveal this.[38]
Lam's second U.S.-based production,Replicant, was released in 2001.[39] The film was screened theatrically in France on 11 July 2001.[40] The film was releaseddirect-to-video in the United States.[39] Lam directed two more films in 2003: the Hong Kong productionLooking for Mister Perfect and the American direct-to-video releaseIn Hell starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.[41][42]Lam next took a break from filmmaking after finding dissatisfaction with the filming environment in Hong Kong afterFinding Mr. Perfect did poorly in the box office.[43] Lam also stated that he wanted to spend more time with his family and "above all, to observe people and learn more about them. I wanted to seek resources, material, and subjects that were worth making into films."[43]
In 2007, Lam co-directed a section of theportmanteau filmTriangle withTsui Hark andJohnnie To.[44] Lam stated that his story in the film represented "a metaphor of my attitude towards filmmaking: It is always a love-hate process."[44] The film was screened out of competition at theCannes Film Festival.[44]
In 2014, the Hong Kong newspaperApple Daily reported that Lam would return to directing with a film with funding fromMei Ah Entertainment with a cast to includeDaniel Wu andShawn Yue.[45] The film began production in June 2014.[45] The film marked Lam's first feature-length film in over a decade[45] Lam's new film was titledWild City.[43] Lam stated that he returned to filming after his son had graduated from college and that he would "like to make films that allow me to express myself. It's a device for me to unburden myself, to get things off my chest, and also a mirror to learn more about myself through the film I made. I don't make films for money anymore."[43] Lam attended theNew York Asian Film Festival in 2015 where he was a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.[46]
Lam's last film,Sky on Fire, was released in 2016; it is the last installment in his "On Fire" series.[47]
On 29 December 2018, Lam was confirmed dead at his Hong Kong residence at age 63, after his wife found him unresponsive in his bed.[48][49] Lam had been working on a film "Eight and a Half" withMilkyway Image withAnn Hui,John Woo,Tsui Hark,Patrick Tam,Johnnie To,Sammo Hung andYuen Woo-Ping.[50] Each director was to create a segment based on Hong Kong history.[50][1] Without Woo's segment, the film's title was changed toSeptet: The Story of Hong Kong and the film was originally set for a release at the 2020Cannes Film Festival.[51] The film was screened at the Busan International Film Festival on 21 October 2020.
Lam's first four films were comedies not written by Lam.[4] When Lam began to shoot the films he wanted to make after the success ofAces Go Places IV, he began hisOn Fire series.[4] Lam chose the English titles for these films stating that it gave them "a sense of energy, of action".[4] The filmsCity on Fire,Prison on Fire andSchool on Fire do not share any characters or situations, but all have a common bleak view on Hong Kong society.[4] In these films, Lam looks at controversial issues such as street violence and the abuse of street, prison and school systems.[4]
Lam rarely employedCantopop in his films. Lam's films often have Western music, such asCity on Fire, which features a blues-oriented saxophone score, andFull Contact, which uses American rock music.[52]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Actor | Himself | Other | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | You Are Wonderful | Yes | [53] | |||||
| 1983 | Esprit d'amour | Yes | [6] | |||||
| 1984 | The Other Side of Gentleman | Yes | [7] | |||||
| 1985 | Cupid One | Yes | Yes | [8] | ||||
| 1986 | Aces Go Places IV | Yes | [11] | |||||
| 1986 | The Thirty Million Rush | Stunt director | [54] | |||||
| 1987 | City on Fire | Yes | Yes | Yes | [13] | |||
| 1987 | Prison on Fire | Yes | Yes | [55] | ||||
| 1988 | The Eighth Happiness | Yes | [14] | |||||
| 1988 | School on Fire | Yes | Yes | [56] | ||||
| 1989 | Wild Search | Yes | Yes | [17] | ||||
| 1990 | Undeclared War | Yes | Yes | [18] | ||||
| 1990 | Rebel from China | Yes | [57] | |||||
| 1991 | Touch and Go | Yes | [20] | |||||
| 1991 | Prison on Fire II | Yes | [23] | |||||
| 1992 | Twin Dragons | Yes | Yes | [58] | ||||
| 1992 | Full Contact | Yes | Yes | [26] | ||||
| 1994 | Burning Paradise | Yes | [59] | |||||
| 1995 | The Adventurers | Yes | Yes | [30] | ||||
| 1996 | Maximum Risk | Yes | [60] | |||||
| 1997 | Full Alert | Yes | Yes | [35] | ||||
| 1998 | The Suspect | Yes | Yes | [35] | ||||
| 1999 | Victim | Yes | Yes | [61] | ||||
| 1999 | Simon Sez | Yes | [37] | |||||
| 2001 | Replicant | Yes | [39] | |||||
| 2003 | Looking for Mister Perfect | Yes | Yes | [62] | ||||
| 2003 | In Hell | Yes | [41] | |||||
| 2007 | Triangle | Yes | Yes | [63] | ||||
| 2011 | Tarantino: The Disciple of Hong Kong | Yes | [64] | |||||
| 2015 | Wild City | Yes | Yes | [43][65] | ||||
| 2016 | Sky on Fire | Yes | [66] | |||||
| 2020 | Septet: The Story of Hong Kong | Yes | Yes | Posthumous release |
