Johnnie To

Directing

Johnnie To

Born 1955-04-22 · Hong Kong, British Crown Colony [now China]

Johnnie To Kei-Fung (Chinese: 杜琪峯, born 22 April 1955) is a Hong Kong film director and producer. Popular in his native Hong Kong,  To has also found acclaim overseas. Intensely prolific, To has made films in a variety of genres, though in the West he is best known for his action and crime movies, which have earned him critical respect  and a cult following. His films, often made in collaboration with the same group of actors, screenwriters and cinematographers, frequently explore themes of friendship, fate and the changing face of Hong Kong society. Sometimes described as "multifaceted and chameleonic" due to his ability to switch tones and genres between movies, To is nonetheless seen as having a consistent style, which involves mixing subdued realism and social observation with highly stylized visual and acting elements. To heads the Hong Kong-based production company Milkyway Image with his frequent co-director Wai Ka-Fai.

Acting credits

Boundless poster
7.7

As Hong Kong's foremost filmmaker, Johnnie To himself becomes the protagonist of this painstaking documentary exploring him and his Boundless world of film. A film student from Beijing and avid Johnnie To fan, Ferris Lin boldly approached To with a proposal to document the master director for his graduation thesis. To agreed immediately and Lin's camera closely followed him for over two years, capturing the man behind the movies and the myths. The result is Boundless, a candid profile of one of Hong Kong's greatest directors and a heartfelt love letter to Hong Kong cinema.

Boundless

2013

Three poster
6.0

Realising that he will be defeated in no time during a police showdown, a thug shoots himself to force the cops to cease fire and take him to the hospital. In the hospital, he claims human rights to refuse immediate treatment in order to buy time for his underlings to rescue him. The detective in charge sees through his scheme but decides to play along so as to capture his whole gang once and for all.

Three

2016

The Banquet poster
5.8

Developer Tsang Siu Chi and his agent have bought two of a group of four properties. Rival developer Boss Hung has secured the other two. Both aim to buy all four so they can knock them down and build hotels.

The Banquet

1991

Grit & Polish: Heroines from Hong Kong poster
NR

Female characters in martial arts films from Hong Kong: the women who played them and the directors who wrote the scenarios and directed the films.

Grit & Polish: Heroines from Hong Kong

2001

Expect the Unexpected poster
6.4

Bumbling mainland crooks mess up a jewelry heist. Two cops serious Ken and jokey Sam investigate but mix up these amateurs with dangerous mainland robbers in the neighborhood.

Expect the Unexpected

1998

In the Mood for Melville poster
4.5

Various directors and film critics discuss Jean-Pierre Melville’s importance and influence in the world of cinema.

In the Mood for Melville

2017

The Royal Scoundrel poster
5.4

Beach Boy is a maverick cop whose unorthodox and incompetent ways are frowned upon by his uptight superiors. His inept partner Mr. Chow isn't much help, and is more concerned with taking care of his many, many children. On a routine stakeout, Beach Boy and Mr. Chow rescue a lovely Mainland girl named Ah Yuk, who was previously abused by her criminal uncle.

The Royal Scoundrel

1991

It's No Heaven poster
5.0

Lung’s wife was raped and murdered, and the killer escaped justice. Consumed by grief and rage, Lung killed him and fled to Hong Kong, only to fall into the hands of a snakehead gang and be forced into a life of crime as a bank robber.

It's No Heaven

1988

Hong Kong Superstars poster
10.0

Hong Kong Superstars is a documentary

Hong Kong Superstars

2001

The Iron Butterfly II poster
7.0

A Hong Kong homicide detective insists on the same name that his father, Rock Moon, has died and carved it deeply into his heart. In this case her mother is treated in a psychiatric hospital. Have found that their heads are the same in recent drug trafficking and crime-ridden campaigns.

The Iron Butterfly II

1990

Code Name: Melville poster
6.7

Mixing interviews, rare archival footage and film extracts, the film shows how Melville's works were impacted by what he experienced in his youth during WWII, and how it structured his whole approach to cinema, not only in its thematic but also in its aesthetics.

Code Name: Melville

2010

Sisters of the World Unite poster
9.0

Two sisters seek diversion after repeat disappointments with men.

Sisters of the World Unite

1991

Johnnie Got His Gun! poster
NR

Johnnie got his gun is a mix of interview snippets with To, these are taken from various sources and are cobbled together with clips from including Breaking news, P.T.U and The Mission amongst others. It seems Montmayeur did do an interview but it's so chopped up and mixed in it feels insignificant. Prominent members of casts and crew also feature in interview form but again from many different times and sources.

Johnnie Got His Gun!

2010

Katanas, yakuzas y cintas de video poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Katanas, yakuzas y cintas de video

2004

The Weaving of a Dream: Johnnie To's Vision and Craft poster
NR

From the ambitious young filmmaker behind Boundless, The Weaving of a Dream is a short documentary that details the making of Johnnie To's film Three.

The Weaving of a Dream: Johnnie To's Vision and Craft

2016

Behind the camera

The Mission poster
7.5

Triad boss Lung, who has just escaped being killed in an assassination attempt hires the killers Curtis, James, Mike, Roy and Shin for his protection.

The Mission

1999

The Mission poster
7.5

Triad boss Lung, who has just escaped being killed in an assassination attempt hires the killers Curtis, James, Mike, Roy and Shin for his protection.

The Mission

1999

Drug War poster
6.9

A drug cartel boss is arrested in a raid and coerced into betraying his former accomplices as part of an undercover operation.

Drug War

2012

Drug War poster
6.9

A drug cartel boss is arrested in a raid and coerced into betraying his former accomplices as part of an undercover operation.

Drug War

2012

Election 2 poster
7.4

As election time nears, current Triad chairman Lok faces competition from his godsons. At the same time, Jimmy looks to increase his business relations with mainland China.

Election 2

2006

Election 2 poster
7.4

As election time nears, current Triad chairman Lok faces competition from his godsons. At the same time, Jimmy looks to increase his business relations with mainland China.

Election 2

2006

Election poster
7.2

After losing an election to become chairman of the Wo Lin Shing triad, a gang leader lashes out and tries to seize the dragon-head baton, the official symbol of a chairman's authority.

Election

2005

Election poster
7.2

After losing an election to become chairman of the Wo Lin Shing triad, a gang leader lashes out and tries to seize the dragon-head baton, the official symbol of a chairman's authority.

Election

2005

Exiled poster
7.2

A friendship is formed between an ex-gangster, and two groups of hitmen - those who want to protect him and those who were sent to kill him.

Exiled

2006

Running Out of Time poster
7.3

Police inspector and excellent hostage negotiator Ho Sheung-Sang finds himself in over his head when he is pulled into a 72 hour game by a cancer suffering criminal out for vengeance on Hong Kong's organized crime syndicates.

Running Out of Time

1999

Running Out of Time poster
7.3

Police inspector and excellent hostage negotiator Ho Sheung-Sang finds himself in over his head when he is pulled into a 72 hour game by a cancer suffering criminal out for vengeance on Hong Kong's organized crime syndicates.

Running Out of Time

1999

Triangle poster
6.5

Life has not been kind to drinking buddies Sam, Fai, and Mok as they struggle to make ends meet, until one stormy evening when a mysterious old man appears before them in a bar with a 'get rich quick' scheme: an ancient treasure buried under a high-security government building.

Triangle

2007

Triangle poster
6.5

Life has not been kind to drinking buddies Sam, Fai, and Mok as they struggle to make ends meet, until one stormy evening when a mysterious old man appears before them in a bar with a 'get rich quick' scheme: an ancient treasure buried under a high-security government building.

Triangle

2007

A Moment of Romance poster
7.2

After a young Triad member takes an upper-class girl hostage during his escape from a jewelry heist, the two find themselves falling in love, in spite of the repercussions caused by their forbidden relationship.

A Moment of Romance

1990

PTU poster
7.0

Follows a police tactical unit during one dangerous night on the streets of Hong Kong as they try to recover a cop's stolen gun. Things turn deadly when they run into a web of gangland crimes.

PTU

2003

PTU poster
7.0

Follows a police tactical unit during one dangerous night on the streets of Hong Kong as they try to recover a cop's stolen gun. Things turn deadly when they run into a web of gangland crimes.

PTU

2003

Vengeance poster
6.6

A French chef swears revenge after a violent attack on his daughter's family in Macau, during which her husband and her two children are murdered. To help him find the killers, he hires three local hit-men working for the mafia.

Vengeance

2009

Vengeance poster
6.6

A French chef swears revenge after a violent attack on his daughter's family in Macau, during which her husband and her two children are murdered. To help him find the killers, he hires three local hit-men working for the mafia.

Vengeance

2009

The Heroic Trio poster
6.7

While one tough woman with an invisible robe has stolen 18 babies for her powerful master, two other tough women and the cops try to stop her.

The Heroic Trio

1993

Breaking News poster
6.9

After a disastrous failure to stop a robber gang, the police attempt to redeem themselves through a series of publicity stunts and shootouts.

Breaking News

2004

Breaking News poster
6.9

After a disastrous failure to stop a robber gang, the police attempt to redeem themselves through a series of publicity stunts and shootouts.

Breaking News

2004

Justice, My Foot! poster
6.7

An unscrupulous lawyer with an equally eccentric kung-fu sidekick wife tries to bring justice to the court.

Justice, My Foot!

1992

Intruder poster
6.0

A mainland Chinese girl is, with her husband, a wanted criminal and they have to get to Hong Kong in order to stay alive and be free.

Intruder

1997

Throw Down poster
6.8

A former Judo champion is given the chance to redeem himself after he befriends a competitor and an aspiring singer.

Throw Down

2004