This is one of my favourite Asian films. Simon Yam is superb in it as is Anthony Wong. In fact, Anthony Wong is amazing in everything. He looks completely different in every movie he’s in
Seeing City on Fire and Reservoir Dogs in this reminds me. Full Contact is basically an unlicensed remake of the 1967 Lee Marvin film Point Blank, which itself was later remade into the Mel Gibson vehicle Payback and even later into the Jason Statham film Parker. Skip Parker, but the other three are all well worth a watch, and it's interesting to see how different the three films are - very different styles and eras.
Good call! Left-for-dead-and-seeking-revenge is such a solid plot, it must have been used in dozens of flicks. I've recently been on a spree of watching Yojimbo-rip-offs: Fistful of Dollars, Death Wish 4, Last Man Standing.
One thing I like about this movie is that Chow Yun-Fat really got good at firing a gun without blinking. If you look carefully he very rarely blinks whenever you see his face at the same time as him firing a gun. (I noticed that the comments section mentions about Gary Daniels teaming up with Bey Logan on the Hong Kong Legends DVD audio commentary and Gary says that apparently when people are expected to shoot guns in a film they are told to try not to blink as they do so.) It does look so much better if actors and actresses can fire a gun without blinking like mad every time the bang occurs. What is interesting is that a lot of people that do not typically appear in action films seem to be a lot better at not blinking than those where action movies are the norm for them!
@@INDEFENCEOF Considering that John Woo reportedly cast him as Mark Gor in _A Better Tomorrow_ because he did not really look like an action hero, it is interesting how Chow’s career playing them turned out, at least in Hong Kong cinema.
This movie is criminally underrated. Not only is it In my top 6 chow yun fat movies, It's also one of my favorite movies ever. If I were a filmmaker I would make movies just like this. Though compared to movies like hard boiled and the killer it's pretty light on action, It's beauty is in it's simplicity. Less is definitely more in this movie's case. The action scenes all serve the story and don't feel too gratuitous. Something I believe Hong Kong action movies do better then Hollywood is mixing action with great storytelling. The story is what cemented it's status as one of my favorite movies. And is it just me or did you get some count of monte Cristo vibes while watching it too?.
Really great movie with complex characters and great performances! But your review didn't mention the single most important thing: the fact that Gary Daniels does the commentary for the DVD release!
WHAT?! How did I miss that?! Virtually every commentary on the Hong Kong Legends DVDs is by Bey Logan who I tend to avoid, but he is mates with Gary Daniels. It makes sense that Gary would show up on one of the commentaries but why Full Contact?!
Gary says it's one of his favourite movies of all time from any genre, so it's pure fanboyness. The commentary is your typical Bey Logan non-stop information dumping, but it's fun hearing Gary give what little knowledge he has about movie making. Lovely quote from him: "It shows that acting is the key. I mean there's a lot of martial artists who want to get into the business because they've got the martial arts ability but they don't have the acting and the charisma. So it just goes to show, it's really about the acting." Gary there, being his wonderful oblivious self :)
That's gold. I saw a video recently that discussed this exact concept. Schwarzenegger, the biggest action star ever, can't fight. Stallone, second in line, maybe has some boxing experience. It's only when you go one tier below to your Van Dammes and Seagals that you start encountering guys with legitimate martial arts experience. Even then their most successful movies (Under Siege and Timecop) are the ones where the story or setting is most interesting and the fights take a backseat. However this still doesn't explain Chuck Norris, who can't even walk convincingly.
I felt the need to give it the IN DEFENCE OF: treatment as it's not half as well known as The Killer or Hard Boiled or even City on Fire, but deserves to be. My go-to fired movie is Predator 2.
Needs no defending, it's a masterpiece the equal of Woo's best. But appreciate your love for it here. Beautifully made, great score, nihilistic.
I’d forgotten how beautifully shot this movie was. Great review.
I will forever love that pool scene.
This is one of my favourite Asian films. Simon Yam is superb in it as is Anthony Wong. In fact, Anthony Wong is amazing in everything. He looks completely different in every movie he’s in
This is one of my favourite Hong Kong action films I would watch again and again. Great review.
Seeing City on Fire and Reservoir Dogs in this reminds me. Full Contact is basically an unlicensed remake of the 1967 Lee Marvin film Point Blank, which itself was later remade into the Mel Gibson vehicle Payback and even later into the Jason Statham film Parker. Skip Parker, but the other three are all well worth a watch, and it's interesting to see how different the three films are - very different styles and eras.
Good call! Left-for-dead-and-seeking-revenge is such a solid plot, it must have been used in dozens of flicks. I've recently been on a spree of watching Yojimbo-rip-offs: Fistful of Dollars, Death Wish 4, Last Man Standing.
One thing I like about this movie is that Chow Yun-Fat really got good at firing a gun without blinking. If you look carefully he very rarely blinks whenever you see his face at the same time as him firing a gun. (I noticed that the comments section mentions about Gary Daniels teaming up with Bey Logan on the Hong Kong Legends DVD audio commentary and Gary says that apparently when people are expected to shoot guns in a film they are told to try not to blink as they do so.)
It does look so much better if actors and actresses can fire a gun without blinking like mad every time the bang occurs. What is interesting is that a lot of people that do not typically appear in action films seem to be a lot better at not blinking than those where action movies are the norm for them!
Our boy Chow had been doing gangster flicks for the best part of a decade at this point, he'd gotten lots of practice. :)
@@INDEFENCEOF Considering that John Woo reportedly cast him as Mark Gor in _A Better Tomorrow_ because he did not really look like an action hero, it is interesting how Chow’s career playing them turned out, at least in Hong Kong cinema.
This movie is criminally underrated. Not only is it In my top 6 chow yun fat movies, It's also one of my favorite movies ever. If I were a filmmaker I would make movies just like this. Though compared to movies like hard boiled and the killer it's pretty light on action, It's beauty is in it's simplicity. Less is definitely more in this movie's case. The action scenes all serve the story and don't feel too gratuitous. Something I believe Hong Kong action movies do better then Hollywood is mixing action with great storytelling. The story is what cemented it's status as one of my favorite movies. And is it just me or did you get some count of monte Cristo vibes while watching it too?.
There's definitely Count of Monte Cristo elements here, I'm a sucker for that classic revenge plot.
One of my favorite chow run fat films.
Really great movie with complex characters and great performances! But your review didn't mention the single most important thing: the fact that Gary Daniels does the commentary for the DVD release!
WHAT?! How did I miss that?! Virtually every commentary on the Hong Kong Legends DVDs is by Bey Logan who I tend to avoid, but he is mates with Gary Daniels. It makes sense that Gary would show up on one of the commentaries but why Full Contact?!
Gary says it's one of his favourite movies of all time from any genre, so it's pure fanboyness. The commentary is your typical Bey Logan non-stop information dumping, but it's fun hearing Gary give what little knowledge he has about movie making.
Lovely quote from him: "It shows that acting is the key. I mean there's a lot of martial artists who want to get into the business because they've got the martial arts ability but they don't have the acting and the charisma. So it just goes to show, it's really about the acting." Gary there, being his wonderful oblivious self :)
That's gold. I saw a video recently that discussed this exact concept. Schwarzenegger, the biggest action star ever, can't fight. Stallone, second in line, maybe has some boxing experience. It's only when you go one tier below to your Van Dammes and Seagals that you start encountering guys with legitimate martial arts experience. Even then their most successful movies (Under Siege and Timecop) are the ones where the story or setting is most interesting and the fights take a backseat.
However this still doesn't explain Chuck Norris, who can't even walk convincingly.
This movie was all over the goddamn place, but it’s visually beautiful, incredibly violent, and stupid in all the best ways.
R.I.P Ringo Lam! 26 laters this flim is still one of their best work together!
This and City on Fire = YES.
You should definitely check out God Of Gamblers or Tiger On Beat to see a very different side of Chow - two wonderful HK films.
Tiger On The Beat is one of those flicks that is constantly recommended to me, I will check it out one day.
@@INDEFENCEOF God Of Gamblers is a lot better IMO but they're both good.
Where can i find the blue ray with eng sub?
A friend of mine said they were having trouble tracking it down. I have an old UK DVD only.
@@INDEFENCEOF I found a DVD special edition on ebay but I haven't bought it yet 😅
What video source did you use for the video?
The Hong Kong Legends Region 2 DVD release!
@@INDEFENCEOF nice, there is a R1 Sony DVD that has the original mono track though.
Doesn't really need defending, can stand on its' own. Managed to see this on the big screen. Also good to watch when you have been fired.
I felt the need to give it the IN DEFENCE OF: treatment as it's not half as well known as The Killer or Hard Boiled or even City on Fire, but deserves to be. My go-to fired movie is Predator 2.