"For a director so celebrated for his masterful urban crime thrillers, in which contemplations on brotherhood and fate are inextricable from violent cop-versus-crook setpieces, it's a surprise to discover that Johnnie To wasn't all that interested in making action films to begin with. "It was [producer] Tsui Hark's fault," To said of The Big Heat (1988), the first of his many films in that genre. "He told me to do it.""
"With this actioner, in which a cop on the verge of retirement must investigate the murder of his former partner, the prolific director had found the cinematic avenue he would keep returning to over the next three decades. But the road to it was a long and bumpy one. To's debut feature, the wuxia film The Enigmatic Case (1980), was deemed a commercial failure, after which he shifted to television for the next six years, working on miniseries adapted from martial arts novels. A few comedies followed, including a reworking of Billy Wilder's 1955 rom-com The Seven Year Itch. He was just one of "many, many directors" who worked on The Big Heat, and exited the project before it had even finished, citing a difficult working relationship with Hark, whose instructions were unclear and he, hard to please."
"The Big Heat marries its straightforward premise with striking visuals, the most memorable of which is a tense nighttime shootout sequence in an alleyway, with both characters and location lit in contrasting shades of red and blue. A new 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray facilitates a visit to this seedier side of Hong Kong as envisioned by To, where a waterfront locale becomes the setting for an offered bribe and even the film's most domestic environments - a kitchen, a living room, a grocery store - are backdrops of cruelty and grief."
Johnnie To initially resisted making action films and was persuaded by producer Tsui Hark to direct The Big Heat. The film follows a cop nearing retirement who must investigate his former partner's murder, establishing themes and style that To would revisit for decades. To's career prior to The Big Heat included a commercial flop debut in wuxia, six years in television adapting martial arts novels, and several comedies. Production involved many directors and a strained relationship with Tsui Hark. The Big Heat is notable for striking red-and-blue nighttime visuals, a recent 4K release, and poor box-office reception at release.
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