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Two very different cops are out to capture a local drug boss. The two cops go about their job differently, one of them doing everything to the letter of the law and the other not caring and doing whatever it takes to get the job done.

Gritty new wave crime drama from Shaw Brothers

We give a solid recommendation to this fine film.

Two policemen, one by the book, the other by any means necessary, try to topple a drug kingpin. A hit-man who is also after the dealer for a past vendetta, gets mixed up with the two cops amidst his trail of revenge. There is also a subplot concerning several young adults living in slums who are involved with robberies and plan a big armored truck heist (shades of YOUNG VIOLENT &amp; DANGEROUS). A late new wave entry from Shaw Brothers when they were crumbling from the massive crippling their long time rival Golden Harvest had administered with their modern style thrillers and jaw droppingly dangerous stunt filled movies. By the time Shaw&#39;s had began experimenting with new wave cinema styles, it was too late. It&#39;s a shame, because this a damn fine, gritty crime thriller with some surprisingly dangerous stunts that rival almost anything that Jacky Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao were doing over at Golden HArvest. My favorite HK actor and one of the original 5 DEADLY VENOMS, Lo Mang, plays the hot-headed police Sergeant out to bust a local drug lord who runs his operations from a high rise in HKs business district. But his level-headed superior (played by Mu Kui Wai) wants to take the criminal kingpin (played by Wong Yung) down legally. Later in the film, the good cop realizes that you can&#39;t always go by the book when dealing with vicious crooks and thugs. There is a subplot involving some young punks and their criminal exploits to get rich quick and stow away for America. It all ends badly for them during an exciting car chase and bang up. One of two such scenes. This subplot is very reminiscent of the Italian movie YOUNG VIOLENT &amp; DANGEROUS. Chen Pei-Hsi (5 ELEMENT NINJAS 1982) is almost unrecognizable as the ill-fated girlfriend of one of the young thugs. Frequent kung fu actor Jason Pai Piao plays the supposedly dead hit-man who has returned from Thailand to settle the score with the crime boss and his cohorts (one of which is played by screen heavy Li Hai Sheng). Pai Piao obviously pumped up a bit for this movie and during the action packed 20 minute stunt filled shoot-out, Pai dresses up a bit like Bronson from DEATH WISH 2. Also, it appears Pai has gone the extra mile and done most, if not all his own stunts. Several of them are extremely impressive. Pai pretty much steals the movie from everyone else and he takes a LOAD of PUNISHMENT throughout the movie. You really want to see him kill the bad guy. There is so much going on in this movie. The bravura 20 minute action set piece in the warehouse is worth the DVD alone. It&#39;s a shame the movie going public in HK had, by this time, turned their backs on Shaw Brothers movies deeming them old-fashioned. The same thing having happened to Hammer a few years prior. This movie grossed around 3 million in HK while stunt-laden comedy films from Chan, Hung and Biao (PROJECT A for example released the same year) were grossing around 15-20 million. This film did win an award at the 28th Annual Asia Pacific Awards for Best Editing.

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Men from the Gutter

A recipe for mayhem on the streets of Hong Kong gets set in motion when a ruthless killer named Zijian (Pai Piao) shows up seemingly out of nowhere, looking to get revenge against Xu Wen (Wong Yung) and his associates, especially since he&#39;s now &quot;Mr. Xu&quot;, a corporate bigwig. Meanwhile, a gang of three lower-level thugs, Ah Tai (Wong), Ah Long (Lung Tin Sang)and Brainless (Lau), along with female accomplice Lily (Chen Pei Hsi) are planning a heist after all getting out of prison, but the head of the ragtag gang, Ah Tai, shoots a police officer and then has to reassess the situation. Thrown into this volatile mix is the sensible, even-tempered cop Qiu (Miu Kiu Wai), and his more hot-headed partner Zhao (Meng). The two cops have to get to the bottom of this entanglement of betrayals, backstabbing, drug violence and insanity. Can they do it? Shaw Brothers enters the 80&#39;s in a big way with this gritty urban crime drama/thriller. Probably the SB&#39;s were trying to shake off the specter of their reputation for period pieces - which in the wake of their competitors such as Golden Harvest and other studios who were turning out more contemporary fare, probably seemed like a good idea. They more than likely didn&#39;t want to bee seen as old fuddy-duddies churning out product that was stuffy and not relevant to what the movie-going public of the day wanted to see. Thankfully, they nailed it with their response - Men From the Gutter. Hiring director Ngai Choi Lam as director was certainly an inspired choice - even though this was only his second film as director, he shows a ton of energy and verve which infuses the movie from start to finish. The whole venture is very well-shot, with many cool camera moves and angles which suck you in to the proceedings. He handles the chaotic situations well - there are plenty of violent escapades thanks to the busy plot line (s). Lam would later go on to well-known fare such as The Seventh Curse (1986) with Chow Yun-Fat and Maggie Cheung, Erotic Ghost Story (1987), Her Vengeance (1988), The 1000 Years Cat (1992) and of course the legendary Story of Ricky (1991). So you can see there&#39;s really no end to his directorial style and flair. The movie is filled with awesome 80&#39;s style, as both the hero, Qiu, and his arch-nemesis, Zijian, both have stylish glasses and wardrobes. The set decorations are always interesting, and there&#39;s even a memorable scene where the quintessential 80&#39;s sport/trend, racquetball, gets turned on its ear. Just more proof that the 80&#39;s rule, no matter what country you live in. Adding the icing on the cake is the cool soundtrack music. The whole thing is very fast-paced, mirroring the rhythm of the city the film takes place in. We give a solid recommendation to this fine film. Right now the DVD is only available as a region 3 import, but if you have a region-free DVD player, it&#39;s well worth finding online. It&#39;s definitely one of our favorite SB&#39;s, and a relentlessly entertaining one at that.

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A really good Shaw Brothers contemporary thriller that offers the same kind of hard-knuckle and gritty violence as their later classic HONG KONG GODFATHER. This one has three separate sub-plots that intermingle and keep the screen packed with action, chases, and of course bloody violence. The first is about a quartet of thieves planning an elaborate robbery on the street; the second sees hitman Jason Pai Piao hunting gangsters with a vengeance; the third follows the cops trying to break both cases. A good cast here features the volatile Lo Meng at his best, and the action escalates to some satisfying extended set-pieces at the climax. What&#39;s not to love?

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This is a classic gritty &#39;Heroic Bloodshed&#39; actioner from legendary Hong Kong production studio Shaw Brothers who were mainly known for their kung fu movies and although this doesn&#39;t have much kung fu to speak of it makes up for it with insane brawls, shootouts &amp; car chase&#39;s. It&#39;s basically two separate stories connected by the cops trying to enforce the law. The first is about a group of down and outer&#39;s planning a job so they can start a new life the other is a gangster who has returned to get revenge on the crime boss that wronged him. With great direction, action, a cool synth rock soundtrack &amp; some Shaw Bros regulars in lead roles (The Venoms) if you&#39;re a HK action fan or just an action fan in general check it out.

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If you familiar with the director filmography you will know Ngai Choi Lam is the one responsible for the most goriest kung fu movie ever made Story of Ricky (1991) that also my very first movie from him so see this movie Men from the gutter a very early and good heroic bloodshed movie from him is pretty surprising.I enjoy this movie from start to finish.There two storyline in this movie one is about a group of ex con try to pull out one last big hit and one about a revenge path of a man.Each story is very thrilling and fill with good performance.The action scene is bloody and hard hitting with a very awesome shoot out near the end.Fan of Ngai Choi Lam movie and heroic bloodshed genre definitely need to check out this one

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User reviews

Men from the Gutter

Gritty new wave crime drama from Shaw Brothers

We give a solid recommendation to this fine film.

What's not to love?

Men from the gutter that give no fux

Ngai Choi Lam first massive hit

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