Johnnie To

Johnnie To
Johnnie To
Chinese name 杜琪峯
Chinese name 杜琪峯 (Traditional)
Chinese name 杜琪峰 (Simplified)
Pinyin dù qífēng (Mandarin)
Jyutping dou6 kei4 fung1 (Cantonese)
Origin Hong Kong
Born 22 April 1955 (1955-04-22) (age 56)
Hong Kong
Other name(s) Johnny To
Occupation film director, producer

Johnnie To Kei-Fung, born 22 April 1955, is a Hong Kong film director and producer. Popular in his native Hong Kong,[1] 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[2][3] 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.[4][5] Sometimes described as "multifaceted and chameleonic"[3] 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.[4]

To heads the Hong Kong-based production company Milkyway Image with his frequent co-director Wai Ka-Fai.

Contents

Career

Johnnie To began his career at age 17[1] as a messenger for the Hong Kong television studio TVB. From there To moved up the ladder, working as an executive producer and director on TV shows starting in 1973. In 1978, he shot his first theatrical feature, but continued working in television. In 1988,

An assistant TV director in the Shaw Studios era, To became famous when his 1989 film All About Ah-Long, starring Chow Yun-fat, became one of the biggest box office hits in that year. In 1988, he co-directed The Big Heat, his first action movie. The film was produced by Tsui Hark. The end of the 1980s also saw some of To's biggest commercial successes, the vast majority of which were comedies. His 1988 film The Eighth Happiness was that year's highest grossing movie.[6]

In 1996, To and frequent collaborator Wai Ka-Fai formed Milkyway Image, a production house that specializes in cost-efficient independent films made by To and Wai, as well their frequent collaborators from Law Wing-Cheong to scriptwriter Yau Nai-Hoi.

In April 2011, it was announced that he would be a member of the jury for the main competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.[7]

Critical reputation

A genre filmmaker who produces work for a mainstream audience and is awesome, To has developed a very strong reputation in English-language film criticism. In his review of To's 2008 film Sparrow for the website of Tisch Film Review, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky writes: "To has directed some of the best movies of the last two decades; he is more astounding than almost any other director working today. His cinema is exciting (but never tiring), intelligent (but never distanced), and, above all, emotional."[8] Reviewing To's Exiled for the Chicago Reader in 2007, critic Fred Camper writes: "...like many great filmmakers — Howard Hawks, John Ford, Raoul Walsh — Hong Kong-based To makes movies that are both commercially viable and animated by a powerful artistic vision."[5] Defining To's vision, Camper adds that "To’s worldview can take precedence over the narrative"[5] and praises the director for his "subtle visual poetry."[5]

To has also earned the admiration of foreign filmmakers, including Quentin Tarantino, who called To's 2005 film Election "the best film of the year".[9]

Hong Kong film critic Perry Lam of Muse Magazine sees To as 'a gifted storyteller and dramatist who has made up his mind to be a stylist and visual poet,' but also observes that 'his insistence on elegance and control limits his work. He perfects his images until you begin to feel like a clumsy intruder for even looking at them. Rarely do you get beneath the decorous surface and feel a character's lifeblood.'[10]

Festivals and awards

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Johnnie To

Commercially successful in his native Hong Kong, To's films have regularly appeared at international festivals, most notably in Europe and North America. At the Venice International Film Festival, Throw Down was screened Out-of-Competition in 2004; Exiled was shown in Competition at the festival in 2006; Mad Detective was shown in Competition in 2007.

Five of To's films have been featured at the Cannes Film Festival: Breaking News premiered as an Out-of-Competition midnight screening in 2004;[11] Election was shown in Competition in 2005;[12] its sequel, Election 2 (aka Triad Election), was screened in Out-of-Competition midnight screenings in 2006, and Triangle was screened in Out-of-Competition midnight screenings in 2007; Vengeance competed for the prestigious Palme D'Or in 2009. At the Berlin International Film Festival, Sparrow was shown in Competition in 2008.

In North America, To's films have been consistently screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. The Mission, Fulltime Killer, PTU, Breaking News, Throw Down and Mad Detective all screened between 1999 and 2007. In 2006, Election, Election 2, and Exiled were screened.

In 2005, To received the "Time Machine Career Achievement Award" at the Festival de Cine de Sitges, Europe's most prestigious film festival specializing in genre films. To was also honoured as a "Filmmaker in Focus" of 2007 International Film Festival Rotterdam. In 2009, while Vengeance competed at Cannes, To was made an officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture in recognition for his films.[13]

Filmography

Further information: Johnnie To filmography

External links

References

  1. ^ a b Green Cine: Johnnie To
  2. ^ Rotten Tomatoes Profile
  3. ^ a b Senses of Cinema: The Belated Auteurism of Johnnie To
  4. ^ a b Cineaste: Interview with Johnnie To
  5. ^ a b c d Review of Exiled for the Chicago Reader, by Fred Camper
  6. ^ Hong Kong Cinemagic: Johnnie To
  7. ^ "The Jury of the 64th Festival de Cannes". Cannes. 2011-04-20. http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/article/58042.html. Retrieved 2011-04-20. 
  8. ^ Tisch Film Review: Films and Feelings
  9. ^ Election DVD at Everything Tarantino
  10. ^ Lam, Perry (9 2009). "Control freak". Muse Magazine (32): 89. 
  11. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Breaking News". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4196904/year/2004.html. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  12. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Election". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4282802/year/2005.html. Retrieved 2009-12-05. 
  13. ^ ADC congratulates Johnnie To awarded the Officer of the National Order of Arts and Letters by French Ministry of Culture / Press Releases / Information Centre / Hong Kong Arts Development Council
Awards
Preceded by
Fruit Chan
for Made in Hong Kong		 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards for Best Director
1998
for A Hero Never Dies		 Succeeded by
Johnnie To
for The Mission
Preceded by
Johnnie To
for A Hero Never Dies		 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards for Best Director
1999
for The Mission		 Succeeded by
Wong Kar-wai
for In the Mood for Love
Preceded by
Gordon Chan, Dante Lam
for Beast Cops		 Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Director
2000
for The Mission		 Succeeded by
Ang Lee
for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Preceded by
Gordon Chan, Dante Lam
for Beast Cops		 Golden Bauhinia Awards for Best Director
2000
for The Mission		 Succeeded by
Ang Lee
for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Preceded by
Peter Chan
for Three		 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards for Best Director
2003
for PTU		 Succeeded by
Derek Yee
for One Nite in Mongkok
Preceded by
Andrew Lau, Alan Mak
for Infernal Affairs		 Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Director
2004
for PTU		 Succeeded by
Derek Yee
for One Nite in Mongkok
Preceded by
Andrew Lau, Alan Mak
for Infernal Affairs		 Golden Bauhinia Awards for Best Director
2004
for PTU		 Succeeded by
Derek Yee
for One Nite in Mongkok
Preceded by
Derek Yee
for One Nite in Mongkok		 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards for Best Director
2005
for Election		 Succeeded by
Johnnie To
for Exiled
Preceded by
Derek Yee
for One Nite in Mongkok		 Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Director
2006
for Election		 Succeeded by
Patrick Tam Kar-Ming
for After This Our Exile
Preceded by
Johnnie To
for Election		 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards for Best Director
2006
for Exiled		 Succeeded by
Ann Hui
for The Postmodern Life of My Aunt
Preceded by
Peter Chan
for Perhaps Love		 Golden Bauhinia Awards for Best Director
2007
for Exiled		 Succeeded by
no award in 2008
v · d · eMilkyway Image
1990s films
Beyond Hypothermia (1996) • Final Justice (1996) • Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 (1996) • The Odd One Dies (1997) • The Intruder (1997) • The Longest Nite (1998) • Expect the Unexpected (1998) • A Hero Never Dies (1998) • Sealed with a Kiss (1999) • Where a Good Man Goes (1998) • Running Out of Time (1999) • The Mission (1999)
2000s films
Spacked Out (2000) • Needing You... (2000) • Help!!! (2000) • Comeuppance (2000) • Wu yen (2001) • Love on a Diet (2001) • Fulltime Killer (2001) • Let’s Sing Along (2001) • Running Out of Time 2 (2001) • Second Time Around (2001) • Fat Choi Spirit (2002) • My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (2002) • Love For All Seasons (2003) • PTU (2003) • Looking for Mr. Perfect (2003) • Turn Left, Turn Right (2003) • Running on Karma (2003) • Breaking News (2004) • Throw Down (2004) • Yesterday Once More (2004) • Election (2005) • 2 Become 1 (2006) • Election 2 (2006) • Exiled (2006) • Eye in the Sky (2007) Triangle (2007) • Hooked on You (2007) • Mad Detective (2007) • Linger (2008) • Sparrow (2008) • Tactical Unit - The Code (2008) • Tactical Unit - No Way Out (2008) • Tactical Unit - Human Nature (2008) • Tactical Unit - Partners (2009) • Tactical Unit - Comrades in Arms (2009) • Accident (2009) • Vengeance (2009)
2010s films
Don't Go Breaking My Heart (2011) • Punished (2011) • Life Without Principle (2011) •
Filmmakers
Screenwriters
Crew
Dennis Law • Cheng Siu-Keung • Martin Chappell • May Mok • Patrick Tam • Lai Yiu-Fai • David M. Richardson
See also
Tactical Unit series
v · d · eFilms directed by Johnnie To
1980s
The Enigmatic Case (1989)  · Happy Ghost III (1986)  · Seven Years Itch (1987) · The Eighth Happiness (1988)  · All About Ah-Long (1989) · The Fun, the Luck and the Tycoon (1989)
1990s
The Story of My Son (1990)  · The Royal Scoundrel (1991)  · Lucky Encounter (1992)  · Justice, My Foot! (1992)  · The Mad Monk (1993)  · The Heroic Trio (1993)  · Loving You (1995)  · A Moment of Romance 3 (1996)  · Lifeline (1997) · A Hero Never Dies (1998)  · Running Out of Time (1999)  · Where a Good Man Goes (1999)  · The Mission (1999)
2000s
PTU (2003)  · Breaking News (2004)  · Throw Down (2004)  · Yesterday Once More (2004)  · Election (2005)  · Election 2 (2006)  · Exiled (2006)  · Linger (2008) · Sparrow (2008)  · Vengeance (2009)
2010s
Don't Go Breaking My Heart (2011)  · Life Without Principle (2011)
Films with
Wai Ka-Fai
Needing You... (2000)  · Help!!! (2000)  · Love on a Diet (2001)  · Fulltime Killer (2001)  · Fat Choi Spirit (2002)  · My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (2002)  · Love For All Seasons (2003)  · Turn Left, Turn Right (2003)  · Running on Karma (2003) · Mad Detective (2007)  ·
Co-director
The Big Heat (1988)  · Executioners (1993)  · Running Out of Time 2 (2001)  · Triangle (2007)
See also
Milkyway Image  · Filmography  · Awards and honors  · Tactical Unit series
v · d · eFilms directed by Wai Ka-Fai
Directed alone
Peace Hotel (1995) · Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 (1997) · Fantasia (2004) · Himalaya Singh (2005) · The Shopaholics (2006) · Written By (2009)
Directed with Johnnie To
Needing You... (2000)  · Help!!! (2000)  · Love on a Diet (2001)  · Fulltime Killer (2001)  · Fat Choi Spirit (2002)  · My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (2002)  · Love For All Seasons (2003)  · Turn Left, Turn Right (2003)  · Running on Karma (2003) · Mad Detective (2007) · Don't Go Breaking My Heart (2011)

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