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Breaking News
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List Price: $19.99
Our Price: $17.99
Your Save: $ 2.00 ( 10% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Palm Pictures / Umvd
Starring: Richie Ren, Kelly Chen, Nick Cheung, Siu-Fai Cheung, Shiu Hung Hui
Directed By: Johnny To
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
Brand: UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP DISTRIBUTION
EAN: 0660200312725
Format: AC-3
Label: Palm Pictures / Umvd
Manufacturer: Palm Pictures / Umvd
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Palm Pictures / Umvd
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2006-03-07
Running Time: 90
Studio: Palm Pictures / Umvd
Theatrical Release Date: 2004
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Editorial Reviews:
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When a live TV news crew broadcasts an embarrassing defeat of Hong Kong's police department by just five bank robbers public opinion of the force plummets and the department vows to capture the robbers at any cost. So when Detective Cheung (Nick Cheung) accidentally stumbles upon the five bank robbers hiding out in an abandoned building Yuen (Richie Jen) the ultra-cool leader of the five-man gang suddenly finds himself and his partners surrounded by thousands of police officers. Sensing an opportunity to restore the public's faith in the police department Inspector Rebecca (Kelly Chen) turns the stakeout into a breaking news show with live updates beamed out to a transfixed Hong Kong. But she soon discovers how difficult it can be to manage the press when hostages are involved true identities are unknown and the building contains not one gang but two.With a film career spanning over 25 years Johnnie To is one of Hong Kong's leading directors. Having reached commercial success in the 80s with films including Good-bye Ah Long and The Heroic Trio To turned to more personal works in the mid-90s following the creation of the independent film production company Milkyway Image. Over the past few years To's stylish film aesthetic caught on in the West following film festival appearances of his works including The Mission and Fulltime Killer. In 2003 To made his New York Film Festival debut with PTU which The New York Times described as "tough [and] single-minded.Mr. To is a master of the game."Special Features Include:Deleted Scenes"Making of" Breaking NewsCantonese Dolby Digital 5.1English SubtitlesSystem Requirements:Running Time: 90 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:Â ACTION/ADVENTURE UPC:Â 660200312725 Manufacturer No:Â PALMDV3127
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Cops & Robbers Reality
Comment: The cast isn't great and the plot is not always believable, but this is one of the Chinese movies that I watched from start to end.
Brilliant camerawork and explosive sequences are what made this movie work for me. The scene opens with one tenacious, die hard detective from the Serious Crimes Division leading his men to a group of mainland robbers ready to leave the territory with their loot. In the ensuing shootout, the TV crew filmed a police officer, getting on his knees and begging one of the robbers not to shoot.
This embarrassing scene brought shame and disgrace to the police force as the online community in Hongkong made their sentiments know. A female police officer (played by Taiwanese singer Kelly Chen) suggested to the chief that they ought to win back some public confidence and respect by making an impressive show out of the robbers' recapture.
Police intelligence revealed that the robbers were holed up at an apartment with a labyrinth of corridors. A thousand police officers descended on the building. The female officer played by Kelly Chen took command of the whole operation. The real life difficulties of evacuating the building, tracking down the robbers, disobedient colleagues from another department, entertaining the media and ensuing the safety of hostages are handled skillfully by the director.
As the robbers from the mainland were true professionals, they managed to make things extremely difficult for Kelly and her team. Not only did the bad guys have automatic weapons and an endless supply of ammo and grenades, they could also use gas tanks as bombs, took their own amateur footage of how the cop bungled and uploaded them to the internet.
Luckily for the cops, the renegade detective from the Serious Crime Division defied orders and stayed in the building with his team. When the special forces moved in and got duped by the gangsters, the team moved in on the gang. All but 2 of the robbers/killers were killed. The 2 surviving gangsters somehow managed to escape from the building. The die hard detective went after them, got knocked down by a car, got up, continued chasing ...
Even less believable was what led to the beautiful, intelligent female commanding officer going after the escaped robber alone, only to be taken hostage! The disobedient, die hard detective came to her rescue and it was a happy ending.
Customer Rating:
Summary: My favorite Johnny To movie so far...
Comment: I've seen The Mission, Running out of Time, and Exiled (my former fav). 'Breaking News' is now at the top of my 'To' list. As mentioned in another review, the 5.1 soundtrack is really well-done - I wish Hollywood movies consistently were as good as this DVD release. Bullets will fly from different speakers (with a decent 5.1 Dolby receiver).
I found the plot to be exciting, the acting competent, and the direction to be To's best. No problems with lighting (like in Exiled). Other reviewers have covered the movie in far better detail, so no need for me to go into it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Action movie
Comment: I enjoyed this film lots of action but no nail bitter the plot has to unravel and when it doe's it comes to a interesting finish, the film did lack in your face action though.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This Was Surprising
Comment: What's most interesting about "Breaking News" is that it starts out with a cool shootout between the cops and robbers. A group of robbers catch the police on the wrong day as they get tied up in a web of media scandal. The Hong Kong police want to use this group of robbers as an example and gain a reputation. The police are using the media to broadcast every moment of their attempts to capture the robbers. The thing the cops don't know is that these robbers are pretty darn smart and constantly trying to outsmart them. When the police finally get the five robbers cornered in an apartment building it becomes a showdown between the two to see who can use the media best but only one side will come out alive.
I actually rented this movie because the cover looked interesting but I wasn't really expecting much from it. This is a hard one to review, just when you think the film has shown you all it's got it gives you some more. I like the whole feeling of it, the pacing and especially the camera work. This had great camera work, the director shows scenes that you may see in any other action film but shows it from such good angles that it exceeds the regular action film and looks better. You're given plenty of room to see everything so you won't miss a thing. For a actor to truly work well their character has to be written well and every character is written well in this movie.
When the well-written characters were put with this talented cast the acting turned out pretty good. The story is very cool and it developed wonderfully. There is a great hero villain duo in Nick Cheung and Richie Jen and they truly keep the movie going. Nick plays a great tough nosed cop that just won't stop until he gets the bad guys and his performance was great. From beginning to end this is one movie that will definitely hold your attention. I really love that the bad guys had great plans and were not stupid. Plus Richie Jen was playing his character so well I started rooting for him to win.
For me the only problem with "Breaking News" is that the action and gunplay could of been a bit better. The explosions could've been a little more realistic and bigger. Even the beginning shootout could have had a bit more oomph I think but again the camera work helped it look good. Over all this is definitely a film that is worth watching, it has few flaws but will exceed your expectations. This has plenty of shootouts but is not all gory so if your looking for something like that this won't work but otherwise try it out.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A cops and robbers movie with a twist
Comment: After a thrilling shootout that seems to be inspired by Michael Mann's 'Heat', killer thieves are on the run from the police and hideout in a large apartment building. While we do get more exciting shootouts, the movie takes a huge turn and focuses more on the media side. The police decide to put cameras on all of their special officers and look to give the people the most exciting news experience possible. After the police manipulate the footage covering up their mistakes, the bad guys send their own information to the media, and police and reporters are surprised to say the least.
Leave it to Johnnie To to take a different turn on the average Hong Kong cop bloodshed movie and make a near masterpiece. The movie drags a bit at the end but is a fun ride almost all the way through.
3.5/5
The DVD from Palm Pictures has excellent picture quality and good 5.1 sound. Special features include a deleted scene and a 3 minute making of.
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