Ringo Lam Director of ‘City of Fire’ Dies at 63

Hong Kong director Ringo Lam whose films included City on Fire, Replicant and Maximum risk died at the age of 63 on Saturday. Variety states that Lam was found by his wife in bed unresponsive.

Lam’s most popular work in the United States was the 1986 movie City on Fire, which many considered to be a landmark movie. The movie won the award for Best Director at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

The film told the story an undercover police officer played by Chow Yun-Fat, a thief played by Danny Lee and a jewelry store heist gone bad. The movie was an inspiration for Quentin Tarantino who used some of the plot and images from the movie for his smash hit Reservoir Dogs which was his debut as a director.

Quentin Tarantino spoke with the Baltimore Sun and told that that City on Fire was a movie that influenced him and he took things from it.

City on Fire started a whole new genre in Hong Kong films about men who were conflicted killing others and themselves being killed by those who were less conflicted than themselves.

Lam’s follow up movie to City on fire was in 1987 Prison on Fire and in 1988 School on Fire.

Lam continued to work in the movie business on a regular basis. Jean-Claude Van Damme was cast regularly in his movies. Many of his future movies focused the subject matter around doppelgangers and the idea of identical twins.

Ringo Lam is survived by his wife

Written By Barbara Sobel

Sources:

Variety: Hong Kong Actor Ringo Lam Dies at 63
Slate: City On Fire Director Ringo Lam Dies at 63
Hollywood Reporter: Ringo Lam Dead: City Of Fire Director Dies at 63

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