Johnnie To (Hong Kong, 1955) is a master of the art of making Johnnie To films. No one else could possibly come close. Even in other good Hong Kong films, the gangsters are not so cool, the action not so dazzling, the absurdities not so witty.

Johnnie To's films are breathtakingly stylish and hard in a way that makes it fun. How does a master become so masterful? The secret seems to be an old, classic one; one that has perhaps been forgotten.
You learn the trade from the generation that went before you. You spend a decade making films for television, anonymously. Then you spend another ten years working with all the well-known actors and actresses in Hong Kong, in all conceivable genres. And only then, like a kung fu monk, can you make stunning gangster films such as Election I and II (2005 and 2006 respectively). Films even Martin Scorsese wouldn't dare to remake.
To has made many such films, including Breaking News (2004), Running on Karma (2003) and PTU (2003), which spread like an oil slick through the pirate DVD market in Asia - a real measure of the popularity of a filmmaker.
To is undoubtedly the best Hong Kong genre filmmaker of this generation, and as the best genre films still come from Hong Kong, this makes To the king of the genre film.



Filmographie


> Mad Detective
> Loving You
> Justice, My Foot!
> Running Out of Time 2
> The Mission
> Election 2
> The Story of My Son
> Needing You
> Love on a Diet
> A Hero Never Dies
> Exiled
> Running Out of Time
> The Bare-Footed Kid
> Lifeline
> PTU
> Election
> The Enigmatic Case
> Throw Down
> Running on Karma
> Heroic Trio