HK Gangster Films

although they're not gangster films, other films by wong kar wai, who directed this film, are pretty much all worth seeing. if you want to see the best films to come out of hong kong in years, watch the 'infernal affairs' trilogy.

here are some other 'essentials'...

"a better tomorrow" (1986, john woo)
whether or not you like the woo style 'gunplay'/'bullet ballet' genre, this is a fantastic film and in my opinion, woo's best

"triads: the inside story" (1989, taylor wong)
very underrated gangster story starring a non-typecast chow yun fat

"beast cops" (1998, gordon chan/dante lam)
excellent film about police corruption and triads and stars anthony wong in probably his best performance

"god of gamblers" (1989, wong jing)
this is the king of all gambling genre films which became very popular throughout the late 80s and 90s in HK. it also has the gangster/underworld theme.

"prison on fire" (1987, ringo lam)
one of the best prison theme films to come from HK, highly recommended!

I am by no means an expert on HK cinema, but I would strongly recommend the Infernal Affairs trilogy.

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A classical movie of this type is Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973). It's a Japanese movie, not Hong Kong, but if you are a typical westerner, like me, then it won't really make any difference for you.