Alfred Cheung has directed a few decent films over the course of his career, most of them being comedies such as Her Fatal Ways, or All's Well, Ends Well 97. But nothing else in his filmography would lead you to believe he was capable of delivering a film as polished and stylish as On the Run, a gritty and quite violent crime noir classic which he wrote and directed in 1988. The movie is truly a gem that represents not only one of the creative peaks of HK cinema in the late 80s but also a highlight in the acting career of star Yuen Biao.

Triad bosses moonlighting as dance club DJs, adolescent boys who need just a nudge to plunge into a life of crime, crazed Vietnam veterans who sever limbs without hesitation, a teenage girl whose desire to die is trumped only by her passion to wreak havoc on society: this is the world of Don't Play With Fire, where bombs go off in movie theaters and cats rot on steel spikes.

Gun enthusiast Lee Bill would have been a policeman, had he not been cross-eyed. Unable to work in his chosen field, he opts for crime instead and joins two other men on a bank heist. The men take down two policemen in an alleyway and steal their firearms. Later, as their bank robbery progresses, a policeman is shot. The police, led by inspectors Chan and Chow, now have dual aims ‚ to get retrieve the guns and the cash. A lead prompts surveillance of one gang member. Soon finding the hideout, a sting results in one thief being shot, one being caught and one escaping. Now on the run and disguising his giveaway eyes, Lee wants revenge against the two lead policemen. And he sets about picking them off, using their loved ones as bait.

Saraba Itoshiki Daichi (Farewell to the Land) takes up the question of what happens when the balance of an extended family in rural Japan is upset. The main character blames himself for the deaths of his two sons in a boating accident and leaves his wife and parents behind. He takes on a mistress, to the shame of his family, and he pops stimulants to keep up with his work schedule as a truck driver. Growing increasingly irritable and irrational, he goes through various conflicts with his brother, his colleagues, his boss, and his wife. The film ends in an act of violence for which no explanation is given.

A powerhouse reenactment of a 1985 ethics scandal that rocked the Japanese journalistic world. Rockstar Yuya Uchida plays a TV entertainment reporter who is egged on by his bosses to "pump up" his telecasts.

Virtually a crash course on the most important and talented living Japanese filmmaker after Kurosawa and related aspects of contemporary Japanese politics and culture. This superb feature-length documentary made in 1984 by Paul Joyce for England’s Channel Four offers an indispensable look at a fearlessly innovative and political filmmaker who is all but unknown in this country today, thanks to the reluctance of his U.S. distributor to make such vital works as Boy, Death by Hanging, and The Ceremony available on video.

Rio de Janeiro. September, 2008. Three men stalk the gloomy back-alleys of the city's notorious slums. Spiderman, a 28-year-old drug lord, embarks on a routine patrol through the shadowy streets of Coréia, the sprawling slum he controls. Inspector Leonardo Torres, a muscle-bound operative from Rio's drug squad, inches through the alleys of another shantytown, shots ringing out around him. And Pastor Dione, an evangelical preacher intent on ending Rio's drug conflict, trawls the slums for lost souls. With unprecedented access to some of Rio's most wanted men, Dancing with the Devil in the City of God tells the story of Rio's drug war through the eyes of three men locked into one of the bloodiest urban conflicts on earth.

The Last Emperor provides a first-time glimpse into Valentino’s world of bygone glamour. Filmed from June 2005 to July 2007, the crew shot over 250 hours of footage with exclusive, unprecedented access to Valentino and his entourage. The resulting non-fiction film is a portrait of an extraordinary partnership, the longest running in fashion, and a dramatic story about a master confronting the final act of his celebrated career.

John Lone, the star of the Oscar-winning The Last Emperor (89), portrays a Chinese revolutionary in Shadow of China. Pursued by the Communists, Lone escapes to Hong Kong, where he builds up a multimillion dollar business enterprise. He hopes to use his international clout to effect changes in Mainland China, but he is defeated by revelations of his earlier underhanded business practices, and by the "dangerous" aspects of his previous political activities.

Yanagimachi's first feature film is about a young man who makes a map of a neighborhood in which he delivers newspapers. He keeps a dossier on each family, recording their habits and rating how much he dislikes them.

This "forgotten masterpiece," made a quarter-century ago and never received, remains a searing cinematic experience. It is a film about transgression and retribution, about nature revenging itself upon destructive modern man. At the same time, it is not about a lumberjack and his relationship with "nature," something more and more personified until made palpable at the horrific conclusion.