PTU [DVD]

PTU was another crime drama by famed Hong Kong director Johnnie To. PTU stands for Police Tactical Unit. The movie follows a PTU squad led by Simon Yam. The story is about the death of a gangster, a lost police officer’s gun and all the different things that leads to.The movie is filmed at night which gives it a dark overtone fitting of the story. The cops beat people up and some of them make deals with criminals blurring the line between the two. The ending is fantastic because it shows that some of the people who acted like tough guys weren’t and clarifies who the good guys were after all.

Directed by Johnny To, "PTU" is an excellent police drama. The films narrative explores the HK police going about their job during the night on Hong Kong's dark streets. This will not be a usual night for this police unit. Moreover, several events will begin to take place, which will move the films narrative toward different, yet converging directions. The film opens up innocently enough. A detective by the name of officer Lo, (Lam Suet) enters an eating establishment for some food. [I thought Lam Suet gave a very good performance in the film] Incompetent and bumbling, Officer Lo will find that this night will be unlike any he has ever had before, or will ever want to go through again. After leaving the restaurant, he is attacked by a group of thugs. But for what reason? Why do they want to draw him away from the area? There is mischief in the air tonight. Arriving on the scene will be a mob bosses son: And he will be the first casualty on this dark Hong Kong night.Moreover, in the effort to draw officer Lo away from the scene, the police detective finds himself beaten up, and worse--his handgun is missing. Near retirement, this will mean the end of his career and pension. In order to help him find his handgun, officer Lo enlists the help of his friend, Sergeant Mike Ho (Simon Yam). Sergeant Ho is a veteran of the streets, and is in charge of his PTU [Police Tactical Unit]. Sergeant Ho knows that it is his duty to report the missing gun, but he decides to help his friend and fellow colleague. All the while, the murdered son of the mob boss has caught the attention of another police unit, CID [Criminal Investigations Division]. This is not going to be a quiet night for anybody.I really liked the way that director Johnny To showed the night streets of Hong Kong. The great use of light illuminated in some areas, and darkened in other gives one the feel that they are really following this Police Unit while on patrol. As the police force journeys through the dark and dimly lit streets of their patrol beat, officer Lo begins his own quest in trying to locate the thugs who beat him up and took his handgun. Or did they? Moreover, what is officer Lo's connection to the slain mans father? A man who is a noted criminal. And more importantly for Officer Lo: Will he ever find his handgun? I liked how the film depicted the night scenes of the Hong Kong streets. Although I thought there would be shades of "Stray Dog" in this film, there were not. This is a very, very good film. Highly recommended.

The subtitles turn off the voices. The background music plays but I couldn't hear the dialogue. It was like watching a silent film. Johnny To is a terrific director. I was glad to see the film even without the dialogue.

This is a unique story and far too complicated to recount. The only thing I can say without spoiling it is that the ending is VERY unexpected. I didn't know irony could be layered so deep.I expect to be seeing this film many more times.

I love it how in every scene, there are always many story threads going on

Poor picture quality, too dark

This is not an action flick, this is a film. A piece of cinema. There are some stylized scenes in this movie that stick in my head. A film noir in the glaring lights of Tsim Tsa Tsui. I really enjoyed the 'caper' quality of the film (i.e. everyone all connected to everyone else) but found the film just really interesting to look at, even with whatever quality film they were using.

`PTU' stands for Police Tactical Unit, which really exists as one special force in Hong Kong police. `PTU' follows a series of events triggered by one killing of young gangster in the middle of the night. The murder is followed by one police officer's blunder - he loses his gun - and the special police forces led by dead serious inspector Ho (Simon Yam, `Tomb Raider 2') searches the lost gun, using whatever method they can use. Ho knows that his decision could compromise the team's position, and that he has to find the missing gun by the morning. And there is another police force CID (Criminal Investigation Department) that is suspicious of Ho's moves.Johnny To spent two years to complete the film and you can see he made great efforts to get the stylish shots. The lighting (and the spotlighting) in each frame of shots is beautifully done, and considering the fact that almost all the scenes were shot at night, the results are simply wonderful. Moreover, Johnny To provides dark humor in the most unexpected way, See how the disgraced cop loses his gun, for example. Some viewers might find it impossible and ridiculous. But if you are a Johnny To fan, you know he means it.However, the film's story is not strong enough to sustain its 90 minutes. It starts brilliantly, and develops to some extent, but is finally reduced to a familiar theme of morality among the police. The theme itself is interesting, but the film dwells too much on it, and as a result the actions that interest us at the beginning of the film get slower as the film unfolds. Though the final chapter has a big shoot-out, the film's wrap-up is weak and slightly confusing.`PTU' would never disappoint the fans of prolific Hong Kong director Johnny To with ultra-stylish photography and detailed descriptions of characters. But even the fans would not ignore the obvious weakness of the second half, which should be faster and simpler. Still, among many entries in his filmography, `PTU' is above average, if not as good as `The Mission' his best for me.

Sul film ho poco da dire, un noir metropolitano fantastico, ambientato in un' unica notte, che mostra un sistema della giustizia corrotto per mezzo di una serie di personaggi memorabili. La regia di To dona forza ad una sceneggiatura veramente di ottimo livello.Il problema sta nell'edizione. La qualità video è molto bassa, non aiuta il fatto che il film sia ambientato di notte sicuramente, ma rende la visione a tratti spiacevole. Non me la sento di prendermela con il distributore (rho) anche perché non credo sia loro la colpa. Peccato

Titolo Originale: PTURegia DI/Diretto DA: Johnnie ToCast: Simon Yam, Maggie Shu, Lam Suet, Ruby WongPaese-Anno/Nazionalità: Hong Kong, 2003Audio: Dolby DigitalGenere: Poliziesco, ThrillerDurata: 88 Minuti CircaDistribuzione Italiana: RHV (Ripley's Home Video)Visto Censura: Vietato ai minori di 18 anniVoto Complessivo/Giudizio Finale: 5/5PTU E' Il Capolavoro assoluto di Johnnie To:Poliziesco Notturno, Thriller assolutamente Implacabile e senza pietàDove Nessuno è chi dice di essere, Nè Tantomeno la polizia.Tutti Infami, Tutti traditori. Tutti uniti In questa pazza girandola Infernale e assassina.Che il gioco abbia Inizio.Formato Video/DVD: 5/5RHV (Ripley's Home Video) Propone L'Edizione 1 Singolo DVD di PTUIn Formato Video: Anamorphic Widescreen - PAL - 16/9 - 2,40:1Sapendo che PTU E' Una produzione a basso costo.......La Qualità Video è a dir poco Fantastica, Eccezionale. Bel Lavoro.Lingue-Audio/Sottotitoli: 5/5Italiano 5.1 / Cantonese 2.0 (Sottotitoli Inclusi)Anche qui, Che dire? A dir poco magnifico, Effetti sonori calibrati alla perfezione.Contenuti Extra: 4/5Interviste Inedite a Lam Suet e a Johnnie ToTesto Critico di Alberto PezzottaIntervento di Giorgio PlacereaniTrailer OriginaleAnche qui, Nessuna lamentela al riguardo.Voto Complessivo All'Edizione DVD: 5/5Edizione DVD Caldamente consigliata, Da non perdere.