Lik Wong (1991)

Director:

Ngai Kai Lam

Writers:

Tetsuya Saruwatari (manga "Riki-oh")
Ngai Kai Lam (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 April 1991 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Plot:

A young man with superhuman strength is incarcerated at a prison run by corrupt officials and seeks to use his martial arts to clean up the system.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Torture | Martial Arts | Social Commentary | Crushed To Death

Cast

Siu-Wong Fan	...	Riki-Oh Saiga
Mei Sheng Fan	...	Assistant Warden (as Faan Mooi Saang)
Ka-Kui Ho	...	Warden Sugiyama
Yukari Ôshima	...	Yomi - Huang Chaun
Frankie Chin	...	Narumi - Hai
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Master Zhang Shan-Gui
Gloria Yip	...	Keiko - Riki's Girlfriend
Philip Kwok	...	Lin Hung
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Suet Lam
Daan Bob Chit Long
Ji Keung Wong
Cheng Chuen Yam	...	Wildcat

Also Known As:

King of Strength (International: English title) (literal title)
Li wang (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Riki Ô
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (USA)
Story of Ricky (Hong Kong: English title)
Historia de Ricky (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and gore, and for some drug content.

Runtime:

Germany:91 min | Japan:91 min | USA:88 min (unrated version)

Country:

Hong Kong | Japan

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:18 | Hong Kong:III | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 | USA:R (edited for re-rating) | West Germany:(Banned) | Ireland:(Banned) | Finland:K-18 | Australia:R | New Zealand:R18 | Taiwan:R-18 | Sweden:15 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Norway:18 | Netherlands:16 | Mexico:C | Malaysia:(Banned) | Japan:R-15 | Italy:VM18 | Ireland:18 (re-rating) (2002) | Hungary:18 | France:-16 | Czech Republic:18 | Chile:18 | Canada:R (British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:R (Alberta/Manitoba/Prince Edward Island) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Brazil:18

Company:

Diagonal Pictures

Trivia:

So much and so thick was the fake blood used in the "Meat Grinder" finale that Siu-Wong Fan, the actor who played Ricky, could not wash the red off his skin for three days.

Quotes:

Asst. Warden: Tarzan! You're really useless! I was betting on you!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dogma (1999)

Probably the greatest gore flick ever made

Looking for a serious meditation on the evils of violence in prison? There's probably better (not to mention more realistic and sensitive) portrayals out there. Looks for an over-the-top kung-fu sci-fi masterpiece filled with bucket loads upon bucket loads of cheap gore? Well, this will certainly satisfy you. Being a cult film fanatic, more than once has a cult-classic failed to live up to the hype surrounding it. This one certainly didn't. It is just as lightning-paced and hilarious as everyone says it is. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this is the greatest gore flick of all-time. It's certainly my favorite.

The plot is has more holes and cheese than a swiss cheese factory. Ricky is a good kid who landed in prison for graphically killing a pimp drug dealer who caused the death of his girl. Now the year is the near future of 2001 and hes in a maximum security prison. He has the opportunity to be in the "Gang of Four" (those into post-punk will have a good chuckle), an elite group of prisoners who control different areas. However, due to their corruption and the evil Warden and Assistant Warden, he decides to be a Christ-like figure for the other prisoners. He sets out to destroy the prison in an extremely gory but wonderfully entertaining fashion.

Describing the numerous classic sequences in this film would waste IMDb's valuable space offered to me. I'll just say this, the gore is fantastic. Incredibly fake in that "Braindead"-style, but hilarious. It's hard to get offended by the violence in this film, judging from how over the top it is. Also, the characters are great. The "oh-so-touching" death scenes are priceless and the villains are truly comic book. One man's words cannot describe this kind of brilliance. Only your viewing can. (9/10)