Lifeline

A team of Hong Kong firefighters in a brigade with a reputation for bad luck are at the core of this ensemble action drama. Many members of the squad battle personal demons while struggling to save lives, and the dynamic of the group is key as they adjust to a tough new chief. The film’s climax is a spectacularly sustained action sequence in which the squad attempts to extinguish a massive blaze in a weaving factory.

“Lifeline is one of my favorite Johnnie To films…containing one of cinema’s great action sequences involving a fire that seems as unstoppable as a waterfall, with the bonus of a throat-catching epilogue.”
— David Bordwell, davidbordwell.net

Film Details

Country: Hong Kong

Language: Cantonese

Year: 1997

Running time: 108 min

Format: 35mm
Director: Johnnie To

Producer: Mona Fong

Cinematographer: Cheng Siu-keung

Editor: Wong Wing-ming
Print Source: AGFA

Films and schedules may be subject to change.

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Modern Cinema’s Founding Supporters are Carla Emil and Rich Silverstein. Generous support is provided by Nion T. McEvoy and the Susan Wildberg Morgenstein Fund.