About this episode

The episode revisits Ringo Lam's City on Fire, exploring its themes and influence on cinema.

In this episode of Heroic Purgatory: An Asian Cinema Podcast, John and Jason revisit the heroic bloodshed genre with arguably the second (and far less melodramatic) entry into the category: Ringo Lam's City on Fire (1987). While male friendship is central to the film, Lam injects a fair amount of social criticism into his film, making him a unique and often underappreciate voice among the the action filmmakers of 1980s Hong Kong. Listen as we dissect the many themes of City on Fire and even take a jab at Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, which it inspired. We hope you enjoy! Website: https://www.heroic-purgatory.com/2026/04/s6e3-city-on-fire-1987.html Follow the show on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/heroicpurgatory.bsky.social Follow Jason: https://bsky.app/profile/filmnohito.bsky.socia Follow John: https://bsky.app/profile/jmhimara.bsky.social

People in this episode

Hosts: John Atom, Jason Maher

Topics covered

• heroic bloodshed
• male friendship
• social criticism
• 1980s Hong Kong cinema
• film analysis
• influence on Tarantino

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: City on Fire, Reservoir Dogs

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