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Blind Detective

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Blind Detective
Film poster
Traditional Chinese盲探
Simplified Chinese盲探
Hanyu PinyinMáng Tàn
JyutpingMang4 Taam3
Directed byJohnnie To
Screenplay by
Produced byJohnnie To
Wai Ka-fai[1]
Starring
CinematographyCheng Siu-Keung[1]
Edited byAllen Leung[1]
Music byHal Foxton Beckett
Production
companies
Distributed byMedia Asia Distributions
Release dates
  • 19 May 2013 (2013-05-19) (Cannes Film Festival)[1]
  • 4 July 2013 (2013-07-04) (Hong Kong and China)
Running time
129 minutes
CountriesHong Kong
China[1]
LanguageCantonese
BudgetHK$85,000,000 (US$10.9 Million)[2]
Box officeUS$36,417,038[3]

Blind Detective is a 2013 Cantonese-language action crime romantic comedy film directed by Johnnie To and starring Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng.[4]

The film was shown as part of the Shanghai International Film Festival.[5]

Plot

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Forced to leave service after turning blind, former detective Johnston Chong See-tun (Andy Lau) ekes out his living by solving cold cases for police rewards. During a case involving the search for the culprit who throws acid off roofs, he meets an attractive hit team inspector Goldie Ho Ka-tung (Sammi Cheng). When Ho notices Johnston's impressive investigative mind despite lack of vision, she enlists his help in a personal case she is unable to solve on her own. The two work together to solve the case as well as other cold cases.

Cast

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  • Andy Lau as Johnston Chong See-tun (莊士敦), blind detective, a former inspector of the Regional Crime Unit known as "The God of Cracking Cases"
  • Sammi Cheng as Goldie Ho Ka-tung (何家彤), a police inspector
  • Guo Tao as Szeto Fat-bo (司徒法寶), chief inspector of the Organised Crime & Triad Bureau (OCTB)
  • Gao Yuanyuan as Tingting (丁丁), a dance instructor who is Johnston's dream lover.
  • Zi Yi as Joe (祖), Goldie's old neighbor
  • Lang Yueting as Minnie Lee (李小敏), Goldie's childhood friend that have gone missing during their teenage years
    • Cheng Ho-lam as Teenage Minnie
  • Lam Suet as Lee Tak-shing (李得勝)
  • Philip Keung as Chan Kwong (陳廣)
  • Chung Wong as Fat Guy (肥漢)
  • Lo Hoi-pang as Pang (鵬)
  • Bonnie Wong as Minnie's grandmother
  • Stephanie Che as Pang's daughter
  • Mimi Chu as Pang's wife
  • Eileen Yeow as Pang's daughter-in-law
  • Li Shing-cheong as Pang's son
  • Raymond Tsang as Pang's son-in-law
  • Hedi He as Joe's partner
  • Yan Ni as Joe's partner's wife[1][6][7]

Production

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Filming of Blind Detective began in the second half of 2011 in Hong Kong. In June 2012, filming halted after Sammi Cheng was diagnosed with Ménière's disease before resuming filming in August 2012.[8] The film held a worship ceremony on 3 September 2012.[9] The music in the film was provided by Canadian television music composer Hal Foxton Beckett.[1]

Release

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The film was selected to play as part of the Midnight selection at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival,[10] while it was theatrically released on 4 July 2013 in Hong Kong and China.[1]

Reception

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Derek Elley of Film Business Asia gave the film a score of two out of ten, noting a poor script and describing it as "A rare example of a Johnnie To movie in which nothing seems to work, and even at a basic craft level is below the prolific Hong Kong director's usual standards."[1] Neil Young The Hollywood Reporter also gave the film a negative review, calling it a "punishingly overlong, overcooked confection. Stir in frequent helpings of larkish blind-man slapstick and what results is a misshapen and unsatisfying stew of different genres."[11] Lee Marshall of Screen Daily also gave the film a negative review, stating that "Blind Detective is a decidedly minor offering from the director of The Mission and last year’s impressive mainland-set Drug Wars."[12]

Andrew Chan of the Film Critics Circle of Australia wrote, "As a love story, it works, but the film falls flat on the ground with a padded up detective story that will take more than a gallon of gold to convince."[13]

Awards and nominations

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Awards and nominations
Ceremony Category Recipient Outcome
43rd Sitges Film Festival[14] Best Actor Andy Lau Won
50th Golden Horse Film Awards Best Actress Sammi Cheng Nominated
33rd Hong Kong Film Awards Best Screenplay Wai Ka-fai, Yau Nai-hoi, Ryker Chan, Yu Xi Nominated
Best Actress Sammi Cheng Nominated
Best Original Film Song Song: Blind Romance (盲愛)

Composer: Hal Foxton Beckett, Marc Baril
Lyricist: Lin Xi
Singer: Andy Lau, Sammi Cheng

Nominated
21st Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Actress Sammi Cheng Nominated

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Elley, Derek (May 22, 2013). "Blind Detective". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  2. ^ Lu Shu (March 19, 2012). 寰亚发布2012五大新片 刘德华郑秀文再聚首 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on May 24, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  3. ^ "Blind Detective at Box Office Mojo". Archived from the original on 2024-05-27. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  4. ^ Marsh, James. "Review: BLIND DETECTIVE Lacks Vision Or Clear Direction". Archived from the original on June 26, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  5. ^ "Blind Detective Review". HK Neo Reviews. 2013-07-04. Archived from the original on 2021-04-10. Retrieved 2013-07-04.
  6. ^ "Blind Detective at HKMDB". Archived from the original on 2023-11-29. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  7. ^ "Blind Detective at chinesemov.com". Archived from the original on 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  8. ^ "Sammi Cheng Back to Work with Andy Lau in "Blind Detective". Archived from the original on 2013-04-01. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  9. ^ "《盲探》在港举办开机仪式 郭涛刘德华首度合作". September 4, 2013. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  10. ^ "2013 Official Selection". Cannes. 21 April 2013. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  11. ^ Young, Neil (May 20, 2013). "Blind Detective: Cannes Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  12. ^ Marshall, Lee (May 20, 2013). "Blind Detective". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  13. ^ Chan, Andrew (1 August 2013). "BLIND DETECTIVE 盲探 (2013) – HONG KONG". HK Neo Reviews. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Sitges 2013 Award Winners Include Borgman, Big Bad Wolves, Escape from Tomorrow, The Colony, 100 Bloody Acres, and Many More".
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