The Four (film)
| The Four | |
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Film poster
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| Traditional | 四大名捕 |
| Simplified | 四大名捕 |
| Mandarin | Sì Dà Míng Bǔ |
| Cantonese | Sei3 Daai6 Ming4 Bou6 |
| Directed by |
Gordon Chan Janet Chun |
| Produced by | Gordon Chan Abe Kwong |
| Screenplay by | Gordon Chan Maria Wong Frankie Tam |
| Story by | Woon Swee Oan |
| Starring |
Deng Chao Liu Yifei Collin Chou Ronald Cheng Anthony Wong |
| Music by | Henry Lai |
| Cinematography | Lai Yiu-fai |
| Edited by | Chan Ki-hop |
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Release date
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Running time
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117 minutes |
| Country | China Hong Kong |
| Language | Mandarin |
| Budget | RMB80 million ($12.5 million) |
The Four is a 2012 Chinese-Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Gordon Chan and Janet Chun. It is the first film adaptation of Woon Swee Oan's novel series Si Da Ming Bu (四大名捕; The Four Great Constables), which has previously been adapted to a television series. In all adaptations and interpretations, the nicknames of the Four remained the same — Emotionless, Iron Hands, Life Snatcher and Cold Blood. They dedicated their special skills to the service of their chief, Master Zhuge, in solving crimes and apprehending powerful criminals.
The film is the first in an announced trilogy, the second instalment of which started shooting in 2012.The Four II was released on December 6, 2013. The last film, The Four III, was released on August 22, 2014.
The movie is set during the reign of Emperor Huizong in the late Northern Song Dynasty. The government department known as the "Department Six" customarily has full jurisdiction over all criminal investigations in the imperial capital. Department Six is well-staffed and operates in a highly disciplined manner. Their chief, Commandant Liu, ranks the investigators by clearance rate and dangles the prospect of an operator to be named one of the "Great Four".
The story begins with the country experiencing a significant increase in circulation of counterfeit coin currency, leading to growing unrest and instability. Official investigators from the Department Six, acting on a tip-off, rush in full force to apprehend a suspect who is trying to sell a coin die stolen from the imperial mint, only to find the suspect and the evidence being taken into custody by agents of a hitherto unknown secret service, known as the Divine Constabulary, which is commissioned by the Emperor himself.
This arouses jealousy in Commandant Liu, who openly fires Cold Blood, one of his best men. Liu secretly orders Cold Blood to infiltrate the Divine Constabulary to find a way to bring down the rival agency. Liu is unaware that his own establishment has been infiltrated by double-agents dispatched by the mastermind behind the counterfeit currency.
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Wikipedia