I would start with Running Out of Time or The Mission.
exile is the fucking bomb…better than both election movies.
Start with PTU and THE MISSION, two thrillers between John Woo and Wim Wenders.
Why not just watch a Sergio Leone western and be done with it?
Looking forward to Vengeance, which I hope to catch in the next few weeks. It played at Cannes and was released across France on Wednesday.
Exiled.
EXILED and THE MISSION are superb films. With these two films, To manages to blend elements from the works of Sergio Leone, Jean-Pierre Melville, and Sam Peckinpah into a potent cocktail that is uniquely his own.
PTU I have seen a few and they have all struck me as very well made.
Watch ‘Mad Detective’ – very creative idea. Also check out Exiled and Sparrow (a wonderful film).
PTU really stuck with me. But all in all I think the Election series is fukken great. Still waiting hopefully that he will do another one,.
Breaking News (not one of his best but has an astonishing opening) and Fulltime Killer.
Breaking News is On Demand, in my area.
I would start with the 1999 films: Where a good man goes, Running out of time, and, the Mission. So you get a pretty good picture of his strength and weaknesses.
Breaking News, Exiled and especially PTU are very entertaining treats as well. Both parts of Election in one viewing if possible. Sparrow and Mad Detective of course and Triangle, which may be unique in its ability to show three different director’s styles in one feature (To comes of pretty strong with his McGuffin-style changed props again as in PTU and Mad Detective for example). Fulltime Killer and Running on Karma seem both rather weak for my tastes, their tones are very mixed – and by far not as good as in some of his stronger works (PTU, BN, MD).
And if you can get a hold of them, watch some of his romance/comedies as well:
Love on a Diet, Turn left, Turn right, which may seem light and strange but show his assured and fluid style.
Raj Ranade
I’m a huge fan of Election and Triad Election, and I’m looking to get into more of Mr. To’s body of work. Which film should I watch next?