Johnnie To
Johnnie To is a Hong Kong director born in Hong Kong, celebrated for stylish, meticulously choreographed crime thrillers that helped define Hong Kong genre cinema in the post-handover era. The Mission and Election, the latter examining brutal succession politics within a triad organization, established his reputation for restrained, atmospheric gangster drama built on silence and tension rather than gratuitous violence. Exiled and Vengeance extended his fascination with doomed loyalty among gunmen, rendered through elegantly choreographed shootouts, while Drug War showed his equally strong command of tense procedural crime drama set on the mainland Chinese border. Co-founder of the production company Milkyway Image, To has remained one of Hong Kong's most prolific and consistently stylish genre directors, and his precise, atmospheric visual control has made him one of the most internationally respected figures in contemporary Hong Kong crime cinema.
Johnnie To
58 Directed
6 Series
Johnnie To is a Hong Kong director born in Hong Kong, celebrated for stylish, meticulously choreographed crime thrillers that helped define Hong Kong genre cinema in the post-handover era. The Mission and Election, the latter examining brutal succession politics within a triad organization, established his reputation for restrained, atmospheric gangster drama built on silence and tension rather than gratuitous violence. Exiled and Vengeance extended his fascination with doomed loyalty among gunmen, rendered through elegantly choreographed shootouts, while Drug War showed his equally strong command of tense procedural crime drama set on the mainland Chinese border. Co-founder of the production company Milkyway Image, To has remained one of Hong Kong's most prolific and consistently stylish genre directors, and his precise, atmospheric visual control has made him one of the most internationally respected figures in contemporary Hong Kong crime cinema.
Movies
Director
Election
2005
Director
Election 2
2006
Director
Running Out of Time
1999
Director
Drug War
2012
Director
The Mission
1999
Director
Justice, My Foot!
1992
Director
Exiled
2006
Director
PTU
2003
Director
The Heroic Trio
1993
Director
The Mad Monk
1993
Director
Vengeance
2009
Director
Throw Down
2004
Director
Mad Detective
2007
Director
A Hero Never Dies
1998
Director
Breaking News
2004
Director
Running Out of Time 2
2001
Director
All About Ah-Long
1989
Director
Casino Raiders II
1991
Director
The Eighth Happiness
1988
Director
Running on Karma
2003
Director
Heroic Trio 2: Executioners
1993
Director
Three
2016
Director
Fat Choi Spirit
2002
Director
The Fun, the Luck & the Tycoon
1990
Director
Life Without Principle
2011
Director
Needing You...
2000
Director
Fulltime Killer
2001
Director
Happy Ghost III
1986
Director
Lifeline
1997
Director
Blind Detective
2013
Director
The Bare-Footed Kid
1993
Director
Septet: The Story of Hong Kong
2022
Director
Wu Yen
2001
Director
The Big Heat
1988
Director
Triangle
2007
Director
My Left Eye Sees Ghosts
2002
Director
Sparrow
2008
Director
Don't Go Breaking My Heart 2
2014
Director
Love on a Diet
2001
Director
Linger
2008
Director
Yesterday Once More
2004
Director
Romancing in Thin Air
2012
Director
A Moment of Romance III
1996
Director
Don't Go Breaking My Heart
2011
Director
The Royal Scoundrel
1991
Director
Where a Good Man Goes
1999
Director
Office
2015
Director
Lucky Encounter
1992
Director
Loving You
1995
Director
Love for All Seasons
2003
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
Three
Full Filmography
Septet: The Story of Hong Kong
Director
2022
Film
Chasing Dream
Director
2019
Film
Three
Director
2016
Film
Office
Director
2015
Film
Don't Go Breaking My Heart 2
Director
2014
Film
Blind Detective
Director
2013
Film
Drug War
Director
2012
Film
Romancing in Thin Air
Director
2012
Film
Life Without Principle
Director
2011
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Johnnie To and where are they from?
Johnnie To is 71 years old, born on April 22, 1955 in Hong Kong, British Crown Colony [now China].
What are the most famous roles of Johnnie To?
Johnnie To is best known for directing Drug War, Election, Exiled.
How many movies has Johnnie To directed?
Over a 46-year career (since 1980), Johnnie To has directed or written 58 films and worked on 6 TV shows.
What was Johnnie To's first movie?
The career of Johnnie To began with Untitled Johnnie To Gangster Film ().
What is Johnnie To's most recent movie or series?
Johnnie To's most recent release is Septet: The Story of Hong Kong, which premiered on July 7, 2022.
What TV shows has Johnnie To created or directed?
On television, Johnnie To has appeared in The Legend of the Condor Heroes, The Duke of Mount Deer, The Yang's Saga, New Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre.
Johnnie To
1955-04-22 · Hong Kong, British Crown Colony [now China]
Johnnie To Kei-Fung (Chinese: 杜琪峯, born 22 April 1955) is a Hong Kong film director and producer. Popular in his native Hong Kong, To has also found acclaim overseas. Intensely prolific, To has made films in a variety of genres, though in the West he is best known for his action and crime movies, which have earned him critical respect and a cult following.
His films, often made in collaboration with the same group of actors, screenwriters and cinematographers, frequently explore themes of friendship, fate and the changing face of Hong Kong society. Sometimes described as "multifaceted and chameleonic" due to his ability to switch tones and genres between movies, To is nonetheless seen as having a consistent style, which involves mixing subdued realism and social observation with highly stylized visual and acting elements. To heads the Hong Kong-based production company Milkyway Image with his frequent co-director Wai Ka-Fai.