Johnny To is considered one of the best action filmmakers in Hong Kong, and in this smart, stylized gangland thriller (2005) he looks at the messy inner workings of a triad.
Election(黑社會)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Hong Kong · 2005
1h 41m
Director Johnnie To
Starring Simon Yam, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Louis Koo, Nick Cheung
Genre Crime, Drama
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
An election is coming up for Hong Kong’s oldest triad society after the two year term of the current chairman expires. The two leading candidates are Lok and Big D, polar opposites in disposition, with Lok possessing a calm and calculated manner, and Big D being rather erratic and violent. Loyalties are tested as they ‘campaign’ for the position.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
By the end, Mr. To has proven himself to be a genre hack of uncommon intelligence and soul: a first-rate entertainer who can thrill you into thinking.
Some general viewers may feel let down by the relatively scant action.
The Hollywood Reporter by Ray Bennett
A repellent movie filled with gratuitous violence, Election is bound to find an appreciative audience among those who like their cinematic criminals noisy, stupid and deadly.
Mostly Election tracks the shifting of power among men for whom power is all that matters, no matter how much lip service they pay to loyalty. The final sequence is a shocker but it's also completely logical.
A poignant moment occurs in Election when a young boy sees his father brutally beat another mobster to death.
Users who liked this film also liked
Running Out of Time
(暗戰)
Let the games begin.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 1999
- Director Johnnie To
- Cast Lau Ching-wan, Andy Lau, Yoyo Mung, Waise Lee, Hui Siu-Hung, Lam Suet
- Genre Drama, Action, Thriller, Crime
- Available on Amazon Video
Mad Max 2
Max finds himself a community’s only hope as they try and protect their oil refinery from the evil Lord Humungus.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Australia • 1981
- Director George Miller
- Cast Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston, Max Phipps, Vernon Wells, Kjell Nilsson
- Genre Action, Adventure, Science Fiction, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Born to Fight
(เกิดมาลุย)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Thailand • 2004
- Director Panna Rittikrai
- Cast Dan Chupong, Nappon Gomarachun, Santisuk Promsiri, Piyapong Piew-on, Somrak Khamsing, Amornthep Waewsang
- Genre Crime, Action, Thriller
- Available on Night Flight Plus
The Italian Job
A comedy caper film featuring a charismatic ex-con, car chases, and chaos galore.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1969
- Director Peter Collinson
- Cast Michael Caine, Noël Coward, Benny Hill, Margaret Blye, Raf Vallone, Tony Beckley
- Genre Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
- Available on Paramount Plus, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand, Pluto TV, Kanopy
Exiled
(放‧逐)
A former mobster attempting to live quietly with his family deals with two pairs of hitmen from his past.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 2006
- Director Johnnie To
- Cast Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Simon Yam, Nick Cheung, Richie Ren, Roy Cheung
- Genre Action, Crime, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Video, Kanopy, Plex Channel
The Chaser
(추격자)
An ex-detective turned pimp hunts a dangerous killer.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2008
- Director Na Hong-jin
- Cast Kim Yoon-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Seo Young-hee, Kim Yoo-jung, Jung In-gi, Park Hyo-joo
- Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Mad Detective
(神探)
A rookie cop teams up with a former detective with a supernatural gift to hunt down a serial killer.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 2007
- Director Johnnie To, Wai Ka-fai
- Cast Lau Ching-wan, Andy On, Gordon Lam, Kelly Lin, Lee Kwok-Lun, Karen Lee Choi-Ling
- Genre Action, Crime, Thriller
- Available on AMC+, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel
Election 2
(黑社會2以和為貴)
With looming triad elections in the background, chairman Lok and boss Jimmy face important questions about their futures.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 2006
- Director Johnnie To
- Cast Louis Koo Tin-Lok, Simon Yam, Nick Cheung, Gordon Lam, Lam Suet, Wong Tin-Lam
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Tubi TV
Vengeance
(復仇)
A violent action-thriller featuring a French former assassin desperate for revenge.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong, France • 2009
- Director Johnnie To
- Cast Johnny Hallyday, Anthony Wong, Gordon Lam, Lam Suet, Simon Yam, Sylvie Testud
- Genre Action, Thriller
- Available on Plex, Plex Channel
Shinjuku Incident
(新宿事件)
They destroyed his life... Now he'll destroy them all.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hong Kong • 2009
- Director Derek Yee Tung-Sing
- Cast Jackie Chan, Naoto Takenaka, Daniel Wu, Xu Jinglei, Masaya Kato, Tōru Minegishi
- Genre Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV
Bob le Flambeur
(Bob le flambeur)
Bob, making a desperate gamble, soon learns that his game is rigged and the cops are onto him.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1956
- Director Jean-Pierre Melville
- Cast Roger Duchesne, Isabelle Corey, Daniel Cauchy, André Garet, Gérard Buhr, Guy Decomble
- Genre Action, Crime, Drama
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Everybody Go Home!
(Tutti a casa)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1960
- Director Luigi Comencini
- Cast Alberto Sordi, Eduardo De Filippo, Serge Reggiani, Martin Balsam, Alex Nicol, Carla Gravina
- Genre Comedy, Drama, War
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Profound Desires of the Gods
(神々の深き欲望)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1968
- Director Shôhei Imamura
- Cast Rentaro Mikuni, Chōichirō Kawarasaki, Kazuo Kitamura, Hideko Okiyama, Yoshi Katō, Yasuko Matsui
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
The Yellow Sea
(황해)
The only thing he must not have crossed.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea, United States, Hong Kong • 2010
- Director Na Hong-jin
- Cast Ha Jung-woo, Kim Yoon-seok, Cho Seong-ha, Lee Cheol-min, Kwak Do-won, Im Ye-won
- Genre Drama, Thriller, Crime
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, AMC on Demand
The Dead End
(烈日灼心)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- China • 2015
- Director Cao Baoping
- Cast Deng Chao, Duan Yihong, Guo Tao, Wang Luodan, Jackie Lui Chung-Yin, Li Xiaochuan
- Genre Crime, Drama, Mystery
- Available on No streaming locations found.