Throw Down (film)

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2004 Hong Kong film by Johnnie To

title: "Throw Down (film)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["2004-films", "2004-martial-arts-films", "2000s-cantonese-language-films", "china-star-entertainment-group-films", "films-directed-by-johnnie-to", "films-set-in-hong-kong", "films-shot-in-hong-kong", "films-with-screenplays-by-yau-nai-hoi", "hong-kong-martial-arts-films", "milkyway-image-films", "2004-hong-kong-films", "judo-films", "films-scored-by-peter-kam"] description: "2004 Hong Kong film by Johnnie To" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throw_Down_(film)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 2004 Hong Kong film by Johnnie To ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]

FieldValue
nameThrow Down
imageThrow-Down-poster.jpg
directorJohnnie To
producer{{plainlist
writer{{plainlist
starring{{plainlist
musicPeter Kam
cinematography{{plainlist
editingDavid Richardson
studio{{plainlist
distributorChina Star Entertainment Group
released
runtime95 minutes
countryHong Kong
languageCantonese
grossHK$8,231,079
::

| name = Throw Down | image = Throw-Down-poster.jpg | alt = | caption = | director = Johnnie To | producer = {{plainlist|

Plot

Karaoke manager and band leader Sze-to Bo is a judo expert and former champion who gave up judo a few years ago for unknown reasons, becoming depressed and an alcoholic. Current judo champion Tony, a competitive fighter, admires Bo and challenges him to a duel. Bo's longtime rival, Lee Ah-kong, also arrives to challenge Bo because of an old unfinished competition.

Mona is a woman from Taiwan who dreams of becoming a singer, but who was nearly forced into prostitution by her evil manager. She seeks refuge in Bo's karaoke and joins Bo in finding his mentor, Cheng, an old, frail man with a son, Ching, who has a mental disability. Cheng asks his disciple to help him to restore the reputation of his dojo, which has fallen into ruins.

Bo eventually can no longer keep his secret and reveals the true reason he gave up judo: he had developed an incurable retinal disease and his vision is gradually declining; he only has one tenth of his vision left. When Master Cheng dies for his ideals battling on the judo stage, Bo's fighting spirit reignites. Bo is determined to defeat all his opponents before losing his vision altogether.

Bo finally accepts Lee's challenge for a one-on-one fight, which takes place in a field outside the ruins of an industrial complex. Tony helps guide Bo to the fight, which is given the stipulation that both fighters cover their eyes. The fight is relatively even until Bo gets the upper hand and scores a dramatic throw on Lee, whose wrap over his eyes falls off. Enraged at getting thrown, Lee prepares to attack Bo when he sees that Bo isn't covering his eyes at all. He's now completely blind. Conceding defeat, Lee ends the fight and Tony and Bo triumphantly walk away.

In the final scene, Bo and Ching stand on a street corner passing out flyers for their dojo.

Cast

Release

Throw Down was released in Hong Kong on 8 July 2004 and in the U.S. on 22 July 2004.

Reception

On Metacritic, it has a score of 53 out of 100 based on reviews from four critics (The New York Times, Variety, Village Voice and TV Guide).

Home media

Throw Down was released on both DVD and VCD in Hong Kong on September 3, 2004. In the United States, the film was released on DVD by Tai Seng on July 26, 2005. The film was later released on Blu-ray in Hong Kong by Kam & Ronson Enterprises on August 9, 2011.

On May 18, 2020, British home media company Eureka Entertainment released Throw Down on Blu-ray for its Masters of Cinema collection; this release features a new 4K resolution master of the film and a new audio commentary from Frank Djeng. The film was released on Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection in North America on September 21, 2021, and features new interviews with screenwriter Yau Nai-hoi, composer Peter Kam, and film scholars David Bordwell and Caroline Guo, along with an essay by critic Sean Gilman.

References

References

  1. "Throw Down (2004)".
  2. "Throw Down".
  3. "Throw Down (2004)".
  4. Michael Ingham Johnnie To Kei-Fung's PTU 2009 - - Page 68 "Like To's follow-up film Throw Down, PTU has a strongly pictorial quality, which reveals the director's acute sense of ... Both films on the large screen were coincidentally beautiful to look at, but of course one's expectations of a Hong Kong film"
  5. "Throw Down (2004)".
  6. "Throw Down (2004) - IMDb".
  7. "The Gardener".
  8. "Throw Down (DVD) (DTS Version) (Hong Kong Version)". YesAsia.com Ltd..
  9. "Throw Down (VCD) (Hong Kong Version)". YesAsia.com Ltd..
  10. "Throw down". Amazon.com, Inc..
  11. Atanasov, Svet. (April 4, 2013). "Throw Down Blu-ray Review". Blu-ray.com, Inc..
  12. Atanasov, Svet. (July 26, 2020). "Throw Down Blu-ray Review". Blu-ray.com, Inc..
  13. "Throw Down (2004)". The Criterion Collection.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

2004-films2004-martial-arts-films2000s-cantonese-language-filmschina-star-entertainment-group-filmsfilms-directed-by-johnnie-tofilms-set-in-hong-kongfilms-shot-in-hong-kongfilms-with-screenplays-by-yau-nai-hoihong-kong-martial-arts-filmsmilkyway-image-films2004-hong-kong-filmsjudo-filmsfilms-scored-by-peter-kam