City on Fire () is a 1987 Hong Kong crime-thriller film directed by Ringo Lam, who also produced with Karl Maka. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Danny Lee, and Sun Yueh. Following A Better Tomorrow (1986), it helped establish Chow's popularity as an action star in Asia, and, to a lesser degree, North America. Plot An undercover cop, Chan Kam-wah, who is investigating a group of jewellery thieves, blows his cover and is stabbed to death by three attackers in a street market. His superior, Inspector Lau, orders Ko Chow, another undercover policeman, to resume the investigations. Ko Chow accepts reluctantly because during his previous undercover mission he had to arrest someone who had trusted him as a friend. The robbers are holding up a jewellery factory, but someone manages to alert the police. One of the robbers, Fu, kills a policeman, starting a firefight with the approaching policemen. The gang barely escapes. The police commissioner sets up a dedicated task force to investigate the gang, under the leadership of the young inspector John Chan. A strong rivalry develops between Lau and Chan; Chan considers Lau old-fashioned and out of his depth, while Lau considers Chan inexperienced and arrogant. To reach out to the gang, Chow offers them weapons for sale through the middle-man Tai Song. During the first meeting with gang member Fu they are tailed by members of the Criminal Investigation Department under the command of Chan (who is unaware that Chow is an undercover policeman). After the funeral of Chan Kam-wah, Chow meets with Lau who hands him a key to a locker in a bowling alley where the weapons will be stashed. Chow advises against handing out real guns, but Lau insists so as not to lose track of the gang. Chow meets with his girlfriend Hung, to whom he made a marriage proposal shortly before. When Chow asks her to postpone the marriage until his case is closed, she leaves the room hysterically. Prior to the handover of the guns, Chow tapes a recorder around his waist. He meets with three of the gang members. Chow is patted down, but manages to distract them from the tape recorder. Fu is satisfied with the sample gun and instructs Chow to meet him again in two days at noon to buy additional guns and ammunition. The next day Chow meets with Lau and asks him for additional