Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (力王) is a 1991 live-action theatrical Hong Kong film directed by Lam Nai-Choi, and produced by Chan Dung Chow, with distribution by Golden Harvest based on the Japanese manga series of the same name written by Masahiko Takajo and illustrated by Tetsuya Saruwatari. The film starred Louis Fan Siu-wong, Fan Mei-sheng, Ho Ka-kui, and Yukari Oshima, with screenplay writer Lam Nai-choi, and music composed by Philip Chan Fei-Lit. The film was theatrically released in Japan first in October 1991 before its Hong Kong release in April 1992.
Note: As I’ve purchased the film a while back, this is more akin to a ‘delayed unboxing’ post but most of the photos were sorted at the time of its arrival. This post has also been updated on 7th September 2025 to reword a few sections whilst keeping the same message across.
Background:
“Director Lam Ngai Kai (Erotic Ghost Story/Saga of the Phoenix), brings us a tour de force story of incarceration and injustice laced with super charged action sequences and mounting prison-based tension. Set in the year 2001, where all correctional facilities have been privatised, martial artist Ricky finds himself victim to the corrupt system when he is found guilty of the manslaughter of an infamous crime boss. Once in jail he must fight for his own survival when he is thrown into a world of enemies vying for his blood.
Based on the Japanese Manga by Masahiko Takajo and Tetsuya Saruwatari, this cinematic adaptation also follows closely in the footsteps of a host brutal prison dramas like Brute Force (1947), Escape from Alcatraz (1979) and Scum (1979) but of course it’s all delivered with a distinctive Hong Kong style powerhouse punch.”
Plot Synopsis via 88 Films, November 2022.
When it comes to live-action adaptations of Japanese anime and manga, most don’t tend to stick the landing, but it was interesting to see Asian distributors outside Japan try to make an attempt, like Park Chan-wook’s adaptation of Oldboy and Wong Jing & Jackie Chan’s adaptation of City Hunter. In 1991 we saw a live-action adaptation of Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, a Japanese manga adapted by Lam Nai-choi, who is considered one of the pioneers of the Category III exploitation scene during that time period, with films like Erotic Ghost Story and Her Vengeance (and had the rating been introduced earlier, The Seventh Curse would have been included as well).
While his other Category III rated films were focused on the sexual themes, Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky is focused on the violence and it was spectacular. You have to give credit to the team who worked on the special effects because a lot of these were very graphic it’s no wonder it was given the highest rating from the Hong Kong board. Granted, some of the scenes are ridiculous like a simple knife slash ripping someone’s skin off instantly but you have other insane moments like a fist punching through people and objects.
I really enjoyed Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky as it’s a complete story from beginning to end, and while it does follow the usual anime and manga tropes, it works really well on-screen especially from the performances by both Louis Fan Siu-wong and Fan Mei-sheng who played Lik Wong (Ricky in the English dub) and Assistant Warden Dan respectively. This is also a pretty fast-paced film so I will admit that a lot happens pretty quickly with only a 90 minute runtime, but its story was simple and the motivation was clear and overly complicated. There’s apparently an unofficial sequel also starring Louis Fan Siu-wong released in 2004 called Dint King Inside King (Super Powerful Man) but that was never released outside Asia.
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky has been released a few times in the UK, with its DVD release by Hong Kong Legends before being released on Blu-ray by distributor Mediumrare. It’s a similar situation to Armour of God II where it was already readily available beforehand before being picked up by distributor 88 Films. 88 Films picking up the film was beneficial because it also provided additional work on the disc (especially on the audio tracks) and a special collector’s package for fans of Hong Kong cinema and those interested in this live-action adaptation.
About 88 Films:
88 Films, is an independent UK distributor for Asian Cinema, Italian Cinema, Horror, Cult Classics and Action. Their line-up of films in the Asian Cinema scene includes the works of Jackie Chan (Armour of God, Miracles), Sammo Hung (Dragons Forever, Heart of Dragon), Nam Nai Choi (Erotic Ghost Story, Robotrix), Lau Kar-leung (The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, Martial Club), Chen Chi-Hwa (Half a Loaf of Kung Fu, Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin), Wong Jing (Casino Tycoon, God of Gamblers) and also many individual films from John Woo, Tsui Hark, Vincent Kok, Yuen Woo-ping and more. The distributor recently expanded to the US with ten Shaw Bros films such as The Chinese Boxer and Human Lanterns but also other works including US exclusive releases of In the Line of Duty I-IV series and Police Story 3: Supercop.
Their 2023+ line-up for Asian Cinema will include the Fight Back to School trilogy, The Last Blood (Hard Boiled II), Magic Cop, Twin Dragons, The Untold Story, and a re-release of Battle Creek Brawl.
Deluxe Collector’s Edition Contents:
Keeping consistency with the previous Category III releases of Erotic Ghost Story and Robotrix, its reputation amongst the cinema fans, and because it’s the second time the film has been released on Blu-ray in the UK, 88 Films produced a deluxe collector’s edition box set for Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky.
This deluxe collector’s edition release is presented with a rigid box showcasing newly illustrated artwork by R.P. “KUNG FU BOB” O’Brien, an Amaray case housing the disc, four collectible postcards, double-sided poster featuring the new artwork and the original theatrical poster artwork, and an 40-page perfect-bound book featuring three write-ups. The articles covered are ‘Riki-Oh, Prison on Fire’ by Matthew Edwards, ‘Island on Fire: A Short History on Hong Kong Prison films (1987-1997)’ by Matthew Edwards, and ‘A Voice Abroad: An Interview With Legendary Voice-Over Artist Simon Broad’ by Tim Murray.
The box art features ratings, synopsis and information about the release, including specifications. The artwork on the Amaray case does include information and specs on the back. The deluxe collector’s edition Blu-ray release retailed for £34.99 SRP and would eventually be re-released as a standard edition Blu-ray that omits the rigid box, postcards, poster and booklet but included an o-card slipcase for its first print run. Print run was unspecified which for their previous CATIII deluxe release was around 2000 units.
I pre-ordered my copy on Amazon UK.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with brand-new artwork by R.P. “KUNG FU BOB” O’Brien
- Amaray case packaging
- 4 Collectible Postcards
- Double-sided Poster featuring newly illustrated artwork and the original theatrical poster artwork
- 40-page perfect-bound book featuring new articles by Matthew Edwards & Tim Murray
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: 88 Films
Released: 20th September 2021
The deluxe collector’s edition release for Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky presents the film on a single Blu-ray disc, with the authoring and encoding done by 88 Films. The film’s presentation is based on a HD restoration from the original negatives.
The Blu-ray features the original Hong Kong theatrical cut presented in Cantonese audio (theatrical and home video mixes) with English subtitles and the classic English dub (in both 5.1 and mono). The theatrical is the original Category III uncut and uncensored version.
The white subtitles, newly remastered, are unlockable during playback and the Blu-ray disc is locked to players set to Region B. Also included with the film are a couple audio commentaries, an interview and a few trailers.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Cantonese, English |
| Audio | Cantonese (Theatrical Mix) DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono Cantonese (Home Video Mix) DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 1.85:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng
- Audio Commentary with Mike Leeder & Arne Venema
- Audio Commentary with Kim Newman & Sean Hogan
- Audio Commentary with Audi Sorlie & Chris Ling
- Interview with Fan Siu-Wong
- Hong Kong Trailer
- English Trailer
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky is available to own on Blu-ray from 88 Films for the United Kingdom & Ireland.
The deluxe collector’s edition release has since discontinued, but the standard edition can be purchased through 88 Films’ official website, Amazon UK and Terracotta store.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
Leave a comment