{ "id": "ep43r4664w", "slug": "as-the-light-goes-out", "title": "As the Light Goes Out (救火英雄)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure", "label": "Action and adventure films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.action-thrillers-2010s", "label": "Action thrillers, 2010s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.action-thrillers-2010s" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.action-thrillers-2010s.survival-and-disaster-thrillers", "label": "Survival and disaster thrillers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.action-thrillers-2010s.survival-and-disaster-thrillers" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020: Action and adventure films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001", "label": "China · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure", "label": "Action and adventure films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure" } ] } ], "excerpt": "As the Light Goes Out (救火英雄) is a 2014 Hong Kong disaster action film by Derek Kwok, starring Nicholas Tse and Shawn Yue as estranged firefighter brothers battling a Christmas Eve power station explosion; HK$130 million budget, 2,000+ VFX shots, Golden Horse Best Action Choreography winner.", "snippet": "As the Light Goes Out (救火英雄) is a 2014 Hong Kong disaster action film by Derek Kwok, starring Nicholas Tse and Shawn Yue as estranged firefighter brothers battling a Christmas Eve power station explosion; HK$130 million budget, 2,000+ VFX shots, Golden Horse Best Action Choreography winner.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.action-thrillers-2010s.survival-and-disaster-thrillers", "markdown": "# As the Light Goes Out (救火英雄)\n\n**As the Light Goes Out** (救火英雄) is a 2014 Hong Kong disaster action film directed and written by Derek Kwok (郭子健), starring [Nicholas Tse](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicholas-tse), Shawn Yue, Simon Yam, Hu Jun, and Bai Bing as firefighters confronting a power station explosion that plunges Hong Kong into darkness on [Christmas Eve](https://www.edgepedia.org/christmas-eve).[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-tw-fs-film01.html) The 115-minute [Cantonese](https://www.edgepedia.org/cantonese) production was presented by Emperor Motion Pictures, Media Asia, and Zhujiang Film Group.[2](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/5.-Exhibition-and-Screening/ProFolio/Profolio-102_E.pdf)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | 2 January 2014 (Hong Kong); 115 minutes, Cantonese, DCP[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-tw-fs-film01.html) • [3](https://www.blu-ray.com/As-the-Light-Goes-Out/364515/) |\n| Director / writer | Derek Kwok Chi-Kin[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-tw-fs-film01.html) |\n| Budget | HK$130 million (about NT$500 million)[4](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/film/flhk49713641/) |\n| Hong Kong box office | HK$25,457,959 over 42 days from 2 January to 12 February 2014[5](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/publication/2014.pdf) |\n| Visual effects | More than 2,000 VFX shots; about 90 percent of the smoke on screen was computer-generated[6](https://cgvisual.com/headlines/As_The_Light_Goes_Out/CGVheadlines_As_The_Light_Goes_Out_01.html) |\n| Principal awards | Best Action Choreography at the 51st Golden Horse Awards (Jackie Wong Wai-Leung); eight nominations at the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards[7](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/as-the-light-goes-out) |\n| Cast | Nicholas Tse (Ho Wing-sam), Shawn Yue (Yau Pong-chiu), Simon Yam (Lee Pui-to), Hu Jun (Hai Yang), Bai Bing, Andy On, William Chan; Jackie Chan in a cameo[7](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/as-the-light-goes-out) • [8](https://asianwiki.com/As_The_Light_Goes_Out) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and themes\n\nThe story centers on three firefighters at the Pillar Point (龍鼓灘) fire station who were once sworn brothers. A rescue operation ten years earlier left Ho Wing-sam (森, Nicholas Tse) and Yau Pong-chiu (潮, Shawn Yue) estranged; Yau alone took responsibility for an unauthorized entry into a fire scene, after which Sam developed post-traumatic symptoms and stopped entering fire grounds, while the ambitious Yat Chi-fai (葉志輝, Andy On) rose quickly through the ranks.[7](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/as-the-light-goes-out) • [9](https://www.ntpda.org.tw/files/20141340263.pdf)\n\nOn Christmas Eve, an abnormal heat wave and a typhoon bear down on the city. A fire at a winery spreads toward a natural gas pipeline feeding the power station; the station explodes, Hong Kong suffers a total blackout, and the firefighters are trapped in smoke-filled darkness. Among those caught inside is Yau's son, visiting the plant on a school trip.[9](https://www.ntpda.org.tw/files/20141340263.pdf) • [10](https://www.emp.hk/en/production/all/as-the-light-goes-out) A mainland super-firefighter, Hai Yang (海洋, Hu Jun), joins the Hong Kong brigade carrying his own unresolved grief, and the veteran Lee Pui-to (培總, [Simon Yam](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-yam)) both tests and steadies the younger men.[11](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/2013-12-12/17474059535.shtml)\n\n**Smoke as the true antagonist.** Kwok has said that a firefighter friend taught him the deadliest element in a fire is not the flame but the smoke it produces, and he built the film around that danger.[12](https://tw.news.yahoo.com/y-%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-%E7%81%AB%E5%A0%B4%E4%B8%8A%E7%9A%84%E7%A1%AC%E6%BC%A2%E6%83%85%E8%AA%BC-%E6%95%91%E7%81%AB%E8%8B%B1%E9%9B%84-%E4%BD%99%E6%96%87%E6%A8%82%E8%88%87%E5%B0%8E%E6%BC%94%E9%83%AD%E5%AD%90%E5%81%A5%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-025819299.html) In his framing, every firefighter who has entered a fire carries an inner smoke, a personal demon that blinds them to what they do not wish to see; the film treats the rescue as much as a matter of overcoming these inner demons as of fighting the blaze.[13](https://www.buddhistdoor.org/mingkok/%E6%95%91%E7%81%AB%E6%95%91%E4%BA%BA%E6%95%91%E8%87%AA%E5%B7%B1%E6%95%91%E7%81%AB%E8%8B%B1%E9%9B%84%E7%9A%84%E5%BC%94%E8%A9%AD/)\n\n## Production\n\nKwok conceived the project in 2008 and developed the script for seven or eight years. He wrote the roles of Sam and Chiu with Nicholas Tse and Shawn Yue in mind, deliberately casting Tse, previously known for hot-blooded roles, as an ordinary, conflicted man. The two lead actors had not worked together for six years, and Kwok persuaded them in person with the script.[14](https://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2013-12-31/02304071989.shtml) • [15](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2013/12-11/5608577.shtml) The film was Kwok's first solo big-budget commercial picture, after he had spent years learning the craft alongside director Wilson Yip and co-directed *[Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons](https://www.edgepedia.org/journey-to-the-west-conquering-the-demons)* with [Stephen Chow](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-chow).[16](https://yule.sohu.com/20140103/n392873419.shtml)\n\n**Preparation and shoot.** The cast received more than a month of professional firefighter training, with serving firefighters as coaches, covering survival in smoke-filled environments, protective equipment, breaching tools, axes, and circular saws. Shooting ran 70 days, with actors wearing firefighting gear weighing tens of kilograms for more than ten hours a day; Shawn Yue described carrying three oxygen cylinders, a suit, and an axe, about 50 pounds (roughly 22 kg) in one scene, and injuring his back.[12](https://tw.news.yahoo.com/y-%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-%E7%81%AB%E5%A0%B4%E4%B8%8A%E7%9A%84%E7%A1%AC%E6%BC%A2%E6%83%85%E8%AA%BC-%E6%95%91%E7%81%AB%E8%8B%B1%E9%9B%84-%E4%BD%99%E6%96%87%E6%A8%82%E8%88%87%E5%B0%8E%E6%BC%94%E9%83%AD%E5%AD%90%E5%81%A5%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-025819299.html) To recreate fire scenes realistically, the crew built a full-scale power station set, and Kwok spent eleven months experimenting with smoke behavior before settling on his approach.[15](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2013/12-11/5608577.shtml) • [12](https://tw.news.yahoo.com/y-%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-%E7%81%AB%E5%A0%B4%E4%B8%8A%E7%9A%84%E7%A1%AC%E6%BC%A2%E6%83%85%E8%AA%BC-%E6%95%91%E7%81%AB%E8%8B%B1%E9%9B%84-%E4%BD%99%E6%96%87%E6%A8%82%E8%88%87%E5%B0%8E%E6%BC%94%E9%83%AD%E5%AD%90%E5%81%A5%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-025819299.html) The story drew on real Hong Kong disasters, including the [Causeway Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/causeway-bay) crane collapse and building collapses in To Kwa Wan.[4](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/film/flhk49713641/)\n\n## Visual effects and sound\n\nThe post-production house Post Production Office (PO), co-founded in 2003 by Nicholas Tse, handled the effects under VFX supervisor Henri Wong (黃智亨). The film contains more than 2,000 VFX shots; besides one large-scale citywide disaster sequence and a computer-extended power station, about 90 percent of the smoke and dust seen on screen was computer-generated. A short production schedule and heavy footage load compressed the post-production period, and PO adopted an ACES color workflow across the whole pipeline for the first time on a project of this scale to achieve finer, more realistic images.[6](https://cgvisual.com/headlines/As_The_Light_Goes_Out/CGVheadlines_As_The_Light_Goes_Out_01.html)\n\nComposers Teddy Robin and Tomy Wai, working from Kwok's instruction that the film should emphasize horror over disaster spectacle, scored the smoke-filled and fire scenes with human voices and choral music, personifying the smoke as a demon to create an eerie suspense unusual among disaster films. The score earned them a nomination for Best Original Film Score at the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-tw-fs-film01.html)\n\n## Release and reception\n\nThe film opened in Hong Kong on 2 January 2014 and in mainland China on 3 January, followed by Singapore the same day, South Korea in June, and Japan in October 2014.[3](https://www.blu-ray.com/As-the-Light-Goes-Out/364515/) In Hong Kong it ran 42 days and earned HK$25,457,959, ranking first among Hong Kong-mainland co-productions released that year by opening date.[5](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/publication/2014.pdf) Trade coverage reported it as the territory's box-office champion for several consecutive weeks, with the CGV interview counting four weeks and a promotional interview with Shawn Yue counting three, both agreeing the total passed HK$25 million.[6](https://cgvisual.com/headlines/As_The_Light_Goes_Out/CGVheadlines_As_The_Light_Goes_Out_01.html) • [12](https://tw.news.yahoo.com/y-%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-%E7%81%AB%E5%A0%B4%E4%B8%8A%E7%9A%84%E7%A1%AC%E6%BC%A2%E6%83%85%E8%AA%BC-%E6%95%91%E7%81%AB%E8%8B%B1%E9%9B%84-%E4%BD%99%E6%96%87%E6%A8%82%E8%88%87%E5%B0%8E%E6%BC%94%E9%83%AD%E5%AD%90%E5%81%A5%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-025819299.html) Worldwide, TheTVDB lists a gross of US$15,973,348.[17](https://thetvdb.com/movies/as-the-light-goes-out)\n\n**Awards.** At the 51st Golden Horse Awards the film won Best Action Choreography for Jackie Wong Wai-Leung and was nominated for Best Visual Effects. At the 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards it received seven nominations: Best Director (Derek Kwok), Best Cinematography (Jason Kwan), Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Original Film Score, Best Original Film Song (愛最大, composed and sung by Nicholas Tse with 24 Herbs), Best Sound Design, and Best Visual Effects. Kwok received the Executive Committee's Special Award at the 8th Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild Awards, and [William Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-chan) won Best Supporting Actor at the 5th Macau International Movie Festival.[7](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/as-the-light-goes-out) The film was also selected at festivals including Udine, New York Asian, Dallas Asian (as closing film), Hawaii, and Toronto Reel Asian.[7](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/as-the-light-goes-out)\n\nCritical response was divided on genre. Some reviewers praised the ensemble structure and the way Kwok used smoke and shifting styles to express the characters' inner states; others argued the film mixed disaster, police-thriller, and art-film elements without settling into a coherent disaster-film narrative.[14](https://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2013-12-31/02304071989.shtml) • [18](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/2014/2014-01-17/189057.html) The Hong Kong Film Archive screened the film in 2023 with a post-screening talk by the director and composer, noting its unusual suspense treatment within the local disaster genre.[1](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-tw-fs-film01.html)\n\n## References\n\n1. [救火英雄, Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/tc/web/hkfa/pe-event-2023-tw-fs-film01.html)\n2. [Profolio 102: 救火英雄 As The Light Goes Out, Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/5.-Exhibition-and-Screening/ProFolio/Profolio-102_E.pdf)\n3. [As the Light Goes Out (2014), Blu-ray.com release dates](https://www.blu-ray.com/As-the-Light-Goes-Out/364515/)\n4. [救火英雄 As The Light Goes Out, 開眼電影網](https://app2.atmovies.com.tw/film/flhk49713641/)\n5. [香港電影業資料彙編 2014, Hong Kong Motion Picture Industry Association](https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/publication/2014.pdf)\n6. [Making of As The Light Goes Out, CGV Headlines interview with Post Production Office](https://cgvisual.com/headlines/As_The_Light_Goes_Out/CGVheadlines_As_The_Light_Goes_Out_01.html)\n7. [救火英雄, Emperor Motion Pictures](https://www.emp.hk/ct/production/all/as-the-light-goes-out)\n8. [As The Light Goes Out, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/As_The_Light_Goes_Out)\n9. [2008年8月上映電影資料 (救火英雄劇情簡介), 台北市影片商業同業公會](https://www.ntpda.org.tw/files/20141340263.pdf)\n10. [As The Light Goes Out synopsis, Emperor Motion Pictures (English)](https://www.emp.hk/en/production/all/as-the-light-goes-out)\n11. [资料：电影《救火英雄》基本资料, 新浪娱乐](https://ent.sina.com.cn/m/2013-12-12/17474059535.shtml)\n12. [《救火英雄》余文樂與導演郭子健專訪, Yahoo台灣](https://tw.news.yahoo.com/y-%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-%E7%81%AB%E5%A0%B4%E4%B8%8A%E7%9A%84%E7%A1%AC%E6%BC%A2%E6%83%85%E8%AA%BC-%E6%95%91%E7%81%AB%E8%8B%B1%E9%9B%84-%E4%BD%99%E6%96%87%E6%A8%82%E8%88%87%E5%B0%8E%E6%BC%94%E9%83%AD%E5%AD%90%E5%81%A5%E5%B0%88%E8%A8%AA-025819299.html)\n13. [救火？救人？救自己？──《救火英雄》的弔詭, 佛門網](https://www.buddhistdoor.org/mingkok/%E6%95%91%E7%81%AB%E6%95%91%E4%BA%BA%E6%95%91%E8%87%AA%E5%B7%B1%E6%95%91%E7%81%AB%E8%8B%B1%E9%9B%84%E7%9A%84%E5%BC%94%E8%A9%AD/)\n14. [救火英雄：烟雾缭绕中的逃出生天 (新京报专访郭子健), 新浪娱乐](https://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2013-12-31/02304071989.shtml)\n15. [谢霆锋与余文乐6年后再合作 演\"救火英雄\", 中新网](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2013/12-11/5608577.shtml)\n16. [专访《救火英雄》郭子健, 搜狐娱乐](https://yule.sohu.com/20140103/n392873419.shtml)\n17. [As the Light Goes Out, TheTVDB](https://thetvdb.com/movies/as-the-light-goes-out)\n18. [《救火英雄》：迷失于混杂类型的\"浓烟\"中, 中国作家网](https://www.chinawriter.com.cn/2014/2014-01-17/189057.html)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Action thrillers, 2010s › Survival and disaster thrillers*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/as-the-light-goes-out", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/as-the-light-goes-out.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"As the Light Goes Out (救火英雄)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/as-the-light-goes-out. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[As the Light Goes Out (救火英雄)](https://www.edgepedia.org/as-the-light-goes-out)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/as-the-light-goes-out](https://www.edgepedia.org/as-the-light-goes-out). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"As the Light Goes Out (救火英雄)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/as-the-light-goes-out. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "As the Light Goes Out is a 2014 Hong Kong disaster action film by Derek Kwok, starring Nicholas Tse and Shawn Yue as estranged firefighter brothers battling a Christmas Eve power station explosion; HK$130 million budget, 2,000+ VFX shots, Golden Horse Best Action Choreography winner." }