{ "id": "ep6ht0070h", "slug": "taxi-hunter", "title": "Taxi Hunter", "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.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films", "label": "1990s films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.thrillers", "label": "Thrillers", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.thrillers" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.thrillers.yr-1990-1995", "label": "Released 1990 to 1995", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.thrillers.yr-1990-1995" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "China · 1946 to 2000: Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946", "label": "China · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.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.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Taxi Hunter (的士判官) is a 1993 Hong Kong crime thriller directed by Herman Yau and starring Anthony Wong as an insurance salesman who kills taxi drivers.", "snippet": "Taxi Hunter (的士判官) is a 1993 Hong Kong crime thriller directed by Herman Yau and starring Anthony Wong as an insurance salesman who kills taxi drivers.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.1990s-films.thrillers.yr-1990-1995", "markdown": "# Taxi Hunter\n\n**Taxi Hunter** (的士判官) is a 1993 Hong Kong crime thriller directed by Herman Yau (邱禮濤) and starring Anthony Wong Chau-Sang as an insurance salesman who begins killing taxi drivers after his pregnant wife dies in a taxi accident[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106714/).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director / writers | Herman Yau; screenplay credited to Lau Wing-Kin, Mak Kai-Chung, Yau, and Tony Leung Hung-Wah[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106714/) |\n| Principal cast | Anthony Wong (Kin), Yu Rongguang (Det. Yu Kai-Chung), Ng Man-Tat (Sgt. Mak Si Gao), Athena Chu[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106714/) |\n| Hong Kong rating | Category II at release; some later sources describe it as Category III[2](https://insidepulse.com/2023/08/15/blu-ray-review-taxi-hunter/) • [3](https://www.theaterbyte.com/taxi-hunter-special-edition-blu-ray-review/) |\n| Home video | 88 Films Blu-ray, August 2023; BBFC classified 19 April 2023 for strong violence, language, and sexual violence[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/taxi-hunter-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdeynjaw) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nKin (Anthony Wong) is a mild-mannered, hard-working businessman with a wife who is days from giving birth[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106714/) • [5](https://themovieelite.com/taxi-hunter-1993-88-films-blu-ray-review/). When his wife goes into labor, the taxi that arrives refuses the fare and drives off with her nightgown caught in the door, dragging her to her death; the unborn child dies as well[5](https://themovieelite.com/taxi-hunter-1993-88-films-blu-ray-review/). After a further encounter with a dishonest cabbie, Kin begins taking revenge, testing drivers at night and executing those he judges unscrupulous, using a black-market handgun, a garrote, and other methods[5](https://themovieelite.com/taxi-hunter-1993-88-films-blu-ray-review/).\n\nHis friend, the detective [Yu Kai](https://www.edgepedia.org/yu-kai)-Chung (Yu Rongguang), is assigned the case and, with Sergeant Mak Si Gao (Ng Man-Tat), sets a trap by having an officer work undercover as a taxi driver; Kin unknowingly gets into the cab, leading to a bloody climax[5](https://themovieelite.com/taxi-hunter-1993-88-films-blu-ray-review/). According to the [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification), this Hong Kong crime thriller centers on a man whose wife dies because of taxi drivers' conduct, prompting him to seek vengeance against them.[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/taxi-hunter-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdeynjaw)\n\n## Context and reception\n\nThe film was made amid public frustration in early-1990s Hong Kong over the behavior of taxi drivers. The *South China Morning Post* wrote at release that the film represented Herman Yau's bid for revenge after years of run-ins with cowboy taxi drivers[6](https://www.scmp.com/article/48138/hire-trip-cowboy-country). A commentary on the 88 Films release adds context of a taxi dispute in the early 1990s, in which passengers were angered at being overcharged[2](https://insidepulse.com/2023/08/15/blu-ray-review-taxi-hunter/).\n\nCritics have compared it to Martin Scorsese's *Taxi Driver* (1976) and [Joel Schumacher](https://www.edgepedia.org/joel-schumacher)'s *Falling Down*. The Chinese database notes that parts of the film draw on *Taxi Driver*, and reviewers have described it as Hong Kong's response to *Falling Down*, with a deeply cynical view of cab drivers and a downbeat portrait of a middle-class man's descent into violence[5](https://themovieelite.com/taxi-hunter-1993-88-films-blu-ray-review/). Anthony Wong's performance as the meek businessman turned killer has been a consistent point of praise in reviews of the 2023 home-video release[3](https://www.theaterbyte.com/taxi-hunter-special-edition-blu-ray-review/) • [5](https://themovieelite.com/taxi-hunter-1993-88-films-blu-ray-review/).\n\n## Censorship classification\n\nThe film's Hong Kong rating is reported inconsistently. The Chinese-language database records it as a Category II film under Hong Kong's rating system, and the audio commentary by Frank Djeng on the 88 Films Blu-ray likewise states the film was rated Category II[2](https://insidepulse.com/2023/08/15/blu-ray-review-taxi-hunter/). Other reviews of the Blu-ray describe it as a Category III film, Hong Kong's most restrictive adults-only category, with one noting that it received that designation for violent subject matter rather than sex or nudity[3](https://www.theaterbyte.com/taxi-hunter-special-edition-blu-ray-review/). A French review reports that at its 1993 release the film received Category II, while the producer Tony Leung Hung-Wah recalled a Category III classification for the laserdisc edition, and the reviewer could not confirm which was correct[7](https://lecranbarge.fr/2025/02/18/taxi-hunter-film/).\n\n## Later releases\n\nFor decades the film had little official availability outside Hong Kong. It received its first Japanese theatrical release in August 2015, in a retrospective of 1990s Hong Kong violence films at Human Trust Cinema Shibuya[8](https://cinema.eiga.com/movie/82341/). According to IMDb release data, it reached DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 28 August 2023 and in the United States on 29 August 2023, with a German DVD following on 4 September 2024[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106714/releaseinfo/). The 88 Films special edition includes a 1.85:1 1080p transfer, the original [Cantonese](https://www.edgepedia.org/cantonese) mono audio in LPCM 2.0, English subtitles, and supplements including a commentary by Frank Djeng and interviews with producer Tony Leung Hung-Wah, action director James Ha, and Anthony Wong[3](https://www.theaterbyte.com/taxi-hunter-special-edition-blu-ray-review/). The BBFC classified the 2023 release for strong violence, strong language, and sexual violence, noting scenes including a stabbing with a broken bottle and shootings with spurts of blood[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/taxi-hunter-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdeynjaw).\n\n## References\n\n1. [Taxi Hunter (1993) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106714/)\n2. [Blu-ray Review: Taxi Hunter - Inside Pulse](https://insidepulse.com/2023/08/15/blu-ray-review-taxi-hunter/)\n3. [Taxi Hunter (Special Edition) (Blu-ray Review) - TheaterByte](https://www.theaterbyte.com/taxi-hunter-special-edition-blu-ray-review/)\n4. [Taxi Hunter - BBFC](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/taxi-hunter-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdeynjaw)\n5. [Taxi Hunter (1993) 88 Films Blu-ray Review - The Movie Elite](https://themovieelite.com/taxi-hunter-1993-88-films-blu-ray-review/)\n6. [For hire: a trip to cowboy country - South China Morning Post (17 October 1993)](https://www.scmp.com/article/48138/hire-trip-cowboy-country)\n7. [Taxi Hunter - critique, L'Écran Barge (18 February 2025)](https://lecranbarge.fr/2025/02/18/taxi-hunter-film/)\n8. [タクシーハンター : 作品情報 - 映画.com](https://cinema.eiga.com/movie/82341/)\n9. [Taxi Hunter (1993) - Release info - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106714/releaseinfo/)\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 › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 1990s films › Thrillers › Released 1990 to 1995*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 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/taxi-hunter", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/taxi-hunter.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": "\"Taxi Hunter\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/taxi-hunter. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Taxi Hunter](https://www.edgepedia.org/taxi-hunter)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/taxi-hunter](https://www.edgepedia.org/taxi-hunter). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Taxi Hunter\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/taxi-hunter. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Taxi Hunter is a 1993 Hong Kong crime thriller directed by Herman Yau and starring Anthony Wong as an insurance salesman who kills taxi drivers." }