Cast:

Chow Yun Fat

Ti Lung

Leslie Cheung

Emily Chu

Lee Chi Hung

Action:

Stephen Tung Wai

Blacky Ko

Producer:

Tsui Hark

Director:

John Woo

Score:  

A BETTER TOMORROW

AKA:  N/A

Year: 1986    Reviewer: Phil Mills

Mark Gor (Yun Fat) and Ho (Ti Lung) are a pair of gangsters involved in a money counterfeit organisation.  Ho is considering going straight because his little brother, Kit, is joining the police force.  When Ho is double-crossed and his father murdered, Kit discovers the truth about his brother's illegal operations.  Mark swears revenge but his leg is shattered in the shoot out and he is forced to live life as a recluse.  When Ho is released from prison he finds out what Mark has been reduced too but is determined to go straight.   Unfortunately, the past will not leave him alone and he must face Kit's hatred as well as the crime bosses.  Mark, Kit and Ho team up to finish things and we witness some of the finest gun shots ever committed to celluloid.

This was Woo and Chow Yun Fat's first movie together and after watching it, it's easy to see why they teamed up again (in 'The Killer' and 'Hard Boiled') as this is such a breathtaking encounter.  Yun Fat was originally a TV actor and when Woo chose him for the role of Mark he received a lot of criticism.  Since 'A Better Tomorrow' however, Yun Fat has gone on to play this role in several similarly themed films but none have equalled this film for originality and sheer excitement.  The scene where Mark decides to take revenge for Ho's betrayal epitomises the films class, he suavely strolls into a restaurant with a girl on one arm strategically placing guns with the other.  He then proceeds to attack his foes with every camera shot displaying the action perfectly.  It's more stylised and action packed than a million James Bond's whilst also displaying plenty of heart and true codes of honour.  This is the 'Citizen Kane' of HK heroic bloodshed films and never ages after repeat viewings.

Distributor:  Anchor Bay

Region:  1 (NTSC)

Running Time:  94 mins

Video: 

Letterboxed at 1.85:1.   Considering it's hard to find a decent print of this movie, this is certainly the cleanest one available.  However, a small white dot does appear during the bar scene (around chapter 17) embedded in the middle of the screen.  This is irritating but I have yet to see a copy without it although thankfully it disappears fairly quickly.

Audio:

Cantonese and English mono 2.0 with English subtitles (removable) that are fairly large, in yellow and run along the bottom of the picture.  There is a noticeable sound dropout in the Cantonese version at the very beginning for around 10 seconds and the soundtrack jumps at a couple of moments during the music.  This is obviously annoying but nothing too distracting.

Extras:  

- Info on Chow Yun Fat and director John Woo

- A Cantonese trailer for the movie (with or without English subtitles) as well as the international trailer