A Better Tomorrow
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Emily Chu, Leslie Cheung, Waise Lee, Yangzi Shi, Yun-Fat ChowPrimary Contributor: Leslie Cheung
Primary Contributor: Yun-Fat Chow
Primary Contributor: Lung Ti
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Cantonese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-01-16
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Movie Reviews of A Better Tomorrow
Movie Review: The most influential Hong kong ganster film, and an Action-cinema masterpiece.
Summary: 5 Stars
The best introduction i can think of for this 1986 all-time classic action thriller that started the true Hong Kong ganster genre, and its influence over the movie industry, is this: In Quentin Tarantino's own words, this film, along with Ringo Liam's "City on fire", was the true influence and reference behind his first masterpiece "Reservoir dogs", film that turned the independent ganster film genre upside down, and changed the style of movie-making forever. On top, this is Quentin's favorite movie along with Sergio Leone's masterpiece "The good, the bad, and the ugly". My friends, this is way more than cheap magazine trivia, it's a about a whole universe that this movie and Asian action-cinema in general, started and openned for many filmakers untill today. Or were did Martin Scorcesse found "Infernal Affairs" to make his oscar winning re-make "The departed"? Were did "Infernal affairs" came from? A-ha!
John woo: A great true Art director, much more than the action director people think. He is all about drama, moral struggle and human values, packed of course in the most violent scenarios ever recorded on film. But why is he such a master? Let's view the character profiles in this movie, john woo's specialty in order to give depth to his films:
-Tse Ho (Ti Lung): A corrupt but honorable detective who loves his brother Kit, father, and best friend Mark, but runs a counterfeit dollar ring. When he gets double-crossed in a trade deal by the rival gang (The POW incident), he got arrested and throwed in jail for 3 years, and his father got murdered in front of his brother in revenge. After that time, he got release and search for an honest life. But now, his brother hates him, his best friend has fallen in disgrace, and he gets pressured and black mailed by the new syndicate boss, his former subordinate Shing. He represents the moral struggle and redemption.
-Mark Lee (chow yun Fat): After the POW incident, the honorable and loyal stone-cold killer detective Mark avenges his best friend Ho, in one the most bloody scenes: "the staged dinning assasination table" in wich Mark alone slaughters a whole gang, but got seriously injured. Now a useless crippled, after 3 years he's the humiliated janitor in the Shin organization. His re-encounter with his friend Ho gives him hope to recover his former glory, but Ho declines. He represents the spirit and the ambition to overcome anything.
-Sung Tse Kit (leslie chung): Ho's kid brother was an innocent joyful police academy student, until the POW incident, when his brother was exposed and his father killed. 3 years later, he became violent and bitter, lost every chance to get a promotion and became obsessed in arresting his brother and Shin, to prove himself decent. His girlfriend is the only real backup for his development as a character (the "stupid" love story that everybody hated). He represents dissapointment and anger over betrayal.
-Shing (lee chi-hung): The former shy subordinate became boss after the POW incident, in wich both fouding members of the counterfeit syndicate, Ho and Mark, fell in disgrace. He's not a powerful character as the 3 previous ones, but he serves a purpose. He only helps putting the story togheter. A better villan in this movie was the major critic.
This Hip and elegantly violent tale is, as you can see, a powerful drama. Rousy, stylised, tense, urbane and visceral style is serving a complex emotional story, and we can feel the moral struggle of the characters in order to survive. The loyalty and self sacrifice are implied from spaghetti westerns and martial arts movies, John Woo's influence along with Akira Kurosawa. Even in the criminal world were violence is a mean to achieve golds, brotherhood and honor are everything. That emphasis elevates drama to high levels.
The music score is not only too 80's, but too hong kong for some. Cheesy as it may sound, it tries very hard to set the moods, making it very valuable as an effort. At that time and in these kind of movies, original music scores didn't have the importance they deserved. I hope you could hear what's really important here, and don't get irritated by what you know consider cheesy. I'm talking about the explosion and bullet sounds, just like old days in spaghetti westerns. Yee-haw!
In this masterpiece, we can expect elegant tracking shots, slow motion pyrotechnics, an emotional resonance in the visual beauty over the action sequences. Spectacular tear jerking melodrama and jaw dropping action. A true cinematic show in humanity and violence. And let's not forget the trenchcoat and sunglasses sporting lone hitman legend that was born here: Chow Yun Fat, the killer.
This DVD edition i don't know, i have another one, sorry.
My only intention is to invite you guys to witness such a classic masterpiece, and please pick any DVD edition you may have in hand, cause this classic will blow your minds, and hearts. Hurry!
Summary of A Better Tomorrow
The John Woo gangster classic that started it all, a romantic, violent, swirlingly stylish melodrama about dueling brothers--with a mesmerizing lead performance by Hong Kong's favorite actor, Chow Yun-Fat. In repose, Chow's sleepy magnetism recalls the glory days of Robert Mitchum, Steve McQueen, and Takakura Ken; when he's stepping high, Chow has a unique, ebullient star presence, a man who embraces life so unselfconsciously that he becomes vulnerable to all kinds of suffering and heartache (he endures masochistic megadoses of violence here). The sequence in which Chow's Mark avenges his betrayed best friend---by blasting his way into, and then out of, a Chinese restaurant, twin .45s blazing---is a swashbuckling standout. Woo's film technique may have been more polished in later efforts, but Tomorrow has a direct emotional power that is still unique. Kung fu star of the 1970s, Ti Lung is also terrific here as the 40ish established mobster, relied upon by all, who allows conflicting loyalties toward Mark and toward his younger brother, now a cop, to undermine the stability of his position. --David ChuteAction & Adventure DVD Video
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