english title | A Better Tomorrow |
original title | 英雄本色 |
french title | Le Syndicat du Crime |
year | 1986 |
country | Hong-Kong |
genres | drama crime |
duration | 1h30 |
shooting studio | Film Workshop |
A Better Tomorrow was the film that turned Hong Kong gangster genre on its head and placed director John Woo (Face/Off and Mission: Impossible II) and actor Chow Yun-fat (The Replacement Killer and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) firmly on the road to Hollywood.
Chow - who won a best actor award for his role - plays the supercool Mark, a man of honor in a world of dishonor. As a sidekick to his former gang boss Tse-ho (Ti Lung, Blood Brothers), Mark finds himself out of favour when his boss is sent to the slammer.
Ho comes out of jail repentant and determined to turn over a new leaf for the sake of his policeman brother, Kit (Leslie Cheung, Farewell To My Concubine) but his old arch enemy is equally determined to take him out of the picture.
Blazing guns, explosive action, a dream cast, and superb direction by John Woo - no wonder this has been hailed as one of the best action films ever.