Cast:
Ti Lung (Sung Tse-ho), Chow Yun-fat (Mark Lee), Leslie Cheung (Sung Tse-kit), Emily Chu (Jackie), Waise Lee (Shing), Tien Feng (Father Sung), John Woo (Inspector Wu), Yanzi Shi (Mr. Yiu), Kenneth Tsang (Ken), and Fui-On Shing (Shing's right hand man) Directed by John Woo (#030 - Face/Off, #336 - Broken Arrow (1996), and #1100 - Mission: Impossible 2, and #1855 - Hard Target)
Review:
Ever hear of a movie that inspires a nickname for a genre? On release, A Better Tomorrow (1986) would set the stage for what is known as the "heroic bloodshed" genre in Hong Kong cinema. In other words: films with some sort of good-willed criminal to go with elements of loyalty or strong brotherhood before action is conveyed through stylized gun battles that is known as either "ballistic ballet" or more specifically, gun fu. This was the first prominent film of John Woo, who had been inspired by seeing Bruce Lee in The Big Boss (1971) that saw him do a mix of martial art films and comedies. The film was written by Woo, Chan Hing-Kai, and Leung Suk-wah, with producer credit going to Tsui Hark, who had directed film such as All the Wrong Clues for the Right Solution (1981) and Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983) before co-founding his own production company Film Workshop in 1984. The movie was done on a tight budget and proved a huge success. Tsui and Woo would work together again in A Better Tomorrow II (released in 1987 that saw the return of Ti, Chow, Cheung, Chu, and Tsang)), but their disagreements meant that only the former returned to direct the last of the series with the prequel A Better Tomorrow III: Love & Death in Saigon (1989). A Better Tomorrow had a number of inspirations that included two Hong Kong films: The Story of a Discharged Prisoner (1967) and The Brothers (1979), which was actually a remake of an Indian movie named Deewaar (1975). Three remakes have followed: Aatish: Feel the Fire (1994, made in India), A Better Tomorrow (2010, made in South Korea), and A Better Tomorrow 2018 (made in China).
The power of the film is not so much just the array of action sequences with weapons but instead the characters around it that make it a generally absorbing experience. Told primarily in Cantonese with some English and Mandarin as well, A Better Tomorrow utilizes its 95-minute runtime to righteous execution and timing. Squabbles over just who one is as an individual trying to get out of the muck of the underworld has never felt so bittersweet in fun. The material may be familiar, even seeming like a touch from Old Hollywood at times, but it is a patient movie that never seems at odds with its audience, instead leading them to the payoff they think they want rather than playing for phoniness; of course, Chow's attire in particular inspired an array of copy cats across Hong Kong, so folks really did just dig the movie and wanted to look like it rather than just absorb it like product. Ti was elevated to star status in the 1970s with Chang Cheh as his primary director before leaving Shaw Brothers Studios lessened his power in the 1980s. Pushing forty with a role that was basically part of a three pronged attack of actors, Ti pulls it all together with the regrets required from such a role with solemn force. Cheung had started a career in show business as a teenager that eventually found success within Cantopop music, although he would appear in a number of films from time to time. Chow and Ti may overshadow him, but Cheung does make a fair impression when it comes to trying to play stubborn impulse in the shadow of crime (his onscreen chemistry with Chu isnt as lucky, since Tsang manages to overshadow her in outright presence). Chow was a television presence for a number of years prior to this film that had mixed results in trying to enter film (to the point where there were doubts over the success of a film with him in it). The success of the film would lead to a handful more collaborations with Woo alongside both of the follow-ups to A Better Tomorrow. He does an exquisite job here, straddling the line of loyalty and lack of fear that makes for a confident presence. The sequence where he convinces a character to get their head together and fight is probably the highlight scene, although obviously the climax would be a good one to highlight Chow too. Lee makes a quality villain, conniving in all the right ways for those cold moments required with either lesd presence, right down to the vicious beating sequence. As a whole, the movie runs smoothly in its bravado of action and tinges of drama that come together for riveting quality for involved, one with a closing sequence that caps itself off in rewarding fashion to make it all quite worth the time spent to get there. Helping to make a specific nickname for a genre is certainly worth all of the things said after 35 years later, in my book.
Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.
