A Better Tomorrow

A Better Tomorrow (Chinese: 英雄本色; Jyutping: Jing1 hung4 bun2 sik1; lit.: 'True Colors of a Hero') is a 1986 Hong Kong action film[3] directed by John Woo, and starring Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun-fat.[4] The film had a profound influence on the Hong Kong film industry, and later on an international scale. It was a landmark film, credited with setting the template for the heroic bloodshed genre,[5] which was considerably influential in Hong Kong action cinema, and later Hollywood.[6]

This article is about the original Hong Kong film. For the South Korean remake, see A Better Tomorrow (2010 film). For the Wu-Tang Clan album, see A Better Tomorrow (album). For the 2018 remake, see A Better Tomorrow 2018.

A Better Tomorrow
Theatrical release poster
Traditional英雄本色
Simplified英雄本色
MandarinYīng Xióng Běn Sè
CantoneseJing1 hung4 bun2 sik1
Directed byJohn Woo
Produced byTsui Hark
Screenplay by
  • John Woo
  • Chan Hing-kai
  • Leung Suk-wah
Starring
Music byJoseph Koo
CinematographyWong Wing-hang
Edited byKam Ma
Production
companies
Distributed byCinema City & Films Co.
Fortune Star Media Limited.
Release date
  • 2 August 1986 (1986-08-02)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryHong Kong
LanguageCantonese
English
Box officeHK$34.7 million[1] (US$4.8 million)[2]

Although it was produced with a tight budget, and was relatively unknown until it went on screen (due to virtually no advertising), it broke Hong Kong's box office record and went on to become a blockbuster in Asia. It is highly regarded, ranking #2 in the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures. Its success also ensured the sequel A Better Tomorrow II, also directed by Woo, and A Better Tomorrow 3: Love & Death in Saigon, a prequel directed by Tsui Hark.

Although Ti Lung was the film's lead actor, co-star Chow Yun-fat's breakout performance outshone him, solidifying the latter's status as one of the top superstars in the Hong Kong film industry. Chow's character "Mark Gor" was imitated by many fans even decades after the film's release.[7]

Plot

Sung Tse-Ho (Ti Lung) works for the Triad, whose principal operation is printing and distributing counterfeit US bank notes. Ho is a respected member of the organisation and is entrusted with the most important transactions. Mark Lee (Chow Yun-Fat), another high-ranking member of the group,[8] is his best friend and partner in crime.

Ho is close to his younger brother, Kit (Leslie Cheung), who is training to become a police officer. Ho keeps his criminal life secret from his brother and encourages Kit's career choice. Ho's father is aware of Ho's criminal activities and appeals to him to go straight. Ho agrees, deciding that his next deal in Taiwan will be his last one before leaving the Triad. Shing (Waise Lee), a new member, is sent along as an apprentice. The deal turns out to be a trap by the Taiwanese gang. A shootout ensues in which Ho and Shing flee, pursued by local law enforcement.

Meanwhile, a gang member attempts to kidnap Ho's father to ensure Ho's silence if he is caught by police; in the ensuing fight also involving Kit and his girlfriend, Ho's father is killed. Just before dying, he pleads with Kit to forgive his brother. Ho eventually surrenders to the police in order to buy time for Shing to escape. After learning of Ho's capture, Mark finds and kills the Taiwanese gang leader and his bodyguards. However, Mark's leg is shot in the gunfight, leaving him crippled.

Ho is released from prison three years later. Remorseful and determined to start a new life, he finds work as a driver for a taxi company, run by another ex-con named Ken. Ho spots Mark during one of his shifts; in contrast to the contents of Mark's letters to him in prison, he realises that Mark has been reduced to an errand boy for Shing (who is the new leader of the Triad). During an emotional reunion, Mark asks Ho to confront Shing and reclaim their positions in the organisation, but Ho refuses.

Ho seeks Kit, now a police officer, out and attempts to reconcile with him, but is disowned by Kit who sees Ho as a criminal and responsible for their father's death. Additionally, Kit is resentful that his familial tie to Ho is preventing him from professional advancement. In an effort to prove himself to his superiors and further distance himself from his brother's criminal past, Kit becomes obsessed with bringing down Shing's criminal group, despite Ho's warnings to stay away from the dangerous case.

Shing finds Ho and presses him to come back to his organisation, offering to reinstate Mark if he returns. Ho flatly refuses. Consequently, Shing begins harassing Ho in order to get him to return, including luring Kit into a trap and injuring Kit, attacking Ho's co-workers, and having Mark beaten severely. Ho is dismayed but is still hesitant to take action, but an impassioned speech by Mark finally convinces Ho to join Mark in attacking Shing.

Mark steals a computer tape containing printing plate data from the counterfeiting business and wins a shootout with gang members, with Ho arriving to aid Mark's escape. The film then reveals that it was Shing who betrayed Ho three years ago in Taiwan. Ho and Mark use the tape to blackmail Shing in exchange for money and an escape boat. However, Ho ensures that the tape is passed to Kit to hand to the police. Using Shing as a hostage, Ho and Mark take the money to a pier, where Shing's men await. There, Ho persuades Mark to escape by himself in the boat.

After Mark leaves, Kit arrives on the scene intending to make an arrest where he is captured by Shing's men. A deal is made to exchange Shing for Kit, but the trade explodes into a wild shootout. Ho and Kit are wounded, but Mark returns with guns blazing out of loyalty to Ho. After Ho, Kit and Mark kill many of Shing's men, Mark berates Kit, telling him that Ho's actions had atoned for whatever wrongdoings he had done in the past. Mark is then killed by Shing.

As the police approach, Shing mocks Ho (who has run out of ammunition), stating that he will surrender, but his money and power will ensure his swift release. Kit, finally seeing eye to eye with his brother, hands Ho a revolver, with which Ho kills Shing. Immediately afterwards, Ho handcuffs himself to Kit, expressing his desire for redemption and his admiration that Kit always walked the right path. The film ends with the reconciled brothers walking together towards the gathered crowd of police.

Cast

Theme song

The film's theme song is "In the Sentimental Past" (當年情), performed by lead Leslie Cheung, composed and arranged by Joseph Koo and written by Wong Jim.

Box office

A Better Tomorrow grossed $34,651,324 HKD at the Hong Kong box office.[1]

Musical references
  • During the nightclub scene, the song being played in the background (幾許風雨, Gei2 heoi2 fung1 jyu5) is the Cantonese version of a classic South Korean song called 'Hee Na Ree'(희나리) sung originally by Goo Chang-mo(ko:구창모) in 1985. The Cantonese version in the movie was sung by Roman Tam, considered the "godfather" of the musical genre Cantopop.
  • In the scene where Kit rushes Jackie to a music recital, the violinist playing before Jackie plays the theme song of the movie.
  • Also heard in the soundtrack is "Sparrowfall 1", a track from Brian Eno's 1978 album, Music for Films.
  • The film also contains "Birdy's Theme" (from the film Birdy) by Peter Gabriel incorporated into the soundtrack.
  • In the scene where Ho meets Jackie back stage of the music recital to tell her he is leaving, the children's choir is singing Tomorrow will be Better (明天会更好/明天會更好), written by Lo Ta-yu. This is likely the origin of the film's English title.

Film references
  • Woo's film was partially inspired by the 1967 Lung Kong film 英雄本色 (pinyin Yīngxióng běnsè) which has the same Chinese name but a different English name: Story of a Discharged Prisoner, which is #39 on the Hong Kong Film Awards list of the Top 100 Chinese Films.[9]
  • The film was also partially inspired by The Brothers, a 1979 Hong Kong crime film, plot elements of which were reimagined for A Better Tomorrow.[10] The Brothers had a similar plot about two brothers on opposing sides of the law, the elder brother a mobster and the younger brother a cop.[11] In turn, The Brothers was a remake of Deewaar (1975), a hit Indian crime drama written by Salim–Javed.[12][10]
  • Chow Yun-fat's entrance to the restaurant before the shoot-out is John Woo's homage to Mean Streets.
  • The scene in which Mark Lee tells the story of being forced to drink urine is apparently based on a real incident involving Chow Yun-fat and director Ringo Lam, according to Bey Logan on the DVD commentary. This scene was recreated in Woo's Bullet in the Head.

Cultural impact
  • After the film, teenage boys in Hong Kong wore long dusters in emulation of Chow's character even though the climate was sub-tropical. In fact, in colloquial Cantonese, trench coats are called "Mark Gor Lau" (literally, Brother Mark's coat).
  • The Wu-Tang Clan has a song named after the film on their 1997 album Wu-Tang Forever.
  • The Wu-Tang Clan 20th anniversary album also shares the name A Better Tomorrow.
  • The anime series Cowboy Bebop has many references to the film series, including the last fight between Spike and Vicious in the episode "The Real Folk Blues (Part 2)" which parallels the final shoot out in "A Better Tomorrow 2".
  • The character Mr. Chang from the Black Lagoon is closely patterned after Chow's character Mark in both visual design and characterisation.
  • Chow wore Alain Delon sunglasses in the movie. After the movie, Hong Kong was sold out of Alain Delon's sunglasses. French star Alain Delon sent Chow a personal thank you note.
  • In 2009, Empire Magazine named it #20 in a poll of the 20 Greatest Gangster Movies You've Never Seen* (*Probably)
  • The 1994 Bollywood film Aatish: Feel the Fire (1994), directed by Sanjay Gupta, was an unofficial remake combining elements of both the Bollywood classic Deewaar (1975)[13] and John Woo's A Better Tomorrow.[14] Aatish was an acclaimed, popular film, starring Sanjay Dutt, Atul Agnihotri, Aditya Pancholi and Shakti Kapoor.
  • In September 2010, prolific Korean filmmaker Song Hae-Sung released Mujeogja (Invincible), which was an official Korean language remake of John Woo's A Better Tomorrow. It opened to positive response at the Korean box-office. John Woo and Terence Chang also serve as Executive Producers for Mujeogja; which was a joint production between South Korea, Japan and China.

Remakes
A Better Tomorrow (1986)
(Cantonese)		Aatish (1994)
(Hindi)		A Better Tomorrow (2010)
(Korean)		A Better Tomorrow 2018 (2018)
John WooSanjay GuptaSong Hae-sungDing Sheng

See also

References
  1. "A Better Tomorrow (1986)". HKMDB. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  2. "PACIFIC Exchange Rate Service (7.8033 HKD per USD)" (PDF). UBC Sauder School of Business. University of British Columbia. 1986. p. 3. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  3. "3: A Better Tomorrow - 10 Action Films That Changed Everything". HowStuffWorks.
  4. Crow, Jonathan. "A Better Tomorrow (1986)". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  5. Morton, Lisa (2001). The Cinema of Tsui Hark. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0990-8.
  6. Volodzko, David (13 June 2015). "30 Years Later, This Chinese Film Still Echoes in Hollywood". The Diplomat.
  7. "周潤發憑《英雄本色》 奠定香港影壇地位". Sing Tao Daily. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  8. "A Better Tomorrow". Freer Gallery. Archived from the original on 26 November 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  9. https://filmmakermagazine.com/87244-burn-that-film-burn-it-tsui-hark-and-patrick-lung-kong-on-a-better-tomorrow/#.W9wSNeIRVPY
  10. "Heroic Bloodshed: How Hong Kong's style was swiped by Hollywood". British Film Institute. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  11. "The Brothers". Hong Kong Cinemagic. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  12. Mondal, Sayantan. "Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Deewar' was remade in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam – and Cantonese". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  13. Chaudhuri, Diptakirti (2015). Written by Salim-Javed: The Story of Hindi Cinema’s Greatest Screenwriters. Penguin Books. p. 245. ISBN 9789352140084.
  14. Peirse, Alison (2013). Korean Horror Cinema. Edinburgh University Press. p. 190. ISBN 9780748677658.
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