A Better Tomorrow

After more than a decade toiling in the Hong Kong film industry, John Woo finally hit his stride with “the opening shot in [his] redefinition of the action genre” (Steve Rose, The Guardian). This was thanks in no small part to a scene-stealing performance by suave leading man Chow Yun-fat, whose trench coat and shades get-up became a fashion trend. Chow plays counterfeiter Mark, whose partner in crime, Ho (Ti Lung), takes the fall. Mark pays him back with a violent scheme that goes spectacularly haywire while Ho’s police officer brother (Leslie Cheung) finds his loyalty torn. The blend of bullet-riddled mayhem and sentimental masculine bonding that would become Woo’s hallmark began here.
Cost: free, register in advance recommended.
Director: John Woo (Hong Kong). Released: 1986. Length: 95 min. Format: DCP. Language: Cantonese with English subtitles.
Image courtesy of GKIDS