Disc Reviews
A Better Tomorrow Trilogy 4K Review
Here they are! The films that captured John Woo’s name in lights and set him and Chow Yun Fat on a journey that created some of China’s best crime thrillers ever to reach the screen. I had an email for
A Better Tomorrow and A Better Tomorrow II are debated back and forth about which is the better film, like The Godfather and The Godfather Part II are. For this reviewer, it was clearly the second film back in the early to mid-90s when I first saw them (and for clarity, I prefer the original Godfather over the second). But time changes us all, including our tastes and preferences, and now I am less sure. The first film had a grace to it – a story of two brothers on either side of the law failing to work out their differences, Ho (a money launderer) and Kit (A police officer), with mutual friend Mark (Chow Yun Fat) in the middle stealing scenes from start to end (No wonder they were desperate to get him back for the future movies). The first film is where the story and style build with a mature equality. The dramatic tension is there, the sudden bursts of stylised violence are also there, and as much as Chow Yun Fat hogs the limelight, on rewatch the dramatic tension between brothers Ho and Kit is where the heart of the beast is – and therefore lends itself to what transpires in the second film.
ABTII was rushed into production and you can see at times how rough the dialogue, scenes and even action is in places. The style becomes camouflage for what is essentially a quickly shot action film, cramming in new storylines and characters – all mostly heading for a violent conclusion. It’s fast-paced for sure, but it’s also cluttered, rushed and panders to the crowd, which ultimately perhaps makes it the weaker of the first two films, regardless of the impressive action taking a step up. Even Chow Yun Fat can’t replicate what he brought to the screen as Mark. This could well have been considered when Tsui Hark took on the third film.
ABTIII, which is actually a prequel, is set just as the Vietnam War was ending and Chow Yun Fat returns as Mark to flesh out his backstory. It’s not the action of the first films, but it does deliver a decent and tragic drama that befits the character. Tsui Hark’s direction isn’t as over the top as Woo’s (Yet!), but the film wasn’t befitting of such antics. ABTIII ends on a satisfyingly mature note – even if it stands out from the other two tonally. It’s more of a spin-off than it is a sequel/prequel.
Here, Arrow Video has the complete set over five discs. II and III each get a second disc with an alternative cut of the films. All these films have plenty of essays, interviews and a bunch of commentary tracks for each film. Weirdly, Woo is missing from the new Commentary tracks after showing up in recent releases of The Killer and Hard Boiled. But he is here in new lengthy interviews which help make up for it. Sadly, Tsui Hark who produced the series, co-wrote the sequels, and directed the third film and went on to have almost as illustrious a directing career as Woo, is only here in an archive interview despite still working today.
This is the box set some Hong Kong crime movie fans have been waiting for, and there has been a steady run-up to it over the past few months with released works from the directors and others alike.
This does work as a lovely collection for a series that has since expanded beyond into the realms of the remake. But for the posterity of this original series, Arrow have presented it in fine fashion.
Steven Hurst
4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork for each film by Tony Stella
• Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
• Collectors’ perfect-bound booklet featuring new writing on the films by critics and Hong Kong cinema experts Victor Fan, Camille Zaurin and David West, archival writing by critic Julien Dupuy and an excerpt from an interview with John Woo conducted by Stéphane Moïssakis
DISC ONE – A BETTER TOMORROW (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
• 4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original lossless Cantonese mono and lossless English mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the Cantonese soundtrack and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• Brand new audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema experts Frank Djeng & FJ DeSanto
• Brand new audio commentary by film critic James Mudge
• Isolated score track
• Brand new interviews with director John Woo, producer Terence Chang, writers Chan Hing-Ka and Gordon Chan, filmmaker Gareth Evans and author Grady Hendrix
• Archival interviews with John Woo and actors Kenneth Tsang, Waise Lee and Ti Lung
• Archival UK featurette
• Introduction to the film by John Woo, filmed at Beyond Fest at the American Cinematheque in 2025
• Alternate English credits
• Theatrical trailers
• Image gallery
DISC TWO – A BETTER TOMORROW II (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
• 4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of the theatrical cut
• Original lossless Cantonese mono and lossless English mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the Cantonese soundtrack and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• Brand new audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema experts Frank Djeng & FJ DeSanto
• Brand new audio commentary by film critic James Mudge
• Isolated score track
• Brand new interviews with John Woo, Frank Djeng and Grady Hendrix
• Fantasia Festival 2022 Artist Talk and Q&A with John Woo
• Archive interview with Tsui Hark
• Deleted and extended scenes from the workprint
• Alternate English credits
• Theatrical trailers
• Image gallery
DISC THREE – A BETTER TOMORROW II WORKPRINT CUT (BLU-RAY)
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation of the recently unearthed extended Workprint Cut, viewable either in raw unrestored form or with inserts from the restored Theatrical Cut, via seamless branching
• Original lossless Cantonese mono audio
• Optional English subtitles
DISC FOUR – A BETTER TOMORROW III: LOVE & DEATH IN SAIGON (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
• 4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of the Hong Kong theatrical cut
• Original lossless Cantonese mono and lossless English mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the Cantonese soundtrack and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• Brand new audio commentary by film critic David West
• Brand new interviews with writers Jason Lam Kee-To and Lau Tai-Muk, Grady Hendrix and historian Aurélie Basha i Novosejt
• Deleted and extended scenes from the Taiwanese cut
• Alternate English credits
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
DISC FIVE – A BETTER TOMORROW III EXTENDED CUT (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
• 4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of the extended Taiwanese preview cut
• Original lossless Mandarin mono and lossless English mono audio, plus newly assembled hybrid Cantonese/Mandarin mono audio
• Optional English subtitles
A Better Tomorrow Trilogy 4K is released on 28th September