5 Star

Cinematographic History.

Arrow Video brings us a trilogy that change film forever, influencing the likes of the John Wick series of films. This is the start of the Gun-Fu and the heroic bloodshed film genre. A Better Tomorrow and II are written and directed by the action genius John Woo (Last Hurrah For Chivalry & Hand Of Death, Bullet in the Head, Hard Boiled) he also wrote a screenplay for the third film, but there were artistic differences, but the screenplay didn’t go to waste as this became ‘Bullet in the Head’. This Limited Edition comes with a bucket load of extras (see Below) It is a must for John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat fans.

A Better Tomorrow

This game changer of a film, it sees Triad member Sung Tse-Ho (Lung Ti, HORRIBLE HISTORY: Four Epics by CHANG CHEH, Drunken Master II) and his best friend, Mark Lee (Chow Yun-Fat, Wild Search, Once a Thief), run a money counterfeiting business for their boss, Mr. Yiu (Yanzi Shi, Happy Go Lucky, It Takes Two). This illegal activity makes them plenty of money, as they behave like legitimate businessmen, which is a good thing, as Ho’s little brother Sung Tse-Kit (Leslie Cheung, Once a Thief, The Bride With White Hair) is training to be a police man. Due to this situation Ho says that he will go straight after the next job, as he is going to Taiwan, he is going to take their protégé Shing (Waise Lee, Tricky Brains, The Big Heat).

Needless to say things go horribly wrong and Mark goes in to get revenge, the start of the Gun-Fu.

A Better Tomorrow II

Is set years after the events of A Better Tomorrow, Ho is released early from prison, on the condition that he spies on his former boss and mentor, Lung Sei (Dean Shek, A Queen’s Ransom, Drunken Master) who seems to have taken over the counterfeiting in the city. This will be Inspector Wu’s (Siu-Ming Lau, A Chinese Ghost Story, Re-cycle) swan song. Reluctant to go after his old boss, but Ho discovers that his younger brother, Kit, who is expecting a child along with his pregnant wife Jackie (Emily Chu, Millionaires’ Express, Rouge), is working undercover on the same case.

This time they rely on Marks twin brother Ken who left home at an early age and travelled the world and ends up as a restaurant owner in New York, where the story leads us, but he has the same skills as Mark. As Lung is framed for murder, Ho still loyal to him helps him flee to New York. The rest is just pure Gun-Fu.

A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon

Takes us back in time, to 1974, to the end of the Vietnam War in Saigon, where Mark ‘Gor’ Lee and Chow Ying-kit (Anita Mui, HEROES & VILLAINS: Three films starring Jet Li, Rumble in the Bronx). Mark has good intentions, of getting his uncle and cousin safely to Hong Kong.

But they find out Kit runs a gun running racket, and they find themselves being trained to help her in her business, and both of them falling for Kit, as she falls for Mark. Throw in a long-lost jealous lover, and you know that it is a recipe for disaster.

A Better Tomorrow Trilogy Limited Edition is available on 4K UHD

 

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