Episode 350: A Better Tomorrow (1986)

After a brief hiatus, The Projection Booth returns with a discussion of John Woo's A Better Tomorrow (1986). The film is seen as a hallmark of the “heroic bloodshed” subgenre of action films, doing for gunplay what a generation of Hong Kong films had done with swords. The film tells the tale of Ho (Ti Lung), a criminal whose younger brother, Kit (Leslie Cheung), is a police officer. He's betrayed by a fellow gangster (Waise Lee) and sent up the river. When he returns to Hong Kong he wants to stay on the right side of the law which is more difficult than it should be. The film speaks to loyalty, brotherhood, and put Chow Yun-Fat on the map as a bankable action star. Cinema Junkie's Beth Accomando and Mike wax fondly about the glory days of HK Cinema, twin brothers, strange sequels, and the true colors of a hero. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices