A Better Tomorrow (1986)

1. What do you think the “tomorrow” means in the title?

2. A Better Tomorrow was a film that was critically acclaimed and had profound influence in Hong Kong’s film industry. It sparked a new interest and created the genre of ‘heroic bloodshed.’ The film was produced in a limited budget and had no advertisement. It was pet project made by John Woo who at that time had created several movies that had flopped. In a period where the genre was dominated by martial arts film what made the film so popular? What do you think is the genre of ‘heroic bloodshed?’

3. Compare and contrast the brotherhood between blood-related Ho and Kit vs. the "Hu"-related Ho and Mark.

4. Sung Tse-Ho or Brother Ho (Ti Lung) is the main protagonist of the film, but Mark Lee (Chow Yun-Fat),a supporting character of the film stole the show. What made Chow Yun-Fat steal the show?

5. How does Mark's persistence on just "one last time" reflect his personality shown earlier in the film (prior to his leg injury)?

6. How is A Better Tomorrow a transition from the Hong Kong martial arts action films we have been watching?

7. Chow Yun-Fat solidified his movie career in the film through a scene with choreographic shootouts in a suave manner clad in a long duster with two pistols. The film had scenes that showed shootouts with slow-motion details. John Woo the director of the film was credited with creating this visual device and was termed as “gun fu.” In the past, gunplay was considered to be boring as audience saw one dimensional shootouts. However, “gun fu” was a combination of gunplay and kungfu. John Woo integrated the acrobatics and prowess of martial arts with the deadliness of guns into a intense visual device.This film had profound influence in American films as “gun fu” has became a main staple for modern action films. Where else have you seen this visual device?

8. Why is Kit so adamant on taking charge of the case with Shing and exposing his fraudulent actions?

9. What values do you think the film promotes when Kit hands the gun to Ho at the end of the movie? What values does it disregard?

10. The film ends with Sung Tse-Ho and his brother Sung Tse-Kit chained together walking towards the police. While the film does not show what happens to them. What do you think is the result of their actions?

Although we were unable to discuss all of the questions we prepared for the class, I believe that the questions we chose to cover were the most engaging and demonstrated what our group wanted to portray. The first question we asked was about what made the film so popular and addressed the idea of “Heroic Bloodshed”. I think one of the main things that was pointed out about the uniqueness of this film was this new gangster style of film that emerged in this movie. This was much different than the typical martial arts films at the time. Another unique part of this film was the apparent Western influence in many of the scenes. Others in the class addressed the idea of “Heroic Bloodshed” as the idea of laying down one's life for what one believes in similar to a martyr. This was shown in the scene when Mark is killed as well as the fight that commences afterwards. The next question our group asked was considering how this movie was a transition from the previous martial arts films we had watched. I think many of the answers for this question were addressed in the answer for the first question we asked. I believe the whole Western aspect of the movie, and the missing “supernatural” elements of martial arts that were seen in this film was a real transition from the previous films. The last question was the one I presented to the class and was considering the morals and values that the film portrays in the scene where Kit hands Ho a gun at the end of the movie. I thought the class really answered it well when someone said that it portrayed the values of brotherhood above all else. Someone also brought up the idea that the film was not really disregarding any values, but instead was promoting the values of trust, integrity, and brotherhood above all else. In conclusion, I believe the discussion went well although I wish we could have had a bit more time to dive deeper into some aspects of the movie.