Before A Better Tomorrow, John Woo was a jobbing Hong Kong director noted for his comedies. One visceral, bloody, outrageous thriller later and he'd established the template for one of the most exciting actioners of the last 20 years - and made Chow Yun-Fat a superstar. Okay, so Yun-Fat only has a supporting role here but, as the crippled best friend of Ti Lung's reformed gangster, the gun-toting star-to-be pinches the whole picture. A worthy progenitor to The Killer and Hard-Boiled.
DVD Extras:
The latest Woo classic to be released by MIA is a two-disc Collector's Edition, but if you already own the Special Edition, save your pennies. There's nothing here to get excited about - all the extras are on the second disc, but at best they're mediocre. The 10-minute featurette recycles the two trailers, with shoddily recorded contributions from Woo, Yun-Fat and Lung, and you'll strain to read the minuscule text biographies. There are some decent stills and artwork, and separate interviews with the principals, but the only factoid of real interest is that Yun-Fat doesn't like the two sequels. And you know that now.
