Need a post-Paycheck reminder as to why John Woo is a great director? Then check out this 1990 scorcher. Set in the late '60s, it's the tale of three pals who swap street-fighting in Hong Kong for profiteering in conflict-ravaged Saigon. No Hollywood hackwork here: this is Woo at his most personal and political, zeroing in on the painful death of a near-fraternal friendship to illustrate the corrupting effect of war. There's also, naturally, ferocious bloodshed, the Maestro of Mayhem orchestrating action sequences that are by turns exhilarating and in a riff on The Deer Hunter's Russian-roulette scene - - excruciating.
DVD Extras:
Packed commentary by Hong Kong guru Bey Logan, lotsof chat with cast and crew (bar lead Tony Leung)... But only a brief interview with Woo, highlighting the Tiananmen Square massacre's anguished influence on the script. The two-discer also contains an alternative ending: more succinct, but without the crazy car chase and Hamlet homage.
