History Film / ABetterTomorrow

!!''Film/ABetterTomorrow'' Provides Examples Of:

''A Better Tomorrow'' (also known as ''Ying Hung Boon Sik'', or "True Colors of a Hero" in Cantonese) is a 1986 action film by JohnWoo and produced by Tsui Hark. The story follows two brothers on opposite sides of the law. Ti Lung plays Sung Tse Ho, a respected member of a triad whose principal operation is printing and distributing counterfeit US banknotes. Mark Gor, played by Creator/ChowYunFat in his breakout role, is Ho's partner in crime. LeslieCheung plays Sung Tse Kit, Ho's brother who has joined the HKPD. Ho cares deeply for Kit and encourages his career choice, but keeps his criminal life secret from him. When a job in Taiwan goes to hell, Ho is arrested while his accomplice, a new guy by the name of Shing (played by Waise Lee) gets away. Mark, as Ho's sworn brother, is mad as hell about this, and in one of John Woo's most iconic action sequences, he takes revenge on Ho's betrayers with both guns blazing, but near the end of the shootout, one of his kneecaps is blown out.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Mark embarks on a particularly badass one after Ho gets arrested.

This film put John Woo on the map and kick-started the HeroicBloodshed genre, along with [[TropeCodifier codifying]] most of the tropes associated with it. It led to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_motion_picture_rating_system establishment of Hong Kong's film rating system]] because of the film's violence, which earned it the industry's first Category IIb rating (equivalent to the R rating in the US). It led to a period where a lot of young people wore longcoats much like Mark (in fact, the BadassLongcoat is still known in Hong Kong as "Brother Mark's Coat"). And it would provide a springboard for Chow Yun-Fat's career as a badass action star.

This film put John Woo on the map and kick-started the HeroicBloodshed genre, along with [[TropeCodifier codifying]] most of the tropes associated with it. It led to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_motion_picture_rating_system establishment of Hong Kong's film rating system]] because of the film's violence. It led to a period where a lot of young people wore longcoats much like Mark (in fact, the BadassLongcoat is still known in Hong Kong as "Brother Mark's Coat"). And it would provide a springboard for Chow Yun-Fat's career as a badass action star.

* MediaClassifications: ABT was the first Hong Kong movie to receive a Category [=IIb=] rating (equivalent to the American R rating) when the new rating system was introduced.

It would also spawn two sequels: ''A Better Tomorrow II'' (1987), which would see Chow Yun-Fat's return as the twin brother of Mark Gor, and ''A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon'' (1989), a {{prequel}} directed by Tsui Hark and set in [[TheVietnamWar Vietnam War]]-era Saigon in which Chow Yun-Fat reprises his role as Mark Gor.

* RefugeInAudacity: Ken's over-the-top antics with his rice when American gangsters demanded that he pay protection fees, in ''A Better Tomorrow II''.

* TooDumbToLive: Kit gets himself shot by charging in to "arrest Shing" with no support or backup. It is, naturally, a trap.

It would also spawn two sequels: ''A Better Tomorrow II'', which would see Chow Yun-Fat's return as the twin brother of Mark Gor, and ''A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon'', a {{prequel}} directed by Tsui Hark and set in [[TheVietnamWar Vietnam War]]-era Saigon in which Chow Yun-Fat reprises his role as Mark Gor.

* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: Kit gets himself shot by charging in to "arrest Shing" with no support or backup. It is, naturally, a trap.

It would also spawn two sequels: ''ABetterTomorrowII'', which would see Chow Yun-Fat's return as the twin brother of Mark Gor, and ''ABetterTomorrowIII: Love and Death in Saigon'', a {{prequel}} directed by Tsui Hark and set in [[TheVietnamWar Vietnam War]]-era Saigon in which Chow Yun-Fat reprises his role as Mark Gor.

* HeadphonesEqualIsolation: Jackie during the kidnapping of his father.

* NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters: Ho's counterfeiters certainly qualify.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Delivered to Mark at the hands of Shing and his men.

* TheRemake: Believe it or not, this movie is actually a remake of an old 1967 Cantonese film called ''Ying Xiong Ben Se'' (Story of a Discharged Prisoner). TsuiHark had been toying with the idea since his days in the TV business, but because of an overwhelming workload, he had to pass the directorial reins to JohnWoo.

''A Better Tomorrow'' is a 1986 action film by JohnWoo and produced by Tsui Hark. The story follows two brothers on opposite sides of the law. Ti Lung plays Sung Tse Ho, a respected member of a triad whose principal operation is printing and distributing counterfeit US banknotes. Mark Gor, played by Creator/ChowYunFat in his breakout role, is Ho's partner in crime. LeslieCheung plays Sung Tse Kit, Ho's brother who has joined the HKPD. Ho cares deeply for Kit and encourages his career choice, but keeps his criminal life secret from him. When a job in Taiwan goes to hell, Ho is arrested while his accomplice, a new guy by the name of Shing (played by Waise Lee) gets away. Mark, as Ho's sworn brother, is mad as hell about this, and in one of John Woo's most iconic action sequences, he takes revenge on Ho's betrayers with both guns blazing, but near the end of the shootout, one of his kneecaps is blown out.

''A Better Tomorrow'' is a 1986 action film by JohnWoo and produced by Tsui Hark. The story follows two brothers on opposite sides of the law. Ti Lung plays Sung Tse Ho, a respected member of a triad whose principal operation is printing and distributing counterfeit US banknotes. Mark Gor, played by {{Chow Yun-Fat}} in his breakout role, is Ho's partner in crime. LeslieCheung plays Sung Tse Kit, Ho's brother who has joined the HKPD. Ho cares deeply for Kit and encourages his career choice, but keeps his criminal life secret from him. When a job in Taiwan goes to hell, Ho is arrested while his accomplice, a new guy by the name of Shing (played by Waise Lee) gets away. Mark, as Ho's sworn brother, is mad as hell about this, and in one of John Woo's most iconic action sequences, he takes revenge on Ho's betrayers with both guns blazing, but near the end of the shootout, one of his kneecaps is blown out.

This film put John Woo on the map and kick-started the HeroicBloodshed genre, along with [[TropeCodifier codifying]] most of the tropes associated with it. It led to the establishment of Hong Kong's film rating system because of the film's violence. It led to a period where a lot of young people wore longcoats much like Mark (in fact, the BadassLongcoat is still known in Hong Kong as "Brother Mark's Coat"). And it would provide a springboard for Chow Yun-Fat's career as a badass action star.

''A Better Tomorrow'' is a 1986 action film by JohnWoo and produced by Tsui Hark. The story follows two brothers on opposite sides of the law. Ti Lung plays Sung Tse Ho, a respected member of a triad whose principal operation is printing and distributing counterfeit US banknotes. Mark Gor, played by {{Chow Yun-Fat}} in his breakout role, is Ho's partner in crime. Leslie Cheung plays Sung Tse Kit, Ho's brother who has joined the HKPD. Ho cares deeply for Kit and encourages his career choice, but keeps his criminal life secret from him. When a job in Taiwan goes to hell, Ho is arrested while his accomplice, a new guy by the name of Shing (played by Waise Lee) gets away. Mark, as Ho's sworn brother, is mad as hell about this, and in one of John Woo's most iconic action sequences, he takes revenge on Ho's betrayers with both guns blazing, but near the end of the shootout, one of his kneecaps is blown out.

This film put John Woo on the map and kick-started the HeroicBloodshed genre, along with [[TropeCodifier codifying]] most of the tropes associated with it. It led to the establishment of Hong Kong's film rating system because of the film's violence. It led to a period where a lot of young people wore longcoats much like Mark (in fact, the BadassLongcoat is still known in Hong Kong as "Brother Mark's Coat"). And it would provide a springboard for Chow Yun-Fat's career.

''A Better Tomorrow'' is a 1986 action film by JohnWoo and produced by Tsui Hark. The story follows two brothers on opposite sides of the law. Ti Lung plays Sung Tse Ho, a respected member of a triad whose principal operation is printing and distributing counterfeit US banknotes. Mark Gor, played by Chow Yun-Fat in his breakout role, is Ho's partner in crime. Leslie Cheung plays Sung Tse Kit, Ho's brother who has joined the HKPD. Ho cares deeply for Kit and encourages his career choice, but keeps his criminal life secret from him. When a job in Taiwan goes to hell, Ho is arrested while his accomplice, a new guy by the name of Shing (played by Waise Lee) gets away. Mark, as Ho's sworn brother, is mad as hell about this, and in one of John Woo's most iconic action sequences, he takes revenge on Ho's betrayers with both guns blazing, but near the end of the shootout, one of his kneecaps is blown out.

* [[spoiler:SacrificialLion: Mark is blown away by Shing near the end of the movie.]]

* MediaClassifications: The violence of this movie prompted the formation of Hong Kong's movie rating system. ABT was the first Hong Kong movie to receive a Category IIb rating (equivalent to the American R rating).