A Better Tomorrow Trilogy
Director - John Woo\Tsui Hark
DVD Released by : Fortune Star
Player reviewed with : Malata 520
Receiver reviewed with : Sony 925
 
Features:
DTS Digital Surround; Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Original Mono
ENGLISH, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified) Subtitles
Enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs
New and Original Trailers
Running Time : ABT I 96 mins.
Running Time : ABT II 104 mins.
Running Time : ABT III 119 mins.
Region ALL

A BETTER TOMORROW is sometimes credited as the movie that ushered in the "Heroic Bloodshed" theme. The story follows the characters of Mark(Chow Yun Fat) and Ho (Ti Lung). Mark and Ho are at the top of their game and wear it well. Everybody looks up to them and respects them. That is, almost everybody. Ho is betrayed by Shing, who he has kept under his wing. Ho gets imprisoned and his father is killed. Ho's brother Kit (Leslie Cheung) blames Ho and his lifestyle for their father's death. It also hasn't helped Kit's new career having a known criminal as a brother. Upon hearing that Ho has been betrayed, he sets on revenge. When asked if he needs more men to carry out the job, Mark just smiles. In what will go down in history as one of the coolest scenes ever filmed, Mark carries out his mission, but not without a price. Mark crashes a dinner party and takes out just about everybody in the room. Upon retreat, he retrieves hidden pistols that he had previously put in the flower pots that align the hall to the dinner room. Before he is clear, one of his adversaries crawls out of the room and shoots Mark in the leg several times. Mark stumbles back and finishes his job before limping away. Years pass, Ho gets out of prison and wants to go straight. His brother won't believe him. Mark is now crippled, having lost his leg and works for Shin doing demeaning odd jobs. Things look bleak for Ho who also has to deal with Shing trying to recruit him back into the life. Ho is also torn between doing one more job with Mark that will humiliate Shing or staying straight to reconcile with Kit. The choice is between his friend or his brother.

A BETTER TOMORROW II continues the underlying theme that it is very difficult to come clean once who have led a life of crime. Ho is in jail and Kit is undercover trying to get evidence to incriminate Lung, a former gangster who now runs a shipyard. Ho wants to help his brother so he agrees to work for the police. He is also sure that Lung is innocent and wants to prove it. Lung is set up by his trusted associate and must go into hiding so he takes a boat to New York City. Unaware that he was set up, he calls from hiding to give contact information to his daughter. Hitmen seek out Lung and shoot up a church hall where he is helping his friend who is a former gangster turned priest. Police come before Lung can be killed and he becomes catatonic. Lung is admitted to a psychiatric hospital. When Ho realizes Lung is in danger, he calls the only person who can help, Mark's brother Ken. Ken is a former triad who went straight and opened a Chinese food restaurant in New York City. Ken rescues Lung and takes him back to Hong Kong. This leads to an all out assault by Ho, Ken, and Lung on those that framed him and caused the deaths of so many around them.
A BETTER TOMORROW III is a prequel that follows Chow Yun Fat's character Mark and his trip to Vietnam in hopes of bringing his uncle and cousin back to Hong Kong. The trip starts off with Mark making the acquaintance of a beautiful woman, Kit (Anita Mui) by retrieving a lipstick she had dropped. As simple as it sounds, this mere action keeps Mark from getting roughed up from customs agents. Mark finds his cousin Mun (Tony Leung Ka Fai) and uncle (Sek Kin) and finds that his uncle adopted a Vietnamese boy whom he calls Pat. Pat is now a teen but was separated from his parents years ago so he was taken in. Mun wants to make some money so he arranges for a meeting with a local crime boss. Things start off sour but they are rescued by Kit, who gives them a chance to help do a job. The two cousins both fall in love with Kit but Mark tries to stay out of the way of his cousin. When Kit's former lover and crime partner reenters the picture, things get even more complicated. Mark brings his Uncle and Mun back to Hong Kong but they find that trouble only follows them their. They also realize they must return to Vietnam to help Kit.

Picture Quality -

A BETTER TOMORROW - After seeing some of the other Fortune Star remasters, I was expecting a lot from this DVD. Overall, I am slightly disappointed in the overall transfer. The film print itself is relatively free of damage but there is some grain at times that is very noticeable. There are also times when it appears that a frame repeats itself when scenes change. This isn't too distracting but it is noticeable. Night scenes sometimes look a little "noisy" which is probably a combination of the grain and transfer. The colors and detail look good but the overall quality ranges from below average to excellent and settles somewhere in between for most of the movie. This was the result fro watching the DVD on the 47 inch Panasonic RPTV. To my surprise, on the 27 inch standard TV, the grain was still evident but it looked much better. Night scenes looked fine. The difference is dramatic.
A BETTER TOMORROW II - I am much more happy with the video quality of ABT II than with ABT I. While ABT II does have some grain at times, it still looks pretty good on the big set. The film print is in good shape with no damage. The detail is good and so are the colors. This means you see every drop of sweat and tattoo on the characters. Night scenes are fine. There is a strobing effect for a very quick scene towards the beginning of the film when there is an attack in the soup kitchen but that is also on the Anchor Bay DVD in the same place. The transfer is probably just a notch behind Anchor Bay's DVD.
A BETTER TOMORROW III - The picture quality, much like ABT shows some grain but not as extreme as ABT I. The source print is in good shape although there are some occasional specs. If you've seen the Mega Star version, you will notice that this has the same brown mark on the film that occurs during the target practice scene. The detail is good but the grain detracts a little from the overall quality. Night scenes hold up much better than they do in ABT I. The colors of the movie aren't very vibrant but that is most likely the intention as the color blue seems to be the tone of the movie. As with the other DVD's in this box set, ABT II will look great on a standard TV but a large RPTV will make the grain more noticeable.

Sound Quality -

A BETTER TOMORROW - I watched the movie with the original mono sound mix although there are DTS and Dolby 5.1 tracks included. I selected the Cantonese language track. It is great to have the original mono track without a huge dropout in the sound like the Anchor Bay version. There are moments when the mono track is very slightly out of sync but I did not find it very noticeable. The 5.1 does not have the same problem. It is nice to have a decent soundtrack the first time around. Most other releases of the is movie were plagued by altered music tracks.

A BETTER TOMORROW II - Since the original Cantonese mono soundtrack was included I chose this one. While the overall quality is very good, there is a very short time when the vocals sound a little undermixed. This is only for a single line of dialogue and isn't so noticeable as to take you out of the movie. It's great that IVL includes the original sound mixes. The 5.1 mix is also acceptable if you prefer the remixes. I tend to stick with the original track when it's included. As with ABT I, there are moments when the mono track is very slightly out of sync but I did not find it very noticeable.
A BETTER TOMORROW III - Once again, IVL has included the mono track which is the one I watched the movie all the way through with. The mix is well done and the music, sound effects, and dialogue are all in sync with the action. I did play some scenes with the remixes and they do the job. If you prefer to have all your speakers working for you, the remixes are acceptable.

Subtitles -

A BETTER TOMORROW - The subtitles are easy to read and timed well with what is being said. They occasionally go by a little quickly but not too often. There are no spelling errors but there are some grammatical errors or word omissions. Also, the song at the end that is sung by children is not translated.

A BETTER TOMORROW II - The subtitles sometimes appear before what is being said. This happens a couple of times and there is one time when the subtitle for a sentence appears in the middle of the next scene. I don't know if this is just a strange thing due to the Malata but it's possible since the Malata has been known for sometimes displaying subtitles too fast. They are easy to read and apart from the previously mentioned issue, are timed well with what is being said. Unfortunately, signs and letters aren't translated.

A BETTER TOMORROW III - The subtitles have very few spelling errors. The are well timed and are easy to read. My only complaint about the subtitles is that it's not translated when the characters are speaking Vietnamese. This is a minor annoyance and didn't affect my overall enjoyment of the movie.

Extras -

A BETTER TOMORROW - The extras include trailers as well as a feature on the weapons used in the movie.

A BETTER TOMORROW II - The featurette on this DVD is about the effects of a bullet on the human body as well as how explosions do damage. There are also trailers.

A BETTER TOMORROW III - A featurette on close combat tactics as well as how an individual can have a chance at taking down a tank.

Overall, these featurettes are interesting but I don't think they have much of a multiple viewing factor. Each DVD also has stills and a slide show.

Final Thoughts -

Overall, the ABT box set is a great way to get all three movies in a nice box set but it falls a little short due to the picture quality. If you have a standard TV these will look great but ABT I will not look so good on a larger screen. The mono soundtracks are great to have but the ABT I and II tracks are sometimes ever so slightly out of sync. If you don't have these movies, this set is worth getting. I was expecting a little more from this set because I have been very impressed with the previous Fortune Star releases as far as image quality goes. Suffice it to say, when I watch these movies in the future, it will be from the DVD's in this set.

Reviewed 6/29/2003 by Matt