A Better Tomorrow

"Brothers by blood. Enemies by chance. Killers by nature."

1986 1h 35m CN

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 648

ActionCrimeDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.

“Brothers by blood. Enemies by chance. Killers by nature.”

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Cast

Ti Lung
Sung Chi Ho
Chow Yun-Fat
Mark Lee
Leslie Cheung
Sung Chi Kit
Emily Chu Bo-Yee
Jackie
Waise Lee Chi-Hung
Shing
Tien Feng
Mr. Sung
John Woo
Inspector Wu
Sek Yin-Tsi
Mr. Yiu

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Woo
Writers: John Woo, Chan Hing-Kai, Leung Suk-Wah
Languages: Cantonese, English, Mandarin
Countries: Hong Kong

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

40 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Cantonese, English, Mandarin.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "A Better Tomorrow Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Directed by John Woo, shot by Horace Wong Wing-Hang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Joseph Koo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kam Ma shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Woo directs. Horace Wong Wing-Hang behind the camera. Joseph Koo scores. Kam Ma cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Hong Kong. Dialogue in Cantonese, English, Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 3.2× over at the box office.
340 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Cantonese, English, Mandarin.
5Part of the "A Better Tomorrow Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by John Woo, shot by Horace Wong Wing-Hang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Joseph Koo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Kam Ma shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Ti Lung and Chow Yun-Fat and Leslie Cheung carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Brothers by blood. Enemies by chance. Killers by nature.".
11IMDB entry: tt0092263 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 14 themes, including "prison", "sibling relationship", "snake", "observer".
13Released under 20 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Horace Wong Wing-Hang
Original score: Joseph Koo
Editing: Kam Ma
Costume design: Bruce Yu
Makeup / hair: Ko Siu-Ping
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,402,445
Box office: $4,459,629
Return: 318% of budget
Original language: CN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: A Better Tomorrow (1986)

Awards

Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

A Better Tomorrow Collection

This story is the tale of two brothers: one a successful counterfeiter and the younger a fledgling graduate of the HK police academy. The plot revolves around the split when the younger brother learns the other is a criminal and the efforts of the criminal brother to reform. Along the way are plenty of heists, double-crosses, and shoot outs. Written by Victor R. Volkman

Also by

John Woo

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522025-11-28
★ 8/10
Really good Hong Kong crime-thriller from John Woo that features decent fight scenes and a great performance by Chow Yun-Fat in a supporting role. I'll be watching the sequel sometime next week. 3.75/5

Production companies