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Review A Better Tomorrow (4K Ultra HD Remastered Collection Blu-ray) a.k.a. Ying hung boon sik (1986): A classic like this deserves better treatment but I guess this will have to do!

genre: heroic bloodshed, action, crime, drama





Disclaimer: This review is mostly going to be about the quality of the Blu-ray. Although I will add some thoughts on top of the original review.

Like with most of older HK films the prints haven't been preserved well. It's almost like a lottery to find one that can offer the HD quality every cinephile deserves. I had hope this 4K Ultra HD would be the one. Unfortunately this is not the case.

For what it's worth. I do think it's a step up on the DVD I had. The image is clean, crisp and barely has any graininess. So it does look like they had some work done on this transfer. And to avoid confusion this is a Blu-ray (1080p) that is transferred from a 4k Ultra HD. The audio quality is good. Only at certain times the volume of the dialogue gets turned down a notch in favour of the background music. I am not sure whether that was a good idea. Although I have to say it did make some of the scenes extra dramatic. 

There are some specials (not in HD) you might find interesting. That is if you understand Cantonese. For some reason they didn't bother to add English subtitles to these specials. The Codes of Bullets looked interesting. Although I am not sure who this is aimed at. It almost looks like an advertisement how to effectively kill someone.

One thing I want to add on the film itself. I understand that Kit felt betrayed by his brother because he never told him he was a triad member. Despite this fact Sung Tse-Ho never had given him any reason other than that. He always was very loving to him. His never ending anger towards him always felt unjustified. Especially after he redeemed himself in many ways. He goes out of his way to leave the life he had lead and be a better and upstanding citizen. A cop as obsessed and blinded as he is simply is not fit to be a cop. Life isn't black or white. People aren't black or white. There are many sides to people even criminals. Besides you have all kinds of criminals and some of them are bankers. Do you think you could treat all the criminals in the same vein? Of course not! 

Another thing that bugged me about the plot was the fact that Mark would just wait for Sung and let himself be treated like he was. I get that he was loyal  and it was quite dramatic but he still could have been waiting at the top. That being said it makes the finale grand and epic so I shouldn't complain too much. 

Should you purchase this Blu-ray? There is no doubt you should. It's the one that put Chow Yun-fat and John Woo on the map internationally. And I for one am very grateful.




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