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A Better Tomorrow (1986)

Directed by John Woo · Cinematography by Horace Wong Wing-Hang

95 min54 frames

ActionCrimeDrama

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

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Stills, screencaps & shots from A Better Tomorrow

16 of 54 frames — the full set is searchable by lighting, lens, shot size, color and mood with a free account.

A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: fullbody — A concrete pier sits along a harbor with ships and a distant city skyline. Two men are interacting,…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: closeup — An outdoor area with concrete ground and multiple figures dressed in light blue uniforms. A man in a…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: closeup — A close-up view focuses on a single human eye and the surrounding skin. Visible drops of…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: wide — Two police officers sit on motorcycles blocking a dark, hazy road at night. Bright headlights create…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: medium — A dark living room contains a woman sitting at a table with candles. A man sits further back at a…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: medium — A metal pedestrian overpass overlooks a busy urban intersection under construction in Taipei. A man…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: wide — A long, weathered concrete wall stretches along a paved road lined with trimmed trees. A man walks down…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: closeup — A dark night at the beach features blurred city lights reflecting on the water. A man in a light…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: wide — A man walks forward in a parking structure with a large red wall behind him. The wall features massive…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: medium — A hospital doorway features a cream-colored door and a no-smoking sign on the wall. Two men in formal…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: medium — A large red industrial boat is tied to a concrete pier in a harbor. Hills and industrial buildings…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: closeup — A stone grave marker is situated in a patch of wild, unkempt green grass. A rectangular portrait of…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: closeup — A man holds a burning cigarette lighter to his cigarette inside a dark room. Another man stands in…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: medium — Two men fire pistols from behind a weathered metal drum in a nighttime industrial area. Blue smoke…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: medium — A man drives a small motorboat through dark water under the night sky. City lights twinkle in the…A Better Tomorrow (1986) movie still: fullbody — Three men walk in a line toward the camera past a dark reflective building. The architecture…
A Better Tomorrow (1986) — © Cinema City, Film Workshop

A Better Tomorrow — official trailer

What is A Better Tomorrow about?

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

A Better Tomorrow is a 1986 Hong Kong action film directed and produced by John Woo, with a screenplay by Woo, Chan Hing-ka, and Leung Suk-wah. The film stars Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung, Chow Yun-fat, Emily Chu, and Waise Lee. Ti plays Ho, a triad gangster and money counterfeiter who is sent to prison after being betrayed by his subordinate, Shing (Lee). After his release, Ho tries to reform himself and reconcile with his estranged brother Kit (Cheung), a police officer who resents him for his criminal past. Ho becomes torn between trying and failing to make amends with Kit, and following the advice of his friend Mark (Chow) to seek revenge for Shing's treachery.

Second paragraph from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where can you watch A Better Tomorrow?

US availability for A Better Tomorrow (1986). Data by JustWatch, listings on TMDB. Availability changes — check the provider for current listings.

Who stars in A Better Tomorrow?

Who made A Better Tomorrow?

What does the cinematography of A Better Tomorrow look like?

Sampled across 54 frames, the coverage of A Better Tomorrow leans on medium shots (33% of the sample) and close-ups (26%). Cinematographer Horace Wong Wing-Hang keeps 54% of it in soft, low-key light. Night and dusk account for 57% of the frames. Vintage glass shapes the frame. Focus stays shallow in 56% of the frames, isolating subjects from their surroundings.

What is the color palette of A Better Tomorrow?

The dominant colors across the sampled frames of A Better Tomorrow (1986) are #2d2e2c, #131312, #51514e, #d4d3ce, #92918e, #f4f3f1 — measured from the per-frame color data FrameThrower extracts for every film.

  • #2d2e2c
  • #131312
  • #51514e
  • #d4d3ce
  • #92918e
  • #f4f3f1

See the full A Better Tomorrow colour palette — every hex with its share, plus warmth, saturation and luminance.

A Better Tomorrow ranks in

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