A Better Tomorrow
“Brothers by blood. Enemies by chance. Killers by nature.”
A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.
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Part of A Better Tomorrow Collection
3 films
Cast
49 people
Ti Lung
Sung Chi Ho
Known for
The Legend of Drunken Master
The Warrior's Way
Chow Yun-Fat
Mark Lee
Known for
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Dragonball Evolution
Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing
Sung Chi Kit
Known for
Happy Together
Farewell My Concubine
Emily Chu Bo-yee
Jackie
Known for
Heart of Dragon
Rouge
Waise Lee Chi-hung
Shing
Known for
Bullet in the Head
The Great Arms Robbery
Tien Feng
Mr. Sung
Known for
Fist of Fury
The Time to Live and the Time to Die
John Woo
Inspector Wu
Known for
Hard Boiled
Once a Thief
Sek Yin-Tsi
Mr. Yiu
Also in
Till Death Do We Scare
Silent Romance
Kenneth Tsang
Kin
Known for
Rush Hour 2
Die Another Day
Wang Hsieh
Boss Wang
Known for
The Super Inframan
The Prodigal Son
Leung Ming
Uncle Chan
Known for
Prison on Fire
Chan Chi-Fai
Boss Wang's Nephew
Known for
As Tears Go By
City on Fire
John Woo Director · Chan Hing-kai Writer Leung Suk-Wah Writer
Worldwide gross $4.5M · Budget $1.4M · United States release August 2, 1986
Box office
Budget
$1,402,445
Worldwide gross
$4,459,629
Gross vs. budget
3.2×
Production
Cinema City Company Limited
Production
Film Workshop
Production
Hong Kong SAR China
Produced in
Languages
Original title
英雄本色
Original language
Cantonese
Spoken on screen
Cantonese · Chinese · English
Release dates
China · August 2, 1986
Theatrical
Hong Kong SAR China · August 2, 1986
Theatrical
United States · August 2, 1986
Theatrical
United States
March 1, 2026 · Limited theatrical · 4K Restoration
Australia
March 25, 2026 · Physical · 4K Ultra HD
Brazil
September 6, 2025 · Limited theatrical · IMS Paulista (4K Restoration)
China
October 28, 2017 · Premiere · Pingyao International Film Festival
November 17, 2017 · Theatrical
France
July 21, 1993 · Theatrical
Germany
February 1, 1987 · Premiere · Berlin International Film Festival
Greece
October 21, 2010 · Premiere · Panorama of European Cinema
Japan
April 25, 1987 · Theatrical
Netherlands
July 16, 2002 · Theatrical
March 22, 2007 · Physical · DVD
South Korea
May 23, 1987 · Theatrical
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Some details come from TheTVDB.