Product Description

Wanting to escape poverty two childhood friends engage in underworld activities and become right hand men for the big boss. Unsatisfied and power hungry one becomes a spy for a rival gang. Major war breaks out and the once friendship is destroyed. Studio: Tai Seng Entertainment Release Date: 06/22/2004 Starring: Chow Yun Fat Andy Lau Run time: 104 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Taylor Wong

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #97660 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-09-26
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Formats: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Cantonese, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 104 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Chow Yun-fat in his smooth, controlled Better Tomorrow mode as a charismatic gang lord. It's a derivative mob chronicle, enjoyable but flat-footed to the point of incoherence (most of the visual and character transitions are bungled). Basically it's about two young brothers who get into crime in the '50s, after the super-cool "nice" gang boss, Chai (Chow), shields them from a nasty older gangster with a shaved head. Eventually one of the brothers, Yung (Alex Man Chi-lung), betrays Chai, strangles a lovable fat Thai drug smuggler, and goes into business for himself. The second, good brother emigrates to Malaysia to open a seafood restaurant. The movie makes no sense morally: Chow's character is a drug smuggler, but he's romanticized because he rewards loyalty and loves puppies. The tangled undergrowth of brother-love, father-love, boss-love, and he-manly loyalty--almost none of it thought through or sorted out--would be far too rich an emotional stew for most American films. The sequel, Tragic Hero, is actually a better movie. --David Chute

Customer Reviews

Pretty near the bottom of the barrel - but do see the sequel
This is a particularly dire early Chow Yun Fat Hong Kong gangster movie that occasionally flirts with competence without ever going all the way. It's the usual good brother/bad brother plot, but it's rarely been done as shoddily as this. Danny Lee has little to do, Andy Lau isn't on top form here and only an underused Chow Yun Fat gets by on charisma alone. The film looks like it's been shot in a hurry (the first fight in the betting shop looks as convincing as a schoolgirl pillow fight) by people who'd rather be somewhere else.

No surprises, badly staged and pretty amateurish all round except for a last reel wedding shootout, its hard to believe this was a big enough local hit for a sequel, Tragic Hero. Even more surprising is that Tragic Hero is actually GOOD, focusing on Chow Yun Fat's fall from power as he is abandoned and betrayed - that one has style, flair and a bit of weight to it, as well as much better action scenes. But Rich and Famous is just a waste of your time.

Quite Good!
I've seen the other reviews for this movie here and was quite surprised. I bought this and Tragic Hero together because I simply love Chow Yun-Fat. The movie is obviously not up to the standards of the early John Woo's but non-the-less, it is a quality film! Yun-Fat delivered well, the story was proficient, and the pacing was good. All in all, I love this film - it has charm even if not a budget. The over the top emotions and fight scenes are truly the beauty of it, though it's obviously not enough for most people to love it. Strangely enough, people will watch bad American 80's movies for less reason than that (I confess, I am among them). Who can resist the simpering B movie quality wrenching hearty emotions that ooze from the screen? If you're into Chinese low-budget high-emotion gangster flicks, as all irrational beings out be, then this movie is a must see!

BAD MOVIE
This is one of the worst Chow yun-fat movies ever.