Saying that there are no longer any rules in this world, Chow Yun Fat storms into Fung Lim Restaurant alone to avenge the betrayal and arrest of his friend Sung Tse-Ho. The door opens in slow motion as Chow’s character unflinchingly sprays bullets into the room. Without even confirming whether the villains are dead, he casually discards his pistols, and his cool charisma marks the beginning of a legend. The original Hong Kong noir, A Better Tomorrow revolutionized the entire landscape of Asian genre cinema. John Woo, who worked as an assistant director under Hong Kong’s legendary martial arts film director Chang Cheh, replaced swords with guns and created a whole new action style through Chow, drawing influences from Jean-Pierre Melville and Sam Peckinpah. Moreover, he subtly projected the unconscious anxieties of Hong Kongers about the 1997 handover in the film. Determined to leave, Chow’s character gazes at Hong Kong’s night view but turns the boat around in A Better Tomorrow, which was the first “contemporary” Hong Kong film. Though it wasn’t an instant hit when it was first released in South Korea in 1987, the film later became a sensation through re-releases and double-feature screenings. (JU Sungchul)