Saw BITH on DVD last night after watching it once years ago on TV. I found it surprising the impression it gave me this time is completely different. I did not actually seem to be impressed by it at all when it was shown on a local TV channel, but is now completely overwhelmed when I watched it again on DVD last night. I suppose this movie must be enjoyed uninterrupted by TV commercials, in order to get to grips with the atmosphere it created. From casual and light-hearted to brutal and dead-serious. In other words, it requires no less than totally focused attention from the audience.
I'd like to clear the air for those fans who considered this movie involving the war in IndoChina is something of a first for Woo. Woo actually did a little-known jungle warfare movie called "Ying xiong wei lei" (Heros Shed No Tears) in the early 80's on a shoestring budget, of a story about the Thai government hires group of Chinese mercenaries to capture powerful drug-lord from Golden Triangle, before he became famous in 1986 for his gangster classic "A Better Tomorrow".
In BITH Woo succeeded in recreating the nostalgic look and feel of the 1960's Hong Kong and Vietnam. The characters and events all appeared so genuine and real. I appreciate it as a great movie from the following angles:
In Hong Kong the street lives of those gangster youths vividly coincided with the anti-British riots in the then Crown Colony. The three protagonists living life in poverty, turf wars and a little romance over a backdrop of terrifying bombing campaign waged by pro-Chairman Mao rioters met by brutal clampdown from the Hong Kong police in full riot gears, all being exactly shown as how it would look in those unforgettable days. The scene showing a British bomb disposal expert deactivating a bomb is very true. I still remember in real life seeing the gruesome news picture of one of these guys got his arm blown off while doing such a nasty job in the Wanchai district. All these strongly convinces the audience why the three friends, apart from a murder case hanging over two of them, have good reasons to leave and go somewhere else.
In Saigon the endless anti-war street protests leading to violent bloodshed, dare-devil assassinations met by ruthless summary executions, the ever present pack of International photo-journalists chasing after their opportunity of a good news story, Chinese businessmen living in the country wheeling and dealing with the Vietnamese from North and South. Those (mainly Americans and other foreigners) who had the means enjoy themselves in seedy nightclubs as if nothing unusual was happening outside, where life was so chaotic that looters could be anybody including the soldiers.
In the Vietnamese jungle the three friends and the local hit-man character went through a harsh lesson of survival, including escape through unfamiliar terrain, intense firefights, frequent bickering, unsavory POW camp rituals and a spectacular last-minute rescue by commandos and helicopters. A lesson of survival in which the temptation of getting rich quick was too much for one of the friends to resist, leading to more tragic events. Although some of the scenes would remotely remind audience of Hollywood movie "The Deer Hunter", the fact is that the two are very different in many ways. Just as you can't really say "The Great Escape" and "The Bridge on River Kwai" are similar.
Back in Hong Kong, the two friends who managed to return had to confront each other in a finale that brought the whole story like a roller-coaster to an abrupt end.
IMHO BITH is Heroic Bloodshed on the grandest possible scale never seen before or after.
I'd like to clear the air for those fans who considered this movie involving the war in IndoChina is something of a first for Woo. Woo actually did a little-known jungle warfare movie called "Ying xiong wei lei" (Heros Shed No Tears) in the early 80's on a shoestring budget, of a story about the Thai government hires group of Chinese mercenaries to capture powerful drug-lord from Golden Triangle, before he became famous in 1986 for his gangster classic "A Better Tomorrow".
In BITH Woo succeeded in recreating the nostalgic look and feel of the 1960's Hong Kong and Vietnam. The characters and events all appeared so genuine and real. I appreciate it as a great movie from the following angles:
In Hong Kong the street lives of those gangster youths vividly coincided with the anti-British riots in the then Crown Colony. The three protagonists living life in poverty, turf wars and a little romance over a backdrop of terrifying bombing campaign waged by pro-Chairman Mao rioters met by brutal clampdown from the Hong Kong police in full riot gears, all being exactly shown as how it would look in those unforgettable days. The scene showing a British bomb disposal expert deactivating a bomb is very true. I still remember in real life seeing the gruesome news picture of one of these guys got his arm blown off while doing such a nasty job in the Wanchai district. All these strongly convinces the audience why the three friends, apart from a murder case hanging over two of them, have good reasons to leave and go somewhere else.
In Saigon the endless anti-war street protests leading to violent bloodshed, dare-devil assassinations met by ruthless summary executions, the ever present pack of International photo-journalists chasing after their opportunity of a good news story, Chinese businessmen living in the country wheeling and dealing with the Vietnamese from North and South. Those (mainly Americans and other foreigners) who had the means enjoy themselves in seedy nightclubs as if nothing unusual was happening outside, where life was so chaotic that looters could be anybody including the soldiers.
In the Vietnamese jungle the three friends and the local hit-man character went through a harsh lesson of survival, including escape through unfamiliar terrain, intense firefights, frequent bickering, unsavory POW camp rituals and a spectacular last-minute rescue by commandos and helicopters. A lesson of survival in which the temptation of getting rich quick was too much for one of the friends to resist, leading to more tragic events. Although some of the scenes would remotely remind audience of Hollywood movie "The Deer Hunter", the fact is that the two are very different in many ways. Just as you can't really say "The Great Escape" and "The Bridge on River Kwai" are similar.
Back in Hong Kong, the two friends who managed to return had to confront each other in a finale that brought the whole story like a roller-coaster to an abrupt end.
IMHO BITH is Heroic Bloodshed on the grandest possible scale never seen before or after.