Part 1: Heroic Bloodshed

What is a Triad?
Well, the Triads are what groups of gangsters are called in Hong Kong. It has essentially the same meaning as the word ‘Mafia’. They were so named by the British imperialists who once ruled Hong Kong because the Chinese character for ‘secret society’ resembles a triangle.

Triads partake in a number of illegal or suspect enterprises such as protection, narcotics, gambling, counterfeiting, porn, prostitution or some slightly more legal businesses like restaurants and bars. They also deal with other gangsters or even ‘legitimate’ business men overseas or in Mainland China.

The Modern Triad Film
The genre of the Hong Kong Triad film is a coming together of Western gangster films with Eastern codes of honor. And the themes of honor, loyalty, revenge, brotherhood, and masculinity run through all of these films in some way. It’s all about keeping a balance: Being respected and respecting others without seeming beneath them; Avenging one by taking another; Being a good person or a bad person. It’s a tenuous balance and it’s what most protagonists spend the whole film trying to restore.

Triad films, due the operatic nature and themes made popular by John Woo, have a tendency for melodrama. While some films aim for operatic, the line between opera and soap opera is very thin. But this is usually not a problem because the films are so intense, that a few over the top scenes blend in well.

This is not always the case as the less mainstream Triad films often aim for a quiet realism. In facts, smaller films will choose this style purposely in direct contrast to the more mainstream fare.

But what is most common is that in a regular Triad film people die, people turn on you, and in the end, there is a reckoning, usually epitomized in a big action scene.

The modern incarnation of the Triad film owes it’s beginnings mostly to John Woo’s A BETTER TOMORROW. But shortly before A BETTER TOMORROW, there were some Triad films being made that set the stage for what it accomplished. Particularly worth mentioning is Johnny Mak’s LONG ARM OF THE LAW(1984). Dramatic, gritty, and urban, it began to explore the themes of “Heroic Bloodshed”.

Heroic Bloodshed
This term was coined after the release of John Woo’s A BETTER TOMORROW. It’s also sometimes aptly referred to as Hong Kong Blood Opera. These films consist of stylized violence along with the themes of honor and redemption.

John Woo was able to bring the grace and beauty of martial arts to a gun fight. Not only through the style of his actors, often blazing a gun in each hand, but primarily through the style of his camera, he created beautiful images out of terrible deeds.

This style carried over to America, influencing such films as THE MATRIX, the work of Quentin Tarantino and any number of things produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. All of a sudden, Hollywood imbued their gunfights with a sense of beauty and motion inspired by the work of John Woo.

Cops and Robbers
There is a long history in Hong Kong movies of the juxtaposition of policeman and gangster. There seems to be an unspoken bond between cops and robbers. A lot of times they even end up working together in the end. This odd brotherhood usually implies that the two understand each other in ways other people cannot. Perhaps their paths were similar once, but they diverged. They look at each other thinking, ‘I could so easily have been you’.

This is seen, for instance, in CITY ON FIRE (which was a template for Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs) and THE KILLER in which the special relationship between cop and robber leads to the explosive ending. While the cops have no reason to help men who break the law, they feel an inexplicable loyalty to them.

The Beginning of Heroic Bloodshed: A BETTER TOMORROW
In 1986, a little known director named John Woo, and a producer named Tsui Hark, who had recently had some success, decided to remake TRUE COLORS OF A HERO -- a film from the 60s.

John Woo had directed over a dozen films in a variety of genres -- comedies, family films and even some action (which he would grow to be world renown for) but had not had a whole lot of success.

When he decided to do a Triad film, he cast Ti Lung, an industry veteran who was known for his kung fu films; Leslie Cheung, a young actor known for teen films and being a pop singer; And Chow Yun Fat, a successful TV actor but whose movies had all flopped. Film Distributors were not interested in “box office poison” Chow and teen idol Cheung, but Woo stood by them. Little did anyone know that the film would become the highest grossing in Hong Kong for years and jump start the careers of two of Hong Kong’s most influential and talented actors.

Chow Yun Fat was rocketed into stardom over night. While not the main character in the film, his character made the biggest impression. Kids started wearing trench coats and sunglasses to imitate him (even in the sweltering Hong Kong summers). Leslie Cheung got offered better, more serious acting roles and was able to show what he was capable of. And John Woo invigorated the Triad genre, making it one of the most popular for the following decade.

His slow motion and balletic gun battles became the norm as did his favorite theme of the thin line between good and evil. His action enriched one man’s search for redemption. This film is not unlike a cop and robber film, but the cop and robber are not ‘like brothers’, they are brothers. And Chow Yun Fat’s character, Mark, is the personification of loyalty.

And with these themes of brotherhood, loyalty and redemption and this new style of action, the Triad genre was entirely reborn. These elements caused the term ‘Heroic Bloodshed’ to be coined and its style to be continually imitated.

Because the film was so successful, it lead to two hit sequels. It also led to Woo and Chow Yun Fat being the poster boys for the Triad film. They went on to do several more together including A BETTER TOMORROW, THE KILLER and HARD-BOILED.

Chow Yun Fat, who can’t stand to fire a gun, also starred as a Triad man in CITY ON FIRE, SCHOOL ON FIRE, PRISON ON FIRE, PRISON ON FIRE II, GOD OF GAMBLERS, GOD OF GAMBLERS II, TRIADS:THE INSIDE STORY, WILD SEARCH, FULL CONTACT and more.

John Woo defined a genre and also brought it to America with great success in his film FACE OFF.

Redemption
One theme that is continuous in heroic bloodshed Triad films is that once your in, you can’t ever get out. That’s why redemption becomes so important to these characters. They want to make up for all they’ve done and make their life worth something. It helps these characters to be proper protagonists, that although they are bad people, they wish for redemption. Now the only question is whether they are strong enough to achieve redemption and whether the world will let them.

John Woo
John Woo went on to direct the sequel A BETTER TOMORROW II (with Producer Tsui Hark directing the decidedly different A BETTER TOMORROW III) and the international cult favorites THE KILLER and HARD-BOILED. While in Hong Kong he didn’t stray far from the genre even in his films that were not directly related to it. BULLET IN THE HEAD is Woo’s Vietnam war epic, yet the inciting incident of the film involved Hong Kong Triads. And ONCE A THIEF is a ‘crime’ film about two master theives, a little loftier than Triad fellows, but criminals nonetheless. Here is a look though at his Heroic Bloodshed masterpieces.....

A BETTER TOMORROW (1986)
Ho (Lung Ti) and Kit (Leslie Cheung) are brothers, but they have chosen very different paths. Ho works for the Triads, yet he is very proud of his brother Kit for becoming a Police Officer instead. But Kit is plagued by having a brother in the Triads when he just wants to live normally. Mark is Ho’s best friend and also his ‘brother’ in the Triads. But Mark and Ho get involved in a scheme gone wrong leaving Ho in jail and Mark injured.

The story really kicks off a couple years later when Ho is released. He finds Shing (Waise Lee), who once worked under him, is now the head of the gang. While Ho attempts to go straight, Shing won’t let him. Kit is also investigating Shing and is upset to find Ho involved. But with a couple hundred bullets and a lot of bloodshed, everything is straightened out in the end.

How is one to critique a film that started one of the most profitable movements in Hong Kong history? That started a sub-genre that for a while became even more recognizable on the world stage than Hong Kong Kung Fu? The film did come out in 1986 and has some 80s elements like clothes and music that are a little off-putting. And while this film is melodramatic most of the time, Woo tries to lighten it up mostly through Jacky, Kit’s girlfriend, who as a comedian is both effective and annoying. Mostly it just seems out of place.

But the ties between these characters are strong, and the action is effective. While the film that started it all has subsequently been outdone by other films (including Woo’s own THE KILLER, the best in his oeuvre) but still really holds it’s own.

A BETTER TOMORROW II (1987)
Ho and Kit return, both on the side of good, and both are working to investigate a Triad boss. But when Ho can’t handle it, he calls in a little help from overseas -- Ken (Chow Yun Fat).

There are some honestly goofy things about this film, but yet it keeps the same level of intensity, craft and action as it’s predecessor and that alone makes it worth your time. Producer Tsui and director Woo evidently had some disagreements in the making of this film which was rushed into productions and it shows. The story is not as strong as in the first film, but Woo’s style is evolving (and it’s peak will be seen in THE KILLER) and it helps make up for the plot failings.

But if you’re finding the film a bit tedious you will be rewarded by the over-the-top but utterly fantastic end shootout. The action this time is choreographed by Tony Ching (HERO, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS). You’ll leave the film thinking positive thoughts for these last operatic minutes alone.

THE KILLER(1989)
Jeff (Chow Yun Fat) is a killer for hire, determined to quit. He knows the people he kills are bad, but is haunted by the one time an innocent person got in the way. So he takes one last job in order to get enough money to help Jennie (Sally Yeh) whom he once blinded. Meanwhile, Inspector Li (Danny Lee) is on the trail of this killer. But Jeff won’t let that come between him and his last pay day.

Chow Yun Fat and Danny Lee starred in a lot of films together in this period and have great chemistry together. Although this film does not contain the great intense scenes and speeches Chow Yun Fat delivered so well in A Better Tomorrow, his unyielding charisma and uncompromising cool are played to their full effect.

The ending of this film usually evokes tears from some and laughs from others (I go through a good box of tissue every time). With extended gunplay and slow motion, this film is anything but subtle, but if one accepts it’s over the top theatrics, it can be a very satisfying cinematic experience. And at the very least, Woo is in top form with his gunplay scenes in this film. He’s perfected his style from A BETTER TOMORROW but hasn’t gone over the top yet as he does in HARD-BOILED.

This film is the high point of Heroic Bloodshed and it’s operatic qualities. A true greek tragedy and tale of attempted redemption as well as a perfect example of cop and robber brotherhood. This film has some truly unbelievable action, some truly tear inducing drama and some honestly good comedic moments -- yet ties it together into one epic whole.

HARD-BOILED (1992)
Tequila (Chow Yun Fat) is a cop whose partner is killed in action. He decides to take down the whole organization involved. Meanwhile, Tony (Tony Leung) is an undercover cop working with the Triads. They team up together and from there the plot gets overly convoluted -- but in essence, these two men work together to shoot as many people as possible with unparalleled style.

And setting aside the plot, this film is continuous entertainment. Woo perfects his action-from-beginning-to-end formula that he will succeed with in FACE OFF. But in a film saturated with action, the very lengthy end action scene (which runs over a half hour) can get, if you can believe it, a little boring.

But this picture is an international classic for a reason. Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung are great as always. And there characters are typical of Woo -- portraits of gray, often forcing one to wonder if they are really good or bad. And some of the action scenes are amazing, especially one in a tea house at the beginning of the film. There is an image of a crazed Chow with white powder on his face which is then splattered with blood that is simply unforgettable.

Despite the melodramatic aspects (whenever there is the saving of so many babies, a film cannot deny its melodrama), this picture is pure, unadulterated action.

IN TWO WEEKS: More info on the Triad genre and a look at what came after Woo’s breakthrough. Imitators like GOD OF GAMBLERS and Post-modern takes on the genre like AS TEARS GO BY. Come see what world renown directors Ringo Lam, Johnny To and Wong Kar Wai brought to the genre.

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