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Sunset Warriors
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - 88 Films Review written by and copyright: Eric Cotenas (27th June 2025). |
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The Film
 The Golden Triangle near the Vietnamese border is a haven for heroin production and trafficking, and the Thai government has had enough of it, hiring a group of Chinese mercenaries lead by Dr. Jin Ho-geol (The Butterfly Murders' Eddy Ko) order to destroy the operation run by General Samton (Brawl Busters' Jang Il-Shik) with the reward of securing passage to America for himself and his family. They ambush the General outside his fortress and Ho-geol and three surviving surviving mercenaries (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin's Chin Yuet-Sang, Eastern Condors' Ka Lee, and The Tai Chi Master's Chow Gam-Kong) grab him, heading for the border. First, however, they must make a stop for Ho-geol to pick up his family only to discover that the General's men have gotten there first and killed his father but he is able to rescue his sister-in-law (Enter the Fat Dragon's Lee Hye-Sook) and his six year old son So-gang (Ma Yingchun). When they reach the Vietnamese border, however, they discover soldiers led by sadistic Vietcong Colonel Nguyen (Mr. Vampire's Lam Ching-Ying) harassing a French journalist and his daughter (Cécile Le Bailly). Ho-geol does not want to get involved but his son implores him to help the girl before she is raped or killed, and the ensuing attack leaves the colonel with only one eye and it is laser-focused on Ho-geol for vengeance, even to the point of teaming up his soldiers with Samton's soldiers and a local native tribe of machete-wielding trackers (lead by Kim Ho-Gon) to find and capture them. Is Sunset Warriors a previously-unknown John Woo action flick in Korean? Actually, it is better-known in its Hong Kong version Heroes Shed No Tears, and Woo fanatics are well-aware that his first "heroic bloodshed" flick was deemed unfit for distribution by Golden Harvest who had another director shoot more comedy – including bits involving accidental cannibalism and cocaine – violence, and sex for the version that would be shelved for a few years before heading into theaters after the success of Woo's A Better Tomorrow for Tsui Hark's Cinema City. Although it was released in theaters in 1986, it was actually shot around 1984, placing in between his Golden Harvest historical martial arts films Last Hurrah for Chivalry and Hand of Death – Woo having previously been consigned by the studios to comedies – and preceding his better known eighties Hong Kong action films The Killer and Bullet in the Head. While Woo would not become synonymous with cutting edge Hong Kong action cinema in Hong Kong and the west until he parted ways with Golden Harvest, Woo's original cut of the film was released in South Korea in 1984, albeit dubbed into Korean and credited for co-production purposes to Shin Wi-gyoon, an assistant director who was also credited with the direction of the Korean cut of Postman Strikes Back. In either cut, the film is by no means a lost classic or even a diamond in the rough. The closest to the original cut is Woo experimenting with bringing the values and tropes of his "heroic bloodshed" martial arts films to a more modern setting and genre. The Hong Kong version is an episodic, identikit action film that plays like an even bloodier but almost soulless variation on the kind of eighties actioners Cannon would undertake around the same time and that the likes of Bruno Mattei would imitate a couple years later in the Philippines. Just when things get monotonous in the jungle pursuit, Ho-geol and company stumble upon his old French Vietnam war buddy Louis (Too Beautiful for You's Philippe Loffredo) living a polyamorous life with a trio of Thai, Vietnamese, and French babes lovingly protected by his rigged barrier of explosives (this sequence itself allowed for Golden Harvest to add what they thought were more commercial scenes). While there is plenty of bloodshed, the film really takes a turn towards sadism once Ho-geol is caught by the colonel, and his six year old son is put in danger plenty of times; however, the viewers should get a visceral thrill out of the finale in which Ko and Lam engage in extended hand-to-hand combat, fighting dirty with anything within reach. The original cut is straightforward action while the Golden Harvest cut is an entertaining mess (the export version in 1986 was the reshoot version minus the added sex scenes suggesting that Woo might have had some input ). The film is not to be confused with the like-titled 1980 Chu Yuan film also titled Heroes Shed No Tears. 
Video
Whlie the Sunset Warriors Korean cut was previously only available on VHS in South Korea, the Hong Kong "Heroes Shed No Tears" version was more widely distributed including a U.S. VHS from pre-Tai Seng label Rainbow Audio & Video with the ludicrous title "A John Woo Film". Better options became available in the late nineties with English-subtitled laserdiscs in the U.S. from Tai Seng and the U.K. from Encore Entertainment followed by a pair of non-anamorphic Hong Kong DVDs from Deltamac and Mega Star before Fortune Star's anamorphic remaster which appeared in the U.K. and Australia on DVD as part of the Hong Kong Legends line with Cantonese and English tracks and extras. The Hong Kong cut made its Blu-ray bow stateside from Film Movement in 2019 with only 5.1 remixes while 88 Films' original 2020 Blu-ray featured Hong Kong cut (88:24) and English export cut (85:04) separately along with original mono tracks and contextual extras including a featurette on the differences between the Hong Kong and Korean cuts. Hong Kong finally released the film on Blu-ray in 2022 while a German mediabook edition replicated much the content of the 88 Films edition albeit without English subtitles or audio for the film (with only the commentary and version featurette being English-friendly). 88 Films' new two-disc set features the Korean cut (97:52) on the first disc and the directly ports over the contents of the 2020 edition for the second disc. The 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen transfer of the Korean version comes from a new can of a recently-discovered print which appears to be virtually flawless given that there are no telltale signs of it being a composite between the Hong Kong materials and scenes specific to the Korean cut (the audio, on the other hand, is a different matter altogether as explained below). The Korean image is not only opened up on the top and bottom over the 1.85:1 matting of the other cuts it also reveals additional slivers on the sides. The grading is brighter with a touch less saturation but never looks faded. The Hong Kong cut (88:24) and the export version (85:04) on the second disc boast superior image quality coming from the original camera negative but there is nothing about the Korean cut that is ruinous to the viewing experience. 
Audio
The Korean cut features the Korean dub in LPCM 2.0 mono, post-dubbed and sounding clean, along with composite Cantonese and English LPCM 2.0 mono tracks with Korean inserts for the scenes not included in the Hong Kong or export versions. Presumably 88 Films or Fortune Star had access to the dialogue stems for the Cantonese and English tracks since they share with the Korean features some alternate cues to the Hong Kong and export cuts. Option English subtitles are available for the Korean track along with the Korean-only scenes on the English track and an English subtitle track for the Cantonese track track translating all of the dialogue. The Hong Kong cut features Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 mono tracks with English subtitles along with an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track featuring the new dub Fortune Star prepared for their remaster that also appeared on the Film Movement edition. The export version features the original dub in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. 
Extras
The Korean cut is accompanied by an audio commentary by Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng in which he discusses the production and distribution of the film, noting that the South Korean release happened because the co-production deal granted them the right to first release and that the recut/reshot Hong Kong cut's week-long release came in at number sixty-one at the box office with Woo's A Better Tomorrow at number one. He also discusses Woo's career at the time of the original production and the influence of Chua Lam (Mr. Nice Guy) and Peter Chan on getting the production underway. In addition to identifying as many members of the Korean and Thai cast and discussing the co-production aspects, Djeng also shed some light on the historical aspects of the film's story – providing more motivation for Lam's villain – and how the effect of the cutting and reshooting on the film's characterizations and tone. Also included on the Korean cut disc is an image gallery (3:22) and "Risen Again" (29:03), an interview with Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns who goes into more detail about the Woo's unhappiness at Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest and that he had actually been working at Cinema City in comedies before the production of Sunset Warriors which was independently-produced under the umbrella of Golden Harvest, and that it was actually on offshoot of Cinema City where he was able to get A Better Tomorrow underway. Rayns also makes the connection between Woo's assistant director work for Shaw Brothers and specifically Chang Cheh's Blood Brothers on the direction of his own "heroic bloodshed" movies, touching upon the more veiled homoeroticism of Woo's male bonding and sacrifice over Cheng Cheh's as well as likening the Buddhist inconography of Sunset Warriors to the Catholic imagery of The Killer. He also compares the two cuts of the film and the effect of the changes, as well as Golden Harvest's attempt to link their retitled release of the film to A Better Tomorrow which had been playing in theaters for two months before and after the one week release of "Heroes Shed No Tears".  The Hong Kong cut is accompanied by an audio commentary by Asian Cinema expert Brandon Bentley in which he describes the film as a "necessary evil" in Woo's filmography, touching upn the differences between the shelved 1984 version and the 1986 release version, the Korean and French cast members, and positing a "let's get it over with" mentality in Woo's approach to the film as he attempted to finish off his Golden Harvest contract. Also quite informative is "A Tale of Two Cuts" (14:32) in which Bentley examines not the Hong Kong cut and the export version, but the Hong Kong cut and the workprint version as released on South Korean cassette. Bentley notes that not only was some of the character motivation altered by recutting – the wounded colonel actually got an up close view of Ho-geol after losing his eye in the workprint whereas we have to guess that he got a quick look at him through the rifles scope before it was pierced by Ho-geol's bullet in the finished version – some of the replacement scenes not involving sex were included because Golden Harvest though they needed to ease audiences into Woo's transition from comedy to action. There is also an interview with actor Eddy Ko (19:38), previously included on the Film Movement edition, in which he discusses his career before the film, his stunt training at Shaw Brothers, his first acting roles, working with an international cast and crew on location, the rumor that the local crew used live rounds because they were faster to set up than squibs, and the injuries he sustained on the shoot. The disc also includes the film's English export trailer (1:31) and the Hong Kong theatrical trailer (4:07). 
Packaging
The first pressing includes a limited edition rigid slipcase designed by Sean Longmore, a double-sided foldout poster, and an illustrated booklet with an essay by Matthew Edwards - the 2020 edition featured a booklet by James Oliver - not supplied for review.
Overall
Long begrudgingly-acknowledged as John Woo's first modern "heroic bloodshed" film due to its wide availability in a severely-compromised cut disowned by the director, "Heroes Shed No Tears" finds new life under its original, superior cut Sunset Warriors.
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