Director: John Woo
Screenplay by: John Woo, Peter Ho-Sun Chan, Chiu Leung-chun
Starring: Eddy Ko, Lam Ching-ying, Ma Ying-chun, Philippe Loffredo, Cécile Le Bailly, Li Hai-shu
Country: Hong Kong
Running Time: 93 min
Year: 1984/1986
John Woo is generally considered to be one of the greatest action directors in Hong Kong cinema, or possibly even the world. It’s difficult to argue otherwise when he’s got films like The Killer, Hard Boiled and Bullet to the Head under his belt. However, it took a decade of slogging through a raft of programmers for Golden Harvest, including a number of comedies and kung-fu movies, before he hit big with A Better Tomorrow.
There’s one film that helped bridge the gap between those portions of Woo’s career but, due to terrible handling by Golden Harvest, it didn’t make the impact it possibly could have.
That film was Sunset Warriors. Tired of working on comedies, which didn’t suit his talents, Woo convinced Golden Harvest to let him make this present-day action movie. He headed over to Thailand, and production began.
However, once Woo came back with the finished product, the studio execs weren’t happy. They wanted a film with more sex and gambling (which was big in movies at the time in Hong Kong). The film was shelved, and Woo was fired by Golden Harvest.
However, after the director found great success a couple of years later with A Better Tomorrow, the studio thought that perhaps they could still make some money out of Sunset Warriors. They dug it out of the vaults, recut it and added some new scenes, directed by someone else (it’s not clear whether this was before it was shelved or just before it was released) and then released the film in this new form as Heroes Shed No Tears (a.k.a. Ying xiong wu lei).
This butchered version didn’t make much of an impact at the box office and was largely forgotten, other than by diehard Woo fans. The director himself essentially disowned it, giving it no mention in his autobiography and rarely, if ever, discussing it in any interviews.
However, the story doesn’t end there. At some point along the line, it was discovered that Woo’s original Sunset Warriors cut of the film, that Golden Harvest didn’t like, was actually released in South Korea. You see, some of the financing came from the country, and they must have held some particular rights over it. Presumably, they didn’t want to lose their investment and released the film as soon as it was finished, regardless of what Golden Harvest thought.
The Sunset Warriors cut of the film even made it onto VHS in South Korea, and this has become a sort of holy grail for Woo fans over the years. When Heroes Shed No Tears was released on Blu-ray by 88 Films in 2020, a lot of time was dedicated to describing the differences between the cuts in a commentary and featurette. The latter extra even allowed a glimpse at these in fuzzy VHS form.
But wait, the story’s not over. A further twist in the tale occurred more recently. 88 Films have somehow got their hands on a pristine print of the South Korean Sunset Warriors cut and now they’re releasing it alongside their previous release, in a 2-disc set.
I eagerly got hold of a copy, and my thoughts follow.
Set in the infamous Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia, Heroes Shed No Tears follows a band of Chinese mercenaries, led by the stoic Chan Chung (Eddy Ko), who are hired by the Thai government. Their mission is to infiltrate the heavily guarded stronghold of a powerful drug lord responsible for a vast portion of the world’s illicit drug trade and bring him back to face justice.
While they succeed in capturing the drug lord, the mercenaries find themselves in a desperate fight for survival. They are relentlessly pursued by the kingpin’s heavily armed forces, who are determined to free their leader. Adding to their peril, a ruthless and vengeful Vietnamese colonel (Lam Ching-ying), nursing a personal grudge against Chung, also sets his sights on the group, utilising his own soldiers and even local tribesmen to track them through the unforgiving jungle.
As their numbers dwindle in the face of overwhelming odds and brutal encounters, the film becomes a relentless chase, showcasing intense gun battles, explosions, and raw hand-to-hand combat. Chung also grapples with the need to protect his young son and the sister of his late wife, who become caught in the crossfire.
I watched the old Heroes Shed No Tears cut in preparation for this review and I enjoyed it a great deal, but often for the wrong reasons. I’ve got a soft spot for all-guns-blazing ‘exploding hut’ action movies like this, which helps, and there’s a huge amount of brutal action in the film. However, it’s all over the place at times, with lashings of misplaced comedy and a pair of random sex scenes.
Well, if those latter issues were what bothered you about Heroes Shed No Tears, you’re going to be pleased to hear that practically all of those scenes were among the reshoots and don’t appear in Sunset Warriors.
There’s still a little humour here and there, but Woo’s original cut is far more cohesive and focused. Gone is the lengthy, nonsensical gambling scene and the weird night of sex at the American GI’s base. All of these scenes ground the film to a halt before, but now it sails on at a relentless pace.
It’s not all wall-to-wall action though. Sunset Warriors also spends more time on developing the film’s characters. The relationship between Chung and his son, as well as his sister-in-law, is strengthened. The previously dispensable other mercenaries are fleshed out a little too.
Granted, the film still doesn’t have the polish of Woo’s more famous work, but this was definitely a step in that direction. It has that ‘heroic bloodshed’ feel, and you get the heightened drama and theme of brotherhood common in the director’s later work.
Whilst not quite as stylish as Woo’s more famous action films either, good use is made of the Thai locations and there’s a little slow motion, tonnes of explosions and plenty of squibs.
The cast are solid too. Eddy Ko makes a good heroic lead, Lam Ching-ying is wonderfully evil as our chief villain, and the little kid in the film is actually pretty decent. His character could easily have been very annoying, but the young lad pulls it off, showing emotion and grit in equal measure.
So, whilst not as classy as, say, The Killer, Heroes Shed No Tears/Sunset Warriors is a hell of a good time and there’s no doubt that Woo’s original cut is far superior to what was available before.
Heroes Shed No Tears: 
Sunset Warriors:
Sunset Warriors/Heroes Shed No Tears is out on 23rd June on region B Blu-Ray, released by 88 Films (pre-order it here). I thought the previous release of Heroes Shed No Tears looked great but, comparing stills from that with those of the new Sunset Warriors cut, 88 Films have improved this quite noticeably. The blacks are much deeper, making for a crisper image with a higher contrast. It means the dark scenes are very dark, but not enough to lose all detail. Even more noticeable is the fact that the Sunset Warriors cut has a slightly different aspect ratio, filling the entire 16:9 screen, providing a little more detail at the top and bottom. I’ve used two screen grabs below to demonstrate the difference (though these have been compressed). The rest of the images in my review are all from the Sunset Warriors cut.
88 Films’ older Heroes Shed No Tears disc.
88 Films new Sunset Warriors disc.
For audio, you get various options, as listed below. As you’ll see, on Sunset Warriors, if you watch in Cantonese or English, any new material remains in Korean, unfortunately. I watched the film in Cantonese and, though you can tell the difference in voice actors, I didn’t find it too much of a distraction, as I don’t speak either language. I imagine it might be more off-putting when watching the English dub, but that can’t be helped. The Korean track might be preferable for those who don’t like the idea of the language changing at regular intervals.
LIMITED EDITION RELEASE DETAILS
INCLUDES ILLUSTRATED BOOKLET BY MATTHEW EDWARDS FEATURING RARE STILLS, POSTERS, LOBBY CARDS AND MORE
PLUS LIMITED EDITION RIGID SLIPCASE WITH ART BY SEAN LONGMORE
REVERSIBLE SLEEVE FEATURING ORIGINAL HK ART & DOUBLE-SIDED FOLD-OUT POSTER
SPECIAL FEATURES – Disc 1:
– John Woo’s “Sunset Warriors” Version of the film, originally released only in Korea
2K Remaster from a newly discovered print element in 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
– Korean Mono Soundtrack with newly translated English Subtitles
– Cantonese Mono Soundtrack with newly translated English Subtitles and Korean Inserts for undubbed sections
– English Mono Soundtrack with subtitled Korean Inserts for undubbed sections
– Audio Commentary by Asian Cinema expert Frank Djeng
– An Interview with renowned Asian Cinema expert, Tony Rayns
– Image Gallery
SPECIAL FEATURES – Disc 2:
– “Heroes Shed No Tears” Version of the film released Worldwide
– 2K Remaster of the Original 35mm Negatives in 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
– Includes both the International Cut with [85 Mins approx] and Hong Kong Cut [88 Mins] of the film
– Original Cantonese Mono with improved English Subtitles
– Remixed Cantonese DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtracks with improved English Subtitles
– Remixed English DTS-HD MA 5.1 dub • Classic English Dub on the International Cut
– Audio Commentary by Asian Cinema expert Brandon Bentley
– A Tale of Two Cuts: A comparison between the film we know today and John Woo’s original workprint
– Interview with Actor Eddy Ko
– English Trailer
– Chinese Trailer
Please note, I wasn’t sent disc 2 of this new set to review, but I’m assuming the disc is the same as the old 88 Films release of Heroes Shed No Tears, as all the extras and tech specs seem to be identical in the press blurb.
If it is the same disc, as I’m guessing, that’s not a problem, as it was a great release. They’ve just gone and made it even better with the addition of the newly discovered print of the Korean cut and another couple of extras.
Brandon Bentley’s commentary, which was available on the earlier release, is excellent. He discusses the differences between the cuts and ponders why certain decisions might have been made. He also talks about the backgrounds of some of the people involved in making the film.
He also compiles a handy piece showing the differences between the cuts. This was made before the Korean print was discovered, so the clips come from an old VHS copy.
Also coming from the old release is an interview with Eddy Ko. He talks about his involvement with the film. He’s honest about his feelings with regards to the reshot and re-edited version.
Frank Djeng’s new commentary covers the changes made in the film again, but also delves into the careers of the cast and crew. It’s a strong track, as usual.
Tony Rayns talks about John Woo’s career leading up to the eventual release of Heroes Shed No Tears. He also looks at the two cuts of the film, but his information on Woo’s career is more detailed than in the other pieces here, so it’s a valuable addition.
I didn’t receive a copy of the booklet to comment on that.
So, whilst a lot of the extras cover similar ground, each contributor usually finds enough different angles to make their pieces worthwhile. Plus, the film did have an unusual story behind it, so it deserves an in-depth look. As such, the release is excellent and certainly worth double-dipping on if you have the previous release. Just bear in mind that you’ll end up owning two copies of that old disc. eBay’s going to have a slew of those coming up on auction soon, I predict!
Disc/package:
