The Story of Woo Viet (1981) User Reviews

A violent drama without fancy gun-play.

[zorzalcg · 8/10 · 27 June 2015]

It's a redundancy to say it. Chow Yun Fat is one of icons of the Hong Kong Cinema before the Handover (the accorded devolution of the famous Britannic colony to the Chinese people in 1997). He worked intensely in TV and in the silver screen at the early years of the 1980s but the fame seemed to evade him. It was "A better tomorrow" directed by John Woo in 1986 the film that finally did the trick for him. The Story of Woo Viet is a rare film of 1981. There is no fancy gun-play in it, no choreography with guns or with martial arts. It is a harsh movie centered in a Vietnamese refugee (Chow Yun Fat), that after a hazardous escape in a precarious boat full of illegal immigrants from Vietnam, arrives to Hong Kong looking for a chance to reach the United States. But things go awry and during an scale in Manila (Phylipines), a criminal gang kidnaps his newfound girlfriend with the intent of exploiting her as a prostitute. What follows is the desperate intent of Woo Viet to rescue his lover. The two women in the movie are also well known in the Hong Kong Cinema. Cherie Chung Chor Hung plays the love interest of Chow Yun Fat. She also was a relatively obscure actress in 1981. Soon, this situation was to change and Cherie was become one of the brightest stars until her premature retirement in 1991 due to her change of profession (she married and became a full time housewife). The other woman in the story was Cora Miao, an interesting and serious actress who was reunited with Crerie Chung and Chow Yun Fat in the Shaw Brothers film "Women" (1985) and previously, only with the prolific Chow in the drama also produced by the Shaw Brothers, "Love in a Fallen City" (1984). At the helm of the Story of Woo Viet was Ann Hui On Wah a very renowned director in the Honk Kong and Chinese Cinema. Her most recent work was "The Golden Era" (2014) the chronicle of the brief and tragic life of the writer Xiao Hong. In conclusion, the Story of Woo Viet is a good drama. And for fans of the stars working on it is a "must see". Pity, the DVD edition I saw was very old and the source material was poor.

A war refugee struggles to live and keep his morals intact.

[dk9 · 18 March 1999]

A nicely played out drama of a war refugee (Yun Fat) as he yearns to make it to the US. Along the way he befriends a girl who also wants to go to the States. Sparks fly as the plot unfolds and Wu (Yun Fat) is forced to take matters into his own hands. The acting is downright stupendous! When you see Woo yuet dik goo si (1981), pay close attention to Wu's eyes. They sometimes say more than all of the bad subtitles are trying to.

Breaks a New Record...In Boredom!

[doctrnoles · 5 April 2001]

God of Killers was one of the worst movies I have ever seen, and anyone who says it's good is just being obtuse. I liked the great sound effects, such as the "akiiba!" and "jinnkadaa!" yells of the villains, but come on! This movie is an embarrassment to action movies and itself. I kept thinking to myself, "so, what am I, two hours into this movie? Oh, wait, it's more like a minute." Chow, shame on you! I did not like the treatment of the dwarf, it wasn't very funny, and it was uncool. There was more action in the wallpaper in my livingroom, than in this action thriller. It was obvious that this movie had a really low budget, so to compensate they would give ordinary guys extraordinary names; for example, Chow is the God of Killers. See, it makes it fun! I wish that I had watched the movie in front of a moving bus, so then I'd be guaranteed that something thrilling would happen. Rating: 2/10 ( When the wind comes down you will see who rules, Chow!)