Sunset Warriors / Heroes Shed No Tears: Limited Edition – 88 Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Hong Kong, 1984
Director: John Woo
Writers: Peter Ho-Sun Chan, Leung-Chun Chiu, John Woo
Cast: Eddy Ko, Lam Ching-ying, Philippe Loffredo, Cécile Le Bailly, Yuet-Sang Chin, Kam Kong Chow, Chau Sang Lau, Hye-suk Lee

Release Date: June 23rd, 2025
Approximate Running Times: 97 Minutes 52 Seconds (Sunset Warriors), 88 Minutes 24 Seconds (Heroes Shed No Tears)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Sunset Warriors), 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Heroes Shed No Tears)
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Korean (Sunset Warriors), LPCM Mono Cantonese (Both Films), LPCM Mono English (Sunset Warriors), DTS-HD 5.1 Remixed Cantonese (Heroes Shed No Tears), DTS-HD 5.1 Remixed English (Heroes Shed No Tears)
Subtitles: English (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region B
Retail Price: £20.00 (UK)

"An overlooked classic from an action master! Made by John Woo just before the game-changing A Better Tomorrow, Sunset Warriors was hacked about by the studio and eventually released as Heroes Shed No Tears. For years, Woo’s original cut has been a holy grail for action fans. Now – finally – you can see it for yourself. An explosive story of mercenaries battling drug lords, Sunset Warriors is a war movie such as only John Woo could make. Now restored to the director’s original vision, it can stand alongside The Killer and Bullet in the Head as one of his essential films." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3/5 (Sunset Warriors), 4.5/5 (Heroes Shed No Tears - 88 Minute Version, Heroes Shed No Tears - International Cut)

Here’s the information given about Sunset Warriors' transfer, "2K Remaster from a newly discovered print element in 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio."

Sunset Warriors comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 35.4 GB

Feature: 27.6 GB

Looking at the screenshots for the two versions, you can see that Sunset Warriors has an overprocessed look.

Here’s the information given about Heroes Shed No Tears' transfer, "2K Remaster of the Original 35mm Negatives in 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio."

Heroes Shed No Tears comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45 GB

Feature: 23.5 GB (88 Minute Version), 16.1 GB (International Cut)

This is the same disc that 88 Films released in 2020. The source used for this transfer looks excellent. Color saturation, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and grain remains intact.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 Remixed Cantonese - Heroes Shed No Tears, DTS-HD 5.1 Remixed English - Heroes Shed No Tears), 4.25.5 (LPCM Mono Cantonese - Heroes Shed No Tears), 4/5 (LPCM Mono Korean - Sunset Warriors, LPCM Mono Cantonese - Sunset Warriors, LPCM Mono English - Sunset Warriors)

Sunset Warriors comes with three audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Korean, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese, and a LPCM mono mix in English. Though these three audio tracks are comparable, there is a shift in quality when watching in Cantonese or English, and they switch to Korean. That said, all of the audio tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced. That said, these audio tracks get the job done, despite being limited range-wise. Included are removable English subtitles for the Korean language track, removable English subtitles for the Cantonese language track, and the English language track has removable English subtitles for the Korean dialog and text.

Heroes Shed No Tears comes with three audio options, a LPCM mono mix in Cantonese, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Cantonese, and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English. All three audio mixes sound great. Dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented. Another strength of these mixes is how robust the action sequences sound, especially on the 5.1 tracks. Included with this release are removable English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras on the disc with Sunset Warriors include an image gallery with music from the film playing in the background (20 images), an interview with Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns (29 minutes 3 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Asian cinema expert Frank Djeng.

Extras on the disc with Heroes Shed No Tears include a English language trailer (1 minute 31 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a Cantonese language trailer (4 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital mono Cantonese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with actor Eddy Ko (19 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Chinese with removable English subtitles), Asian cinema expert Brandon Bentley examines the difference between the film we know today and John Woo’s original workprint in a featurette titled A Tale of Two Cuts (14 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Heroes Shed No Tears the International cut with classic English dub (85 minutes 4 seconds, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Brandon Bentley.

Other extras include reversible cover art, a double-sided fold-out poster, a rigid slipcase, and a 36-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled The Sunset Warriors: The Yingxiong Pian Films and a Prelude to Greatness written by Mathew Edwards, and archival images: stills, posters, and lobby cards.

Summary:

Though John Woo had been directing for over a decade by the time that he had his breakout film, A Better Tomorrow, most of his films up to that point were either comedies or martial arts films. The only exception is Heroes Shed No Tears, a film he originally completed in 1984 but was only released two years later because of the success of A Better Tomorrow. That said, Heroes Shed No Tears has many elements that would serve as the foundation for the heroic bloodshed films for which John Woo is most known.

Besides heroic bloodshed films, another influence of Heroes Shed No Tears is the Vietnam War and mercenary films that proliferated in 1980s action cinema in the USA. The narrative revolves around mercenaries who go to the Golden Triangle to capture a drug baron and their frantic escape from that region. Along the way, they are faced with a series of attacks from those who want to free the drug baron.

From its opening moments, Heroes Shed No Tears establishes an intense atmosphere that holds for most of its narrative. With the only break in intensity occurring about an hour in, things take a weird tonal shift towards the erotic. That said, there are also a few moments where humor comes into play, like a scene where one character plays dead after robbing corpses and another scene where another character gambles in the middle of nowhere in a deadly game that increases his chances of death.

The performances are great, especially Eddy Ko (The Bride with White Hair) in the role of Chan Chung, the leader of the mercenaries. He does a great job of fulfilling the role of protector. His wife and son are with him on this dangerous journey on which he saves another woman’s life. Another performance of note is that of Lam Ching-ying (Mr. Vampire) in the role of a ruthless Vietnamese colonel who is hell-bent on eliminating the mercenaries and freeing the drug baron.

From a production standpoint, Heroes Shed No Tears has way more positives than negatives. Most notably when it comes to the latter, the tonal shifts. Fortunately, the narrative as a whole is strong enough to overcome this shortcoming. And when it comes to the action sequences, John Woo once again delivers explosive set pieces. Ultimately, Heroes Shed No Tears is a well-made action film that foreshadows where John Woo was heading as a filmmaker.

Watching Sunset Warriors, it is like seeing this film for the first time. Besides adding around nine minutes of footage, there are other changes that greatly enhance the end product, notably the editing and how things flow smoother. That said, everything that has been added back in is essential, especially when it comes to adding depth by further fleshing out the characters.

Despite the shortcomings of Sunset Warriors transfer, I still recommend this release, since it is the best way to currently watch John Woo’s vision of the film.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer