The Story of Woo Viet (1981, aka "The God of Killers")
literal translation: Woo Yuet's Story
cast: Chow Yun-fat, Cora Miao, Cherie Chung, Lo Leih, Gam Biu, and Cheung Hung-cheong
director: Ann Hui

Chow Yun-fat portrays a half Chinese/half Vietnamese ex-ARVN solider who has left crumbling South Vietnam for the shores of Hong Kong. His dreams of happiness and peace are shattered when he mixes with triads and finds himself in a seedy section of Chinatown in The Philippines. By the end of the film, it is as gritty as any mob movie this side of the U.S.

Though the film screams "exploitation vehicle" at every turn, it is just enough to keep you entertained. Though I warn you, this film is not for the depressed. There is a particular scene where a little boy is bound & gagged and shot point-blank in the head. That is usually something I prefer not viewing. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the film, despite some of its faults.

Another thing to note here is that I picked this film up as "God of Killers" which was released by Arena Home Video (who are mass producing some of Chow's forgettable works) earlier this year. To my amazement the film was subtitled, despite the first/last words were cut off from every sentence! In addition, the transfer is pretty bad. The picture quality is fairly dark and it often makes the film look about 20 years older than what it really is.

The best thing for star Chow Yun-fat, is that this is one of the first roles that helped him slowly peel off his soap opera persona, that he was desperately trying to shed. Five years later Chow would land a role in the critically hailed John Woo film "A Better Tomorrow," as well as snatch the Best Actor for his part in that film.

Overall "The Story of Woo Viet" is par for Ann Hui's course.