| The film was orginally shot in 1983; Golden Harvest didn't like Woo's cut (and it was thought to be too violent), so it was shelved until 1986.
Chung's relationship to his son, and some of the other story elements, are derived from a Japanese "manga" (comic book) and film series called Lone Wolf and Cub.
Even though he disavowed it at first (mostly due to Golden Harvest's re-editing), John Woo calls Heroes his first "real" film. He also enjoyed his first international shooting experience; Woo thought the Thai crew was very professional and willing to partake of dangerous stunts even the noted Hong Kong stuntmen would not tackle.
The drug/sex scene was imposed on Woo by the studio to give the movie more "production value" for sale to foreign territories. Most non-Hong Kong versions run about 82 to 84 minutes, with most of the major cuts coming not in the violence, but expository scenes such as those between Chung and his sister-in-law. |
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