From Riches to Rags

Ricky and Fatso are friends in need. They are in dire need of money since they are only paid slave wages at the bottling factory. However, they become millionaires overnight after buying a winning lottery ticket. During one of their swingin' nights on the town, Ricky is suddenly attacked by an upset stomach; and in no time, a quack doctor diagnoses the seizure as terminal cancer. Ricky seriously considers suicide. But he is appalled by the drawbacks inherent in the available methods of doing himself in--primarily the pain! It is on a rooftop from which he is supposed to make a plunge that he saves a poor man from suicide by giving the latter all the money he has. In gratitude, the newly rich man promises to hire a killer to finish off his suffering benefactor...

Directed by John Woo, From Riches to Rags leans on a strong ensemble — Ricky Hui Koon-Ying, Johnny Koo Kwok-Wah, JoJo Chan Kei-Kei — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about action titles of 1980.