This movie was released to the movie theatres right before the 1996 Lunar New Year and remained in the movie theatres for 3 months, almost unheard of in HK. Whether you like the movie or not, the fact is that this movie spawned dozens of sequels and copycat movies, so you could say that this was a watershed movie similar to movies such as A Better Tomorrow. (I didn't say that the movie was as good as ABT though).

So what made this movie so popular? I'm not sure, I wasn't in HK in 1996. Certainly there have been lots of movies dealing with triads in the past. Also, Y&D was devoid of any so-called 'big name' actors. But from a movie standpoint, it combines elements of comedy, a decent storyline that hits home with everyday Hong Kong, good acting, especially from the two 'dai lo' characters, bad guy Ugly Kwan (Francis Ng) and Brother Bee (in real life a former triad member, Frankie Ng), an energistic set of relatively new faces, plus the traditional characteristics found in triad movies - brotherhood, loyalty, sex, revenge, etc., all elements in a hit movie. Perhaps it was the manga-like appearance of the movie or the cinematography that made it popular as well.

I wish there would be a better DVD out with more extras, if only to pay this movie its respect. But the movie itself though not critically acclaimed, is quite interesting to watch.

Missing Subtitles:

At the very beginning of the movie, the background caption reads:

In 1956, the Shek Kip Mei area of Hong Kong has a big fire (actually more like an inferno) and much of it is destroyed. The Hong Kong government, in order to resettle the thousands of underprivileged people who lived in the Shek Kip Mei area, built a lot of public housing. During this period, a big baby boom also occured. As such, thousands of these people lived in this housing, which was very narrow and small for families. During this period many of the household members were out to make a buck, so many of the younger generation had no one looking after them. The sports courts (where kids played soccer and basketball) were primarily the outlet where youngsters went. However, this was also the area where the 'goo wak jai' (the traid rascals) hung out doing their recruiting activities as well. Then the movie forwards to 1985.

There is also a manga portrait of each of the 5 main Hung Hing 'goo wak jai' in the movie with background information only in Chinese. All are Hung Hing members:

- Chan Ho Nam (Ekin Cheng) is 24 years old and likes to lead by example
- Chicken (Jordan Chan) is 23 years old and his favorite activity is to have sex with many partners
- Pou Pan (Jerry Lamb) age not given, is the chubby one, is the weak one and afraid of things
- Chow Pan (Jason Chu) is 22 years old and is the brother of Pou Pan, very quiet
- Dai Tin Yee (Michael Tse) is 23 years old, active and likes to box.

After Chan Ho Nam gets his formal punishment and beating for supposedly sleeping with Chicken's girl, the caption reads:

After the big Hung Hing meeting over the punishment, Chan Ho Nam quits Hing Hung and opens up a bar in Sai Kung. He changes his name as well. Then the movie forwards to 10 months later.