Some theatre owners originally expressed concern to producer Hark Tsui about the casting of Yun-Fat Chow. Even though he was popular on TV, most of his films had been flops. Chow's nickname in industry circles for many years was "box-office poison".
The English title, "A Better Tomorrow", is the translated title of the song sung by the two school kids (in Mandarin) in the middle of the movie. It's a New Year's Eve song, usually sung by large groups.