Infernal Affairs
Encyclopedia
Infernal Affairs is a 2002
Hong Kong
crime
-thriller film directed by Andrew Lau
and Alan Mak
. It tells the story of a police officer who infiltrates the triads, and a police officer secretly working for the same gang. The Chinese title means "the non-stop path", a reference to Avici
, the lowest level of hell in Buddhism
. The English title is a word play combining the law enforcement term "internal affairs
" with the adjective infernal
. Due to its commercial and critical success, Infernal Affairs was followed by a prequel, Infernal Affairs II
, and a sequel, Infernal Affairs III
, both released in 2003
, as well as a 2006 American remake
, The Departed
.
Pre-release publicity for Infernal Affairs focused on its star-studded cast (Andy Lau
, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang
, Kelly Chen
and Sammi Cheng
), but it later received critical acclaim for its original plot and its concise and swift storytelling style. The film did exceptionally well in Hong Kong, where it was considered "a box office miracle" and heralded as a revival of Hong Kong cinema which at the time was considered to be direly lacking in creativity.
The film features all the members of the Hong Kong Cantopop
group EO2
, playing triad boss Hon Sam's men. One member of this group subsequently became a lead actor (Osman Hung
).
Miramax Films
acquired the United States distribution rights of this film and gave it a limited U.S. theatrical release in 2004
.
The Infernal Affairs series was then remade by Martin Scorsese
in 2006
as The Departed
, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture
.
was planted by the rival organization to gain an advantage in intelligence
over the other side. The more the moles become involved in their undercover lives, the more issues they have to cope with.
The prologue opens with the introduction of triad boss Hon Sam (Eric Tsang), who sends a number of young gangsters to the police academy as moles, among whom include a young Lau (Edison Chen). Concurrently, a young Chan (Shawn Yue) joins the police force but is expelled from the academy even though he manages to impress Superintendent
Wong Chi-shing and Principal Yip. In reality, Chan has become an undercover agent reporting directly only to Wong and Yip. Over time, Chan experiences great stress from work while Lau quickly rises through the ranks in the police department.
The film begins with a meeting between Chan and Lau in a hi-fi store without either of them knowing the other's identity. Soon after, Chan attends the funeral of Yip, who had died recently, leaving Wong as the only person who can identify Chan as a cop. Wong and his team interrupt a deal between Hon Sam and a Thai cocaine dealer after receiving a tip-off from Chan using Morse code
, but Lau alerted Hon, giving Hon enough time to order his minions to dispose of the cocaine, eliminating solid evidence of the drug deal. After the incident, Wong and Hon are both aware that they each have a mole in within their respective organizations, placing them in a race against time to root out the other mole. Later, Chan sees Hon conversing with Lau at a cinema but does not see Lau's face clearly. He attempts to follow Lau secretly as they leave, but loses his target when his phone rings suddenly at the crucial moment. By this time, both Chan and Lau are struggling with their double identities - Chan starts losing faith in himself as a cop after being a gangster for ten years; Lau becomes more accustomed to the life of a police officer and he wants to erase his criminal background.
When Chan meets Wong again on the same rooftop, Wong intends to pull Chan out of undercover work for fear of his safety. They are unaware that Lau has his subordinate, CIB Inspector B, and his team tracking him. Meanwhile, Hon sends Tsui Wai-keung, Del Piero, and a gang of henchmen to confront them after receiving intel from Lau. Inspector B informs Lau and sends an OCTB squad to save Wong. Chan flees from the building using a crane while Wong sacrifices himself to save Chan by distracting the thugs. Wong is recognized by the gangsters, who beat him up severely before throwing him off the roof. As the police close in, a shootout breaks out, resulting in three gangsters being killed, one of whom is Piero. In the aftermath of the gunfight, the OCTB squad arrives with Lau and Wong's second-in-command, Inspector Cheung, on the scene.
Lau retrieves Wong's cellphone and contacts Chan, with both of them reaching an agreement to foil a drug deal by Hon. The plan succeeds and many of Hon's men are arrested, while Lau betrays Hon and kills him. Everything seems to have returned to normal - Chan can revert to his true identity as a cop, while Lau has erased his criminal connections by eliminating Hon's triad. However, back at the police station, Chan discovers that Lau was the mole and he leaves immediately. Lau, realizing what has happened, erases Chan's records as a cop from the police database. Chan spends an evening with his therapist Lee (Kelly Chen), whom he was falling in love with. He sends to Lau a compact disc with a recording that Hon kept between himself and Lau, but the disc is inadvertently intercepted by Lau's girlfriend Mary (Sammi Cheng).
Chan and Lau meet on the same rooftop where Wong was killed earlier. Chan disarms Lau without resistance and holds a gun to Lau's head, as a rebuke to Lau's plea for forgiveness and request to remain as a cop. Inspector B arrives on the scene shortly and orders Chan to release Lau. Chan enters an elevator backwards while holding Lau as a hostage at gunpoint, but is suddenly shot in the head by Inspector B when he moved his head from behind Lau. Inspector B then reveals that he is also actually a mole planted by Hon. As they take the elevator down to the lobby, Lau kills B, most likely out of his desire to eradicate traces of his past and become a "good guy" cop and end the hunt for a mole.
The original ending climaxes with Lau identifying himself to the police as one of them. Dr. Lee Sum-yee discovers Yip's records at the academy which reveals Chan as the undercover officer; B is given the blame of the mole and the case is closed. Lau salutes Chan at his funeral, with Cheung and Lee present as well. A flashback reaffirms the point that Lau wished he had taken a different route in life. In Mainland China, an alternate ending for the film was created. In this ending, Lau exits the elevator and is informed by Cheung that the police have found evidence that he was a mole. Lau hands them his badge and is arrested without protest. The sequel, Infernal Affairs III
, uses the original ending instead of the alternate one.
, beating Zhang Yimou
's Hero
for the Best Film award. It was ranked #30 in Empire
magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
9th Annual Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
40th Annual Golden Horse Awards
8th Annual Golden Bauhinia Awards
acquired the rights for a Hollywood remake, titled The Departed
, which was directed by Martin Scorsese
, and starred Leonardo DiCaprio
, Matt Damon
, Jack Nicholson
, and Mark Wahlberg
, set in Boston
, Massachusetts
. The Departed was released on 6 October 2006 and went to critical acclaim and won the Academy Award for Best Picture
.
Andy Lau, Eric Tsang and Jacky Cheung
parodied the movie theatre scene to promote the Hong Kong Film Awards
. Lau and Tsang, in their respective characters, go through the scene where they meet to gather info on the undercover cop amongst Hon Sam's gang. Lau Kin-ming asks Hon "why do we always meet in a movie theatre?" to which Hon answers "It's quiet. No one comes to movies". Jacky Cheung comes out from the shadows behind them and says "I don't know...quite a few people watch movies" and we see a slew of Hong Kong celebrities watching various clips of Hong Kong films on the screen. Originally Tony Leung was going to appear but scheduling conflicts led to the recasting.
Infernal Affairs was incorrectly called "a Japanese film" during the 79th Academy Awards
, at which The Departed won four Oscars. No known apologies has been made on behalf of Warner Brothers or Academy Awards to Media Asia
.
The 2003 TVB
spoof celebrating the Chinese New Year
called Mo Ba To (吐氣羊眉賀新春之無霸道) and the 2004 comedy film Love is a many stupid thing (精裝追女仔2004) by Wong Jing
were rewritings based on the plot of the film.
In Taiwan SHODA (劉裕銘) and a secondary school student Blanka (布蘭卡) cut and rearranged the original film and inserted new sound tracks to produce their videos Infernal Affairs CD pro2 and Infernal Affairs iPod on the web. The videos had many views and both producers removed their videos after receiving cease and desist
letters from the Group Power Workshop Limited (群體工作室), the Taiwan distributor of the film.
Media Asia released a limited edition of 8 DVD set of the Infernal Affairs trilogy in an Ultimate Collectible Boxset (無間道終極珍藏DVD系列(8DVD套裝)) on 20 December 2004. Features included an online game and two Chinese fictional novels of the film series by Lee Muk-Tung (李牧童), titled 無間道I+II小說 ISBN 9626722592 and 無間道III終極無間小說 ISBN 9626722711.
The hi-fi shop scene was later recreated with additions of excerpts of the film to encourage businesses to join the Quality Tourism Services Scheme
in Hong Kong.
The Korean film City of Damnation
is a remake.
Hong Kong films of 2002
A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 2002:.-2002:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2002 at...
Hong Kong
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
crime
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
-thriller film directed by Andrew Lau
Andrew Lau
Andrew Lau Wai-Keung is a Hong Kong cinematographer and filmmaker. Lau began his career in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as a cinematographer to filmmakers such as Ringo Lam, Wong Jing and Wong Kar-wai. In the 1990s, Lau decided to have more creative freedom as a cinematographer by becoming a film...
and Alan Mak
Alan Mak
Alan Mak Siu-Fai , born on 1 January 1968 in Hong Kong, is a writer, director, actor and producer.-Biography:In 1986, Mak studied at the School of Drama in the Hong Kong Academy for Performance Arts. Upon graduation in 1990, he started his movie career....
. It tells the story of a police officer who infiltrates the triads, and a police officer secretly working for the same gang. The Chinese title means "the non-stop path", a reference to Avici
Avici
In Buddhism, ' is the lowest level of the Naraka or "hell" realm, into which the dead who have committed grave misdeeds may be reborn...
, the lowest level of hell in Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. The English title is a word play combining the law enforcement term "internal affairs
Internal affairs (law enforcement)
The internal affairs division of a law enforcement agency investigates incidents and plausible suspicions of lawbreaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force...
" with the adjective infernal
Infernal
Infernal may refer to:* pertaining to hell* Infernal , a Danish dance/club band* Infernal , a Swedish black metal band* Infernal , a 2005 novel by F...
. Due to its commercial and critical success, Infernal Affairs was followed by a prequel, Infernal Affairs II
Infernal Affairs II
Infernal Affairs II is a 2003 Hong Kong crime-thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak.It is a prequel to the 2002 film Infernal Affairs. Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, and Chapman To reprise their roles from the original film alongside new cast members Carina Lau,...
, and a sequel, Infernal Affairs III
Infernal Affairs III
Infernal Affairs III is a 2003 Hong Kong crime thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is the third installment in the Infernal Affairs film series, and is both a sequel and a semi-prequel to the original film, as it intercuts events before and after the events in the first film...
, both released in 2003
Hong Kong films of 2003
A list of films produced in Hong Kong in 2003:.-2003:-External links:* * Hong Kong films of 2003 at...
, as well as a 2006 American remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
, The Departed
The Departed
The Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
.
Pre-release publicity for Infernal Affairs focused on its star-studded cast (Andy Lau
Andy Lau
Andy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...
, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang
Eric Tsang
Eric Tsang Chi-wai , MH is a prolific Hong Kong actor, film director, film producer and television host best known for hosting the Super Trio series on TVB over the course of 10 years.-Biography:Due to his popularity, he is often the MC in events organized by TVB, and is nicknamed "the Prize Master"...
, Kelly Chen
Kelly Chen
Kelly Chen is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. Kelly has also been known as a diva in Asia. She has a great success in Asia Entertainment industry with nearly 20 million record sales of 38 albums...
and Sammi Cheng
Sammi Cheng
Sammi Cheng Sau-Man is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. Having enjoyed much success in the Hong Kong music industry, Sammi has been known as a diva and has been one of the most successful female singer in Hong Kong since the 1990s. Her albums have sold more than 25 million copies through...
), but it later received critical acclaim for its original plot and its concise and swift storytelling style. The film did exceptionally well in Hong Kong, where it was considered "a box office miracle" and heralded as a revival of Hong Kong cinema which at the time was considered to be direly lacking in creativity.
The film features all the members of the Hong Kong Cantopop
Cantopop
Cantopop is a colloquialism for "Cantonese popular music". It is sometimes referred to as HK-pop, short for "Hong Kong popular music". It is categorized as a subgenre of Chinese popular music within C-pop...
group EO2
EO2
EO2 is a Cantopop dance group in Hong Kong. The name comes from its 4 members with 2 beginning with "E", and 2 beginning with "O". The members are Eric Tse , Eddie Pang , Osman Hung and Otto Wong ....
, playing triad boss Hon Sam's men. One member of this group subsequently became a lead actor (Osman Hung
Osman Hung
Osman Hung Chi-Kit is a Hong Kong Chinese film and television actor, and a singer/songwriter of the popular Cantopop group EO2 in Hong Kong.-Life and career:...
).
Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
acquired the United States distribution rights of this film and gave it a limited U.S. theatrical release in 2004
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
.
The Infernal Affairs series was then remade by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
in 2006
2006 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
as The Departed
The Departed
The Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
.
Plot
Infernal Affairs focuses on a police officer named Chan Wing-yan (Tony Leung), who goes undercover into a triad, and triad member Lau Kin-ming (Andy Lau), who infiltrates the police department. Each moleMole (espionage)
A mole is a spy who works for an enemy nation, but whose loyalty ostensibly lies with his own nation's government. In some usage, a mole differs from a defector in that a mole is a spy before gaining access to classified information, while a defector becomes a spy only after gaining access...
was planted by the rival organization to gain an advantage in intelligence
Criminal intelligence
Criminal Intelligence is information compiled, analyzed, and/or disseminated in an effort to anticipate, prevent, or monitor criminal activity....
over the other side. The more the moles become involved in their undercover lives, the more issues they have to cope with.
The prologue opens with the introduction of triad boss Hon Sam (Eric Tsang), who sends a number of young gangsters to the police academy as moles, among whom include a young Lau (Edison Chen). Concurrently, a young Chan (Shawn Yue) joins the police force but is expelled from the academy even though he manages to impress Superintendent
Superintendent (police)
Superintendent , often shortened to "super", is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries the full version is superintendent of police...
Wong Chi-shing and Principal Yip. In reality, Chan has become an undercover agent reporting directly only to Wong and Yip. Over time, Chan experiences great stress from work while Lau quickly rises through the ranks in the police department.
The film begins with a meeting between Chan and Lau in a hi-fi store without either of them knowing the other's identity. Soon after, Chan attends the funeral of Yip, who had died recently, leaving Wong as the only person who can identify Chan as a cop. Wong and his team interrupt a deal between Hon Sam and a Thai cocaine dealer after receiving a tip-off from Chan using Morse code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
, but Lau alerted Hon, giving Hon enough time to order his minions to dispose of the cocaine, eliminating solid evidence of the drug deal. After the incident, Wong and Hon are both aware that they each have a mole in within their respective organizations, placing them in a race against time to root out the other mole. Later, Chan sees Hon conversing with Lau at a cinema but does not see Lau's face clearly. He attempts to follow Lau secretly as they leave, but loses his target when his phone rings suddenly at the crucial moment. By this time, both Chan and Lau are struggling with their double identities - Chan starts losing faith in himself as a cop after being a gangster for ten years; Lau becomes more accustomed to the life of a police officer and he wants to erase his criminal background.
When Chan meets Wong again on the same rooftop, Wong intends to pull Chan out of undercover work for fear of his safety. They are unaware that Lau has his subordinate, CIB Inspector B, and his team tracking him. Meanwhile, Hon sends Tsui Wai-keung, Del Piero, and a gang of henchmen to confront them after receiving intel from Lau. Inspector B informs Lau and sends an OCTB squad to save Wong. Chan flees from the building using a crane while Wong sacrifices himself to save Chan by distracting the thugs. Wong is recognized by the gangsters, who beat him up severely before throwing him off the roof. As the police close in, a shootout breaks out, resulting in three gangsters being killed, one of whom is Piero. In the aftermath of the gunfight, the OCTB squad arrives with Lau and Wong's second-in-command, Inspector Cheung, on the scene.
Lau retrieves Wong's cellphone and contacts Chan, with both of them reaching an agreement to foil a drug deal by Hon. The plan succeeds and many of Hon's men are arrested, while Lau betrays Hon and kills him. Everything seems to have returned to normal - Chan can revert to his true identity as a cop, while Lau has erased his criminal connections by eliminating Hon's triad. However, back at the police station, Chan discovers that Lau was the mole and he leaves immediately. Lau, realizing what has happened, erases Chan's records as a cop from the police database. Chan spends an evening with his therapist Lee (Kelly Chen), whom he was falling in love with. He sends to Lau a compact disc with a recording that Hon kept between himself and Lau, but the disc is inadvertently intercepted by Lau's girlfriend Mary (Sammi Cheng).
Chan and Lau meet on the same rooftop where Wong was killed earlier. Chan disarms Lau without resistance and holds a gun to Lau's head, as a rebuke to Lau's plea for forgiveness and request to remain as a cop. Inspector B arrives on the scene shortly and orders Chan to release Lau. Chan enters an elevator backwards while holding Lau as a hostage at gunpoint, but is suddenly shot in the head by Inspector B when he moved his head from behind Lau. Inspector B then reveals that he is also actually a mole planted by Hon. As they take the elevator down to the lobby, Lau kills B, most likely out of his desire to eradicate traces of his past and become a "good guy" cop and end the hunt for a mole.
The original ending climaxes with Lau identifying himself to the police as one of them. Dr. Lee Sum-yee discovers Yip's records at the academy which reveals Chan as the undercover officer; B is given the blame of the mole and the case is closed. Lau salutes Chan at his funeral, with Cheung and Lee present as well. A flashback reaffirms the point that Lau wished he had taken a different route in life. In Mainland China, an alternate ending for the film was created. In this ending, Lau exits the elevator and is informed by Cheung that the police have found evidence that he was a mole. Lau hands them his badge and is arrested without protest. The sequel, Infernal Affairs III
Infernal Affairs III
Infernal Affairs III is a 2003 Hong Kong crime thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is the third installment in the Infernal Affairs film series, and is both a sequel and a semi-prequel to the original film, as it intercuts events before and after the events in the first film...
, uses the original ending instead of the alternate one.
Cast
- Andy LauAndy LauAndy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...
as Senior Inspector Lau Kin-ming , Hon's mole in the police force- Edison ChenEdison ChenEdison Koon-Hei Chen is a Hong Kong film actor, Cantopop singer, Hong Kong hip hop rapper, model, record producer, fashion designer, and a pop icon. Chen is also the founder of CLOT Inc., and the CEO of Clot Media Division Limited...
as young Lau Kin-ming
- Edison Chen
- Tony Leung as Chan Wing-yan , an undercover cop in Hon's triad
- Shawn YueShawn YueShawn Yue is a Hong Kong actor and singer. A former model, he has starred in many films such as Jiang Hu and Infernal Affairs II and has established himself as a recognized face in Hong Kong cinema.- Background :...
as young Chan Wing-yan
- Shawn Yue
- Anthony Wong as Superintendent Wong Chi-shing , Chan's superior
- Eric TsangEric TsangEric Tsang Chi-wai , MH is a prolific Hong Kong actor, film director, film producer and television host best known for hosting the Super Trio series on TVB over the course of 10 years.-Biography:Due to his popularity, he is often the MC in events organized by TVB, and is nicknamed "the Prize Master"...
as Hon Sam , the triad boss - Chapman ToChapman ToChapman To Man-chak is a Hong Kong actor, best known for specializing in comedic roles in films such as Infernal Affairs and Initial D.-Career:To began his acting career in TV soap operas and moved to the big screen in 2000...
as Tsui Wai-keung / "Crazy Keung" ( / ), Hon's henchman - Gordon Lam as Lam Kwok-ping / "Inspector B" ( / B), Lau's subordinate who is actually also a mole in the police force
- Kelly ChenKelly ChenKelly Chen is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. Kelly has also been known as a diva in Asia. She has a great success in Asia Entertainment industry with nearly 20 million record sales of 38 albums...
as Dr. Lee Sum-yee , Chan's therapist - Sammi ChengSammi ChengSammi Cheng Sau-Man is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. Having enjoyed much success in the Hong Kong music industry, Sammi has been known as a diva and has been one of the most successful female singer in Hong Kong since the 1990s. Her albums have sold more than 25 million copies through...
as Mary, Lau's girlfriend - Berg Ng as Senior Inspector Cheung (Sir)
- Wan Chi-keungWan Chi KeungWan Chi Keung was a soccer player, actor and businessman from Hong Kong.Known as "Asia's top striker" Wan was a key player for the Hong Kong national football team in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for South China AA and Seiko in the Hong Kong First Division League. After retirement, he became an...
as Officer Leung (Sir), the police chief - Dion LamDion LamDion Lam Dik-On is a Hong Kong action choreographer and actor.- Filmography :*The Hangman *Energetic 21 *Crazy Blood *Mistaken Identity *The Killer *Ghost Ballroom *Angel Enforcers...
as Del Piero , Hon's henchman - Elva HsiaoElva HsiaoElva Hsiao, also known as Elva Siu, was born on 24 August 1979. She is a Taiwanese Mandopop singer.-Biography:She was educated at John Casablanca's College in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is fluent in both written and spoken English. While in Vancouver, she attended the New Talent Singing...
as May, Chan's ex-girlfriend - Hui Kam-fung as Yip, principal of the police academy
- Chan Charoenwichai as Paul, the Thai drug dealer
Theme song
- Infernal Affairs (無間道)
- Composer: Ronald Ng
- Lyricist: Albert LeungAlbert Leung-Education:He was educated at the boys school Chan Sui Ki College and La Salle College, and graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 1984.-Songwriting career:He has been a cantopop lyricist since 1985, using the pen name Lin Xi...
- Singer: Andy LauAndy LauAndy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...
, Tony Leung
Reception
Infernal Affairs performed well at the 2002 Hong Kong Film AwardsHong Kong Film Awards
The Hong Kong Film Awards , founded in 1982, are the most prestigious film awards in Hong Kong and among the most respected in mainland China and Taiwan. Award ceremonies are held annually, typically in April. The Awards recognize achievement in all aspects of filmmaking, such as directing,...
, beating Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
's Hero
Hero (2002 film)
Hero is a 2002 wuxia film directed by Zhang Yimou. Starring Jet Li as the nameless protagonist, the film is based on the story of Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin in 227 BC....
for the Best Film award. It was ranked #30 in Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
Awards and nominations
22nd Annual Hong Kong Film Awards22nd Hong Kong Film Awards
The ceremony for the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards was held on 6 April 2003 in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and hosted by Eric Tsang, John Shum, Athena Chu and Anna Yau. Twenty-seven winners in nineteen categories were unveiled...
- Best Picture
- Best Director – Andrew LauAndrew LauAndrew Lau Wai-Keung is a Hong Kong cinematographer and filmmaker. Lau began his career in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as a cinematographer to filmmakers such as Ringo Lam, Wong Jing and Wong Kar-wai. In the 1990s, Lau decided to have more creative freedom as a cinematographer by becoming a film...
and Alan MakAlan MakAlan Mak Siu-Fai , born on 1 January 1968 in Hong Kong, is a writer, director, actor and producer.-Biography:In 1986, Mak studied at the School of Drama in the Hong Kong Academy for Performance Arts. Upon graduation in 1990, he started his movie career.... - Best Screenplay – Alan Mak and Felix ChongFelix ChongFelix Chong Man-Keung is a Hong Kong screenwriter, film director and actor.He is one of the most celebrated screenwriters in Hong Kong and has won several prestigious awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards...
- Best Actor – Tony Leung
- Best Supporting Actor – Anthony WongAnthony Wong Chau SangAnthony Wong Chau-sang is a Hong Kong Film Award-winning Hong Kong actor, screenwriter and film director. He is regarded as one of the most notable actors in Hong Kong.-Biography:...
- Best Editing – Danny Pang and Pang Ching Hei
- Best Original Film Song – "Infernal Affairs", sung by Andy LauAndy LauAndy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...
and Tony Leung - Nomination – Best Actor (Andy LauAndy LauAndy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...
) - Nomination – Best Supporting Actor (Eric TsangEric TsangEric Tsang Chi-wai , MH is a prolific Hong Kong actor, film director, film producer and television host best known for hosting the Super Trio series on TVB over the course of 10 years.-Biography:Due to his popularity, he is often the MC in events organized by TVB, and is nicknamed "the Prize Master"...
) - Nomination – Best Supporting Actor (Chapman ToChapman ToChapman To Man-chak is a Hong Kong actor, best known for specializing in comedic roles in films such as Infernal Affairs and Initial D.-Career:To began his acting career in TV soap operas and moved to the big screen in 2000...
) - Nomination – Best Cinematography (Andrew Lau, Lai Yiu-Fai)
- Nomination – Best Costume Design (Lee Pik-Kwan)
- Nomination – Best Action Design (Dion Lam Dik-On)
- Nomination – Best Original Score (Chan Kwong Wing)
- Nomination – Best Sound Effects (Kinson Tsang King-Cheung)
- Nomination – Best Visual Effects
9th Annual Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
The Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards are the annual awards given by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society in Hong Kong, China since 1995. The awards are determined by votes cast in three rounds after a substantial discussion session between the members of the society...
- Recommended Film
- Best Actor (Anthony Wong)
40th Annual Golden Horse Awards
Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards
The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962, by Government Information Office, Republic of China...
- Winner – Best Picture
- Winner – Best Director (Andrew Lau, Alan Mak)
- Winner – Best Actor (Tony Leung)
- Winner – Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Wong)
- Winner – Best Sound Effects (Kinson Tsang King-Cheung)
- Winner – Audience Award
- Nomination – Best Actor (Andy Lau)
- Nomination – Best Original Screenplay (Alan Mak, Felix Chong)
- Nomination – Best Editing (Danny Pang, Pang Ching-Hei)
- Nomination – Best Cinematography (Andrew Lau, Lai Yiu-Fai)
- Nomination – Best Art Direction (Choo Sung Pong, Wong Ching-Ching)
- Nomination – Best Action Design (Dion Lam Dik-On)
8th Annual Golden Bauhinia Awards
Golden Bauhinia Awards
Golden Bauhinia Awards is a Hong Kong film award organised by the Hong Kong Film Critics Association. Its first award presentation ceremony took place in 1996....
- Winner – Best Picture
- Winner – Best Director (Andrew Lau, Alan Mak)
- Winner – Best Actor (Tony Leung)
- Winner – Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Wong)
- Winner – Best Screenplay (Alan Mak, Felix Chong)
Remake films and products
In 2003, Plan B EntertainmentPlan B Entertainment
Plan B Entertainment is a film production company founded by Brad Pitt, Brad Grey, and Jennifer Aniston. In 2006, Pitt became the sole owner; the company currently holds a release deal with Paramount Pictures, along with Warner Bros...
acquired the rights for a Hollywood remake, titled The Departed
The Departed
The Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
, which was directed by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
, and starred Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
, Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
, Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
, and Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg is an American actor, film and television producer, and former rapper. He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier years, and became famous for his 1991 debut as a musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He was named No. 1 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of...
, set in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. The Departed was released on 6 October 2006 and went to critical acclaim and won the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
.
Andy Lau, Eric Tsang and Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. The Chinese language media refers to him, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings , with more than 60 million records sold as of 2000....
parodied the movie theatre scene to promote the Hong Kong Film Awards
Hong Kong Film Awards
The Hong Kong Film Awards , founded in 1982, are the most prestigious film awards in Hong Kong and among the most respected in mainland China and Taiwan. Award ceremonies are held annually, typically in April. The Awards recognize achievement in all aspects of filmmaking, such as directing,...
. Lau and Tsang, in their respective characters, go through the scene where they meet to gather info on the undercover cop amongst Hon Sam's gang. Lau Kin-ming asks Hon "why do we always meet in a movie theatre?" to which Hon answers "It's quiet. No one comes to movies". Jacky Cheung comes out from the shadows behind them and says "I don't know...quite a few people watch movies" and we see a slew of Hong Kong celebrities watching various clips of Hong Kong films on the screen. Originally Tony Leung was going to appear but scheduling conflicts led to the recasting.
Infernal Affairs was incorrectly called "a Japanese film" during the 79th Academy Awards
79th Academy Awards
The 79th Academy Awards ceremony , honored the best films of 2006 and took place on February 25, 2007 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on ABC. Ellen DeGeneres hosted the ceremony for the first time. The producer was Laura Ziskin. The announcers were Don LaFontaine and Gina Tuttle.The nominees were...
, at which The Departed won four Oscars. No known apologies has been made on behalf of Warner Brothers or Academy Awards to Media Asia
Media Asia Entertainment Group
Media Asia Entertainment Group , Media Asia Group , is a Hong Kong production company and distributor for films made in Hong Kong and throughout China. It is a subsidiary of Lai Sun Development Company Ltd.- History :...
.
The 2003 TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited
Television Broadcasts Limited, commonly known as TVB, is the second over-the-air commercial television station in Hong Kong. It commenced broadcasting on 19 November 1967...
spoof celebrating the Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...
called Mo Ba To (吐氣羊眉賀新春之無霸道) and the 2004 comedy film Love is a many stupid thing (精裝追女仔2004) by Wong Jing
Wong Jing
Wong Jing is a Hong Kong film director, producer, actor, presenter, and screenwriter. A prolific filmmaker possessed of strong instincts for crowd-pleasing and publicity, he is often cited as the most consistently successful filmmaker , in commercial terms, in the Hong Kong cinema of the last...
were rewritings based on the plot of the film.
In Taiwan SHODA (劉裕銘) and a secondary school student Blanka (布蘭卡) cut and rearranged the original film and inserted new sound tracks to produce their videos Infernal Affairs CD pro2 and Infernal Affairs iPod on the web. The videos had many views and both producers removed their videos after receiving cease and desist
Cease and desist
A cease and desist is an order or request to halt an activity and not to take it up again later or else face legal action. The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization....
letters from the Group Power Workshop Limited (群體工作室), the Taiwan distributor of the film.
Media Asia released a limited edition of 8 DVD set of the Infernal Affairs trilogy in an Ultimate Collectible Boxset (無間道終極珍藏DVD系列(8DVD套裝)) on 20 December 2004. Features included an online game and two Chinese fictional novels of the film series by Lee Muk-Tung (李牧童), titled 無間道I+II小說 ISBN 9626722592 and 無間道III終極無間小說 ISBN 9626722711.
The hi-fi shop scene was later recreated with additions of excerpts of the film to encourage businesses to join the Quality Tourism Services Scheme
Hong Kong Tourism Board
The Hong Kong Tourism Board is a Government-subvented body founded in 2001. The Board replaced the Hong Kong Tourist Association established in 1957...
in Hong Kong.
The Korean film City of Damnation
City of Damnation
City of Damnation is a 2009 South Korean film directed by Kim Dong-won.- Plot :Jang Choon-dong is a traffic officer who aspires to become a homicide detective. After being noticed by his superiors, Choon-dong is assigned to go undercover to infiltrate a gangster network headed by Yang Kwang-seob...
is a remake.
See also
- Infernal Affairs IIInfernal Affairs IIInfernal Affairs II is a 2003 Hong Kong crime-thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak.It is a prequel to the 2002 film Infernal Affairs. Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, and Chapman To reprise their roles from the original film alongside new cast members Carina Lau,...
- Infernal Affairs IIIInfernal Affairs IIIInfernal Affairs III is a 2003 Hong Kong crime thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is the third installment in the Infernal Affairs film series, and is both a sequel and a semi-prequel to the original film, as it intercuts events before and after the events in the first film...
- The DepartedThe DepartedThe Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
- Cinema of Hong KongCinema of Hong KongThe cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
- List of Hong Kong films
- List of movies set in Hong Kong