:
Tony Leung Chiu-wai,
Tony Leung Chiu-wai,
Andy Lau,
more...
:
Alan Mak,
Andrew Lau,
Alan Mak,
more...
see all cast/crew...
: 
: Miramax
: Foreign, Hong Kong, Cops, Gangsters
: English, Cantonese
: English, Spanish
see additional details...
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As Infernal Affairs opens, Ming (Andy Lau of Full-time Killer) is being initiated into the criminal underworld by triad boss Sam (Eric Tsang of The Accidental Spy), who ends his speech to his young charges by wishing them success in the police department. Ming enters the police academy, where he excels, but sees his classmate, Yan (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai of In the Mood for Love), expelled for "breaking the rules." It turns out that Yan wasn't actually drummed out of the force, but recruited by Superintendent Wong (Anthony Wong of Hard-Boiled) as an undercover operative. Just as Ming is achieving success in the police department while secretly working for Sam, Ming is gaining Sam's trust as a triad member, while reporting to Wong. Ten years later, both men, still undercover, have grown confused about their true identities, while their bosses, Sam and Wong, wage a battle of wits against each other. Each boss learns that the other has a mole working for him, and unwittingly entrusts the mole himself to ferret out the culprit. Ming and Yan scramble to expose one another's identity in an effort to save their own skins. Infernal Affairs was co-directed by Andrew Lau (who worked as a cinematographer on several of Wong Kar-Wai's films) and Alan Mak. Renowned cinematographer Christopher Doyle served as "Visual Consultant." The film was shown at New Directors/New Films in 2003. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
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| An assortment of extras ONLY in Chinese
by carlykristen
December 20, 2006 - 1:34 PM PST
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DVD Extras: Disc 2 features (only in Chinese of course) the Story, Behind the Scenes, a Music Video, a Making of Featurette, Trailers, More Attractions, Cast Credits & Bios, Photo Gallery, and 1 hidden Easter Egg of Bloopers. Media Asia version is missing the Alternate Ending featured on the Miramax Home Entertainment version.
Molly Celaschi
www.HorrorYearbook.com |
| A very original and complicated story presented in a frustrating format
by carlykristen
December 20, 2006 - 1:30 PM PST
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Infernal Affairs (2002) Rated R, Media Asia Directed by Wai Keung Lau & Siu Fai Mak
Shawn Yue plays a young police officer who gets pulled out of the academy to become an undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Edison Chen plays a young mafia member who is infiltrating the police force by joining the academy. Years later, their older counterparts (played by Tony Leung and Andy Lau respectively) race against time to expose the mole within their midst and destroy him.
What is unique about this film (other than exposing corruption within our law enforcement) is that both men become so absorbed in their roles that they forget who they are. It becomes painful for them to continue the charade even when their bosses give accolades for their work. In the end, each longs to switch back and be in the other's place.
This film isn't just a thriller and a race to see who will win. Ultimately, despite the end results, no one is a winner here. The film deals with the importance of honesty and identity. Ideally, if a person is honest with themselves and others around them, they can at least be at peace with who they are regardless of their place in life. Policeman or gangster; neither is a perfect life when none of it is true.
I enjoyed the parallels between both men living different lives with both feeling lonely and trapped. The wife writing the story about a man with multiple personalities mimics the secret life of her hardworking "cop" husband.
I think this is a topnotch story, however, it suffers from so many technicalities. One case in point, is the music. During one of the most dramatic scenes, they show an integral person die and then cue ridiculous, soap opera-type Chinese music. And I laughed. I do not think that was their intention, but that is what happened.
The title itself doesn't make much sense. "Infernal" means damnable and "Damnable Affairs" is a mediocre title at best. It should have been aptly titled "Internal Affairs". "Internal" meaning it was dealing with law enforcement and gang activity by penetrating their defenses internally while the film subtly examines the internal effects of changing a person's external attributes such as name, career, family, appearance, etc., but I digress&
The love story between the gangster and the psychiatrist feels underdeveloped. She is on screen for all of 5 seconds and I cannot figure out why either loves the other without any disclosure of their personalities, likes, or dislikes. How did they connect on any level? This makes her action/reaction at the ending a bit corny and nonsensical.
The sound (Dolby Digital 5.1) and film quality are good, but there is a huge problem with the subtitles. The film only offers Cantonese and Mandarin as the languages with no English dubs. The English subtitles flash quickly across the screen, so not only do I have to use my speed reading abilities to catch every word, I have to use my magical mental powers to also catch every action on screen and determine who is who in a film where the actors all look alike, swap places, and age many years. This gave me a migraine and I had to rewind several times since I missed a lot of the dialogue. This is a real shame. I think this took away from the viewing experience and the wonderful story that unfolded at lightening speed toward the end. I felt cheated.
They need to re-release this film dubbed in English with better subtitles. Even the DVD cover (Miramax Version) makes no sense as it features a woman pointing a gun that isn't even in the film (!). If all of the flaws mentioned above were fixed, I could have easily have given this a Perfect 10. But alas, all is not well and it did not earn a 10.
Favorite Quote: Wife in response to her story about a man with multiply personalities, "I can't finish my story. Even though he is a good guy, he has done bad things. How do you think it should end?" Husband replies, "That is a good question&"
DVD Extras: Disc 2 features (only in Chinese of course) the Story, Behind the Scenes, a Music Video, a Making of Featurette, Trailers, More Attractions, Cast Credits & Bios, Photo Gallery, and 1 hidden Easter Egg of Bloopers. Media Asia version is missing the Alternate Ending featured on the Miramax Home Entertainment version.
Bottom Line: A very original and complicated story presented in a frustrating format.
Rating: 8/10
Molly Celaschi
www.HorrorYearbook.com |
| Underground
by talltale
December 13, 2004 - 6:47 AM PST
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3 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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| For me the biggest surprise about INFERNAL AFFAIRS is that that there's little shoot-em-up action and even less martial arts display. This is a police procedural that relies as much on technology as anything else--plus the crack performances of the two terrific leads Leung and Lau. What a great combination they provide. The ideas here--moles upon moles upon moles, and the difficulty of keeping one's loyalties in line--are good ones and their execution even better. Little wonder Scorsese is planning an American remake, though I doubt it'll be any better than this. |
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