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''Infernal Affairs'' () is a 2002 Hong Kong
crime drama film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but al ...
directed by
Andrew Lau Andrew Lau Wai-keung ( zh, t=劉偉強, born 4 April 1960) is a Hong Kong film director, producer, and cinematographer. Lau began his career in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as a cinematographer to filmmakers such as Ringo Lam, Wong Jing and ...
and Alan Mak from a screenplay written by Mak and
Felix Chong Felix Chong Man-keung (, born December 27, 1968) is a Hong Kong screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. The ...
. The film stars
Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah ( zh, order=t,j, t=劉德華, j=Lau4 Dak1 Waa4; born Lau Fook-wing; 27 September 1961), is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He was named the "Fourth Tiger" among the Five Tiger Generals of TVB in the 1 ...
, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, and
Eric Tsang Eric Tsang Chi-wai ( zh, t=曾志偉; born 14 April 1953) is a Hong Kong actor, film director, producer, and television host, best known for hosting the variety show ''Super Trio series'' on the Hong Kong television network Television Broadcasts ...
. The film follows an undercover
Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. Pursuant to the one c ...
officer who infiltrates a triad and another police officer who is secretly a spy for the same triad. The film is the first in the ''Infernal Affairs'' series, followed by '' Infernal Affairs II'' and '' Infernal Affairs III'' (both 2003). At the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards, ''Infernal Affairs'' won seven out of the sixteen awards it was nominated for—including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Leung), and Best Supporting Actor (Wong). It also won in those categories at the 40th Golden Horse Awards and 8th Golden Bauhinia Awards. The film was selected as Hong Kong's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the
76th Academy Awards The 76th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2003 in film, films of 2003 and took place on February 29, 2004, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood ...
but was not nominated.
Miramax Films Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...
acquired the United States distribution rights and gave it a limited American theatrical release in 2004. American director
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...
remade the film in 2006 as ''
The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 crime film, crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both an English-language remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film ''Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-lif ...
'', which won the
Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film a ...
as well as
Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibit ...
, Scorsese's first and only Oscar in his career, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film has also been remade in India as '' Homam'' (2008), in South Korea as '' City of Damnation'' (2009), and in Japan as ''Double Face'' (2012). In 2018, a television series adaptation aired on
TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...
.


Plot

Hon Sam, a Hong Kong triad boss, sends Lau Kin-ming, a young gangster, to the police academy to become his mole in the
Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. Pursuant to the one c ...
. Around the same time, cadet Chan Wing-yan is ostensibly expelled from the police academy, but is actually selected to be an undercover cop reporting only to Superintendent Wong Chi-shing, who sends him to infiltrate Hon's triad. Over the next ten years, Chan is under great stress due to his questionable actions working undercover. Meanwhile, Lau quickly rises through the ranks, becoming a
Senior Inspector Senior inspector, also police senior inspector or senior inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Bosnia In Bosnia's Police of Republika Srpska, senior inspecto ...
. After successfully infiltrating the triad, Chan informs Wong of a transaction between Hon and some Thai cocaine dealers, which Wong's team interrupts. However, Lau alerts Hon, giving him enough time to get his henchmen to dispose of the evidence. After this incident, Wong and Hon realise they each have a spy within their own organisations, and race each other to uncover the moles. By this time, both Chan and Lau are struggling with their double lives. Chan is afraid he is turning into an actual criminal while also fearing his cover will be blown; he begins undergoing sessions with psychiatrist Lee Sum-yee and jokingly tells her that he is a cop. Meanwhile, Lau appreciates his life as a respected police officer and wants to sever his ties with the triad. Lau is tasked by Hon to identify the cop who infiltrated the triad; coincidentally, he is also assigned by the HKPF to lead the mission to uncover the triad's mole within their ranks. He uses his new role to have Wong surveilled, hoping to catch him meeting his mole. Wong meets Chan on a rooftop to discuss Hon's next drug shipment as well as Chan's fear of being uncovered. Hon learns about Wong's location from Lau and sends his henchmen to confront them. Chan escapes from the building while Wong tries to distract the gangsters but ends up being thrown off the roof to his death. Just then, the police show up and a shootout ensues. Henchman Keung, unaware that Chan is the mole, chauffeurs him away from the scene but succumbs to a gunshot wound he sustained earlier. When the news reports that Keung was apparently an undercover cop, Hon assumes he was the mole. Using Wong's phone, Lau contacts Chan and convinces him to collaborate in taking Hon down. The police successfully foils Hon's subsequent drug deal and arrests his henchmen. Lau then betrays Hon and kills him. Everything seems to have fallen into place—Chan can revert to his true identity as a cop while Lau has erased his criminal connections. At police headquarters, Chan and Lau meet for the first time. As Lau prepares to reinstate Chan into the police force, Chan deduces that Lau was the mole and leaves promptly. Realising what had happened, Lau takes possession of Chan's police identity file to use as leverage to dissuade Chan from exposing him. Chan meets with Lee, the only person left whom he can trust, and convinces her that he truly is a cop. Chan then sends a CD to Lau's address containing a recording of Lau's earlier meeting with Hon. Lau's fiancée, Mary, inadvertently listens to the CD and discovers Lau's secret. Chan arranges to meet with Lau on the same rooftop where Wong was killed. There, he disarms Lau and points a pistol to his head. Lau states calmly that he wants to start over as a good person, but Chan rejects his plea to help him conceal his criminal past.
Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...
"Big B" arrives and points his gun at Chan, ordering him to release Lau. Chan holds Lau hostage at gunpoint and backs into a lift, but is shot in the head by Big B. Big B then reveals to Lau that he is also a mole planted by Hon, and assures Lau of his loyalty. When they ride the lift down to the ground floor, Lau kills Big B. Six months later, Lee discovers records of Chan's identity as an undercover cop and he is buried with honours beside Wong. Lau salutes Chan at his funeral. Meanwhile, the internal affairs case is closed after they conclude that Big B was the mole in the police force. A flashback shows the day that Chan was ostensibly expelled from the police academy, with Lau looking back with guilt and wishing he was the one expelled instead.


Alternate ending

An alternate ending for the film was shot in order to comply with Article 25 (7) of the Chinese Film Administration Regulations specifying that films cannot propagate obscenity, gambling or violence, or abet to commit crimes. In the original Hong Kong ending, Lau concealed his true identity as a triad spy and identified himself as a police officer to avoid punishment. Therefore, the original ending was deemed to promote criminal activity and injustice, and an alternate ending was filmed to make the film suitable for mainland China. In the alternate ending, Inspector Cheung discovers evidence of Lau's criminal activity and immediately arrests him when he gets off the lift. This alternate ending was shown in mainland China and Malaysia.H. Y. F. Choy (2007) "Schizophrenic Hong Kong: Postcolonial Identity Crisis in the Infernal Affairs Trilogy". Transtext(e)s Transcultures. 3: 52–66. https://doi.org/10.4000/transtexts.138


Cast

*
Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah ( zh, order=t,j, t=劉德華, j=Lau4 Dak1 Waa4; born Lau Fook-wing; 27 September 1961), is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He was named the "Fourth Tiger" among the Five Tiger Generals of TVB in the 1 ...
as Senior Inspector Lau Kin-ming (), Hon's mole in the Hong Kong Police Force. ** Edison Chen as young Lau Kin-ming * Tony Leung as Chan Wing-yan (), an undercover cop in Hon's triad. **
Shawn Yue Shawn Yue Man-lok (born 13 November 1981) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. A former model, he has starred in many films, such as ''Jiang Hu (2004 film), Jiang Hu'', ''Infernal Affairs II'', the ''Love in the Buff'' film series, ''Mad World (film) ...
as young Chan Wing-yan * Anthony Wong as Superintendent Wong Chi-shing (), Chan's superior. *
Eric Tsang Eric Tsang Chi-wai ( zh, t=曾志偉; born 14 April 1953) is a Hong Kong actor, film director, producer, and television host, best known for hosting the variety show ''Super Trio series'' on the Hong Kong television network Television Broadcasts ...
as Hon Sam (), the triad boss. *
Chapman To Chapman To (, born 8 June 1972), born Edward Ng Cheuk-cheung (), is a Hong Kong-Taiwanese actor. He is best known for his roles in films such as ''Infernal Affairs'' and ''Initial D (film), Initial D''. He is also the founder of his own multimedia ...
as "Silly" Keung (), Hon's henchman. * Gordon Lam as Inspector B (大B; Big B), Lau's subordinate who is also a mole in the HKPF. * Sammi Cheng as Mary, Lau's fiancée. * Kelly Chen as Lee Sum-yee (), Chan's psychiatrist. * Berg Ng as Senior Inspector Cheung (), Wong's subordinate. * Wan Chi-keung as Officer Leung (), the Chief Superintendent of the Internal Affairs department. * Dion Lam as Del Piero (), Hon's henchman. * Elva Hsiao as May, Chan's ex-girlfriend. * Hui Kam-fung as Officer Yip (), Chan's cadet school principal


Production


Writing

Writer Alan Mak had long wanted to write a story about police and gangsters. The script of ''Infernal Affairs'' was inspired by
John Woo John Woo Yu-sen ( zh, t= ; born 22 September 1946) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong film director known as a highly influential figure in the action film genre. The recipient of various accolades, including a Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Film Award ...
's ''
Face/Off ''Face/Off'' is a 1997 American science fiction action film directed by John Woo, from a screenplay by Mike Werb and Michael Colleary. It stars John Travolta as an FBI agent and Nicolas Cage as a terrorist, who undergo an experimental surg ...
'' (1997) but Mak knew that its science fiction elements were too implausible in reality, so he focused on the exchange of identity and psychology between the two leads as its themes. In the process of Mak's creation, his good friend
Felix Chong Felix Chong Man-keung (, born December 27, 1968) is a Hong Kong screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. The ...
also encouraged and supported him. The script, written by Mak and revised by Chong, took three years to complete. The dialogue in the famous rooftop showdown was created on the spot by Felix Chong and Tony Leung, with Chong playing Andy Lau's part. The script originally included a typical shootout in the third act, but Leung insisted on turning it into a dialogue scene. Gordon Lam did not receive the full script and did not know his character was also a triad mole until the final scene.


Investment

The script for ''Infernal Affairs'' originally belonged to Andy Lau's Teamwork Motion Pictures, but due to the company's entanglement in a lawsuit at the time, it was unable to produce the film. In addition, the creative team lacked investors because other studios viewed a gangster film as no longer novel or profitable. This hesitation reflects broader industry tensions: as Professor Gina Marchetti notes, Hong Kong filmmakers like Lau experienced fierce competition from emerging Hollywood, while also battling widespread DVD and VCD piracy. Eventually,
Andrew Lau Andrew Lau Wai-keung ( zh, t=劉偉強, born 4 April 1960) is a Hong Kong film director, producer, and cinematographer. Lau began his career in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as a cinematographer to filmmakers such as Ringo Lam, Wong Jing and ...
made a hopeless bid and showed the script to John Chong at Media Asia Entertainment Group. To his surprise Chong and company chairman Peter Lam saw potential in the story. Lam proceeded to invest HK $20 million in the film, under the condition that Andy Lau will star the film.


Themes


Postcolonial identity crisis in Hong Kong

In ''Infernal Affairs'', the
identity crisis In psychology, identity crisis is a stage in Erik Erikson's theory of personality development. This stage happens during adolescence. It is a period of deep reflection and examination of various perspectives on oneself. The Erikson's stages of ps ...
suffered by both Chan and Lau as moles hint at the struggle of Hong Kong residents, who faced both the colonization by the British and the reunification with Mainland China. Specifically, under
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...
's
one country, two systems "One country, two systems" is a constitutional principle of the People's Republic of China (PRC) describing the governance of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Deng Xiaoping developed the one country, two systems ...
policy, the duplicity, unsettling, and uncertain nature of the future of Hong Kong residents is tightly echoed in Chan and Lau's character developments. Scholar Howard Y. F. Choy further claimed that "this postcolonial (re)turn is actually more a recolonization than a decolonization of the capitalist Cantonese city by the mainland Mandarin master." The 2003 prequel, '' Infernal Affairs II'', features the Hong Kong handover much more directly in the main plot. Director Andrew Lau himself has asserted that the movie is "quite political", but rather by portraying the handover at all, as well as a society with a corrupt police force and inescapable triad presence, as such depictions "would cause a lot of controversy in China." Lau has claimed that while growing up in Hong Kong, he was told by his parents that "''a good guy cannot be a policeman''" and reflected on his identity at the time by adding "''As a child and in high school I didn’t like Hong Kong because it was a British colony. The British people controlled the Chinese people. That was my feeling. At that moment, I was thinking, “No matter what, you’re Chinese.”''" Further, when comparing the process of filmmaking in Hong Kong during the "golden age" to filmmaking in mainland China, Lau stated: "''you had to face a lot of political things .. corruption n the mainland But Chinese people now recognize, oh, this is filmmaking and they are quite helpful.''" Lau also showed willingness to focus primarily on mainland China moving forward, saying "''we have to think China first, because China's market is really big. So we must bear in mind that your script can pass the censor of the China Film Association so we can shoot and release in China.''" He later went on to direct '' The Founding of an Army (2017)'', the third installment in a series portraying the founding myths of the People's Republic of China (the first installment, '' The Founding of a Republic (2009)'', had also featured ''Infernal Affairs'' star
Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah ( zh, order=t,j, t=劉德華, j=Lau4 Dak1 Waa4; born Lau Fook-wing; 27 September 1961), is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He was named the "Fourth Tiger" among the Five Tiger Generals of TVB in the 1 ...
), funded by the Central Propaganda Department.


Buddhism

''Infernal Affairs'' opens with a quotation attributed to the ''Nirvana Sutra'': "The worst of the Eight Hells is called Continuous Hell. It has the meaning of Continuous Suffering. Thus the name." The film also closes with another line: "He who is in Continuous Hell never dies. Longevity is a big hardship in Continuous Hell." While these lines are not found word-for-word in the ''Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra'' (涅槃經) or other early Chinese Buddhist canonical texts, they are clearly inspired by the doctrinal concept of Avīci (無間地獄)—a hell of unceasing torment from which there is no escape or rebirth. The original phrasing in Chinese is: 「受身無間者永遠不死,壽長乃無間地獄中之大劫」. The film’s title and intertitles reinforce its Buddhist subtext: a journey into moral and spiritual damnation. As film scholar David Bordwell notes, the title alludes to a plunge toward eternal torment for all major characters. While the plot may suggest that good fails and evil triumphs—Chen Wing-yan dies while Lau Kin-ming survives—the Buddhist framing offers an alternative interpretation. Death becomes a form of karmic release for Chen, whose moral perseverance is rewarded with peace. In contrast, Lau continues to live with guilt, deception, and alienation. His survival, when viewed through the lens of Avīci, becomes a punishment rather than a victory. Thus, ''Infernal Affairs'' subverts conventional binaries of justice by offering a Buddhist reading of karmic retribution: the film ends not with legal justice, but with spiritual consequence. Good and evil are balanced not externally, but through suffering, identity dissolution, and the inescapability of moral consequence.


Reception


Box office

Upon its premiere in Hong Kong, ''Infernal Affairs'' grossed $160,356 during the opening day (16–19 January). However, the release in 2002 coincided with a decline in the Hong Kong film industry, with local film revenues dropping by 24% compared to its previous year. The following year marked the SARS outbreak, with only 77 films released. From 2005 to 2009, annual box office takings from local releases declined to around US$25 million and US$32 million. Although the success of the ''Infernal Affairs'' trilogy stood out against this stagnant era for Hong Kong cinema, it fell short amidst the rising Chinese film industry. In total, the film grossed $7,035,649 during its run in Hong Kong theatres. The film was then released across Asia, where it grossed a further $169,659 from theatre receipts. In 2016, South Korean theaters re-released the film, which went on to gross $128,026 across three weeks. The total lifetime gross of the film in Korea is $977,903. In total, worldwide, the film grossed $8,836,958 across release in both domestic markets and European theatres which displayed the film.


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, ''Infernal Affairs'' has an approval rating of 94% based on reviews from 64 critics, with an average rating of 7.50/10. The consensus from the site reads as "Smart and engrossing, this is one of Hong Kong's better cop thrillers." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a score of 75 out of 100 based on reviews from 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". It was ranked as the 62nd Best Movie of 2004, 86th Most Discussed Movie of 2004, and the 95th Most Shared Movie of 2004. Film critic
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
gave the film a three-out-of-four star rating and described ''Infernal Affairs'' as offering "rare emotional depth." In his words, "The movie pays off in a kind of emotional complexity rarely seen in crime movies. I cannot reveal what happens but will urge you to consider the thoughts of two men who finally confront their own real identities—in the person of the other character." ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reviewer Elvis Mitchell was so enraptured with the film that he stated that "''Infernal Affairs'' is so beautifully shot that the images occasionally distract you from the condensed policier plot."


Accolades

''Infernal Affairs'' played an integral role in
Andrew Lau Andrew Lau Wai-keung ( zh, t=劉偉強, born 4 April 1960) is a Hong Kong film director, producer, and cinematographer. Lau began his career in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as a cinematographer to filmmakers such as Ringo Lam, Wong Jing and ...
's breakout films in entering the 21st century. Being the most critically acclaimed film of his to date, it was ranked No. 30 in ''
Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
s "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2019. ''Infernal Affairs'' gained significant traction during its festival run as it was nominated for sixteen awards during the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards, winning seven of those categories. It also won the Best Picture at the 40th Golden Horse Awards, the 8th Golden Bauhinia Awards, and the Best Foreign Language Film at the 46th
Blue Ribbon Awards The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan, established in 1950 by , established under the name of the "Association of Tokyo Film Journalists Award", which was formed mainly by film reporters from th ...
. Eventually, ''Infernal Affairs'' would spark the creation of two more films, with '' Infernal Affairs II'' getting 11 nominations and '' Infernal Affairs III'' getting 7 nominations during the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards, with ''Infernal Affairs II'' winning Best Original Film Song.


Legacy


Sequels and adaptations

With star power, visual allure, and an engaging script, ''Infernal Affairs'' did very well critically and financially, spawned two sequels and a television series, and attracted the attention of
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
. In 2003,
Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...
's
production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...
Plan B Entertainment Plan B Entertainment, Inc., more commonly known as Plan B, is an American production company founded in November 2001 by Brad Pitt, Brad Grey, Kristin Hahn and Jennifer Aniston. The company first signed with Warner Bros. as a replacement for ...
acquired the rights for a Hollywood remake, named ''
The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 crime film, crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both an English-language remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film ''Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-lif ...
'', which was directed by
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...
, written by
William Monahan William J. Monahan (born November 3, 1960) is an American screenwriter and novelist. His second produced screenplay ''The Departed'' (2006), an adaptation of Andrew Lau's 2002 gangster film ''Infernal Affairs'', earned him a Writers Guild of Am ...
, starred
Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...
,
Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...
,
Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...
,
Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. Mark Wahlberg filmography, His work as a leading actor, leading man spans the Comedy film, come ...
,
Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...
,
Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage, and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is known ...
, Vera Farmiga, and
Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
, set in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, Massachusetts, and roughly based on the life of famed Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger. ''The Departed'' was released on 6 October 2006 by Warner Bros. Pictures and won four
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay for Monahan, and Best Director for Scorsese. ''The Departed'' takes place in Boston, portraying the city as a “Crime City” shaped by the activities of the Irish mob scene. Unlike the moral ambiguity explored in ''Infernal Affairs, The Departed'' offers a distinctive resolution of a moral divide. Andrew Lau, the co-director of ''Infernal Affairs'', who was interviewed by Hong Kong newspaper ''
Apple Daily ''Apple Daily'' ( zh, t=蘋果日報, j=ping4 gwo2 jat6 bou3) was a Chinese-language newspaper published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021. Founded by Jimmy Lai and part of Next Media, ''Apple Daily'' was known for its sensational headlines, ...
'', said: "Of course I think the version I made is better, but the Hollywood version is pretty good too. corsesemade the Hollywood version more attuned to American culture." Andy Lau, one of the main actors in ''Infernal Affairs'', when asked how the movie compares to the original, said: "''The Departed'' was too long and it felt as if Hollywood had combined all three ''Infernal Affairs'' movies together." Lau pointed out that the remake featured some of the "golden quotes" of the original but did have much more swearing. He ultimately rated ''The Departed'' 8/10 and said that the Hollywood remake is worth a view, though according to Lau's spokeswoman Alice Tam, he felt that the combination of the two female characters into one in ''The Departed'' was not as good as the original storyline. Media Asia released a limited edition of eight-DVD set of the ''Infernal Affairs'' trilogy in an Ultimate Collectible Boxset () on 20 December 2004. Features included an online game and two Chinese novelisations of the film series by Lee Muk-Tung (), titled 無間道I+II小說 and 無間道III終極無間小說. In 2009, a Korean remake '' City of Damnation'', which was directed by Kim Dong-won was released on 22 January 2009. In 2009, a Telugu remake '' Homam'', which directed and acted by JD Chakravarthy along with Jagapathi Babu was released and became a notable movie. In 2012, ''Double Face'' ( ダブルフェイス), a Japanese television remake starring Hidetoshi Nishijima was released by TBS and WOWOW. The production aired in two parts: "Police Impersonation" on WOWOW and "Undercover" on TBS. A TV series remake debuted in 2018 produced by Media Asia and former TVB producer Tommy Leung. The series, which is titled ''Infernal Affairs'' like the film, stars Gallen Lo,
Damian Lau Damian Lau Chung-yan (born 14 October 1949) is a Hong Kong film and television actor, executive producer and film director. Lau has starred in many television drama series of various genres, produced by Hong Kong's TVB and ATV. Biography ...
, Paul Chun,
Lo Hoi-pang Lo Hoi-pang (born 21 December 1941) is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong actor and singer. Lo attended TVB's Training Classes in 1973. Among his classmates are Chow Yun-fat and Ng Man-tat. Lo won the 2012 31st Hong Kong Film Awards for the Best S ...
,
Eric Tsang Eric Tsang Chi-wai ( zh, t=曾志偉; born 14 April 1953) is a Hong Kong actor, film director, producer, and television host, best known for hosting the variety show ''Super Trio series'' on the Hong Kong television network Television Broadcasts ...
, Derek Kok, Dominic Lam,
Toby Leung Toby Leung Ching-kei ( zh, 梁靖琪; born 27 February 1983) is Cantopop singer and actress from Hong Kong. She entered the music industry in 2004 when the MusicNationGroup discovered her talent. Together with Macy Chan, Elise Liu (廖雋嘉) ...
and
Yuen Biao Yuen Biao (born Ha Lingchun; 26 July 1957) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist and stuntman. He specialises in acrobatics and Chinese martial arts and has also worked on over 80 films as actor, stuntman and action choreographer. He was one o ...
. The story takes place years after the films' events, with some minor characters reprising their roles alongside a new cast. The TV series uses the same concept as the film, but with an entirely new story and characters, and the setting expanded beyond Hong Kong to include Thailand and
Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...
. It stretched through three seasons with each season consisting of 12 episodes. Hindi remake is going to be a joint development between Warner Bros. India and Mumbai – based banner Azure and is set for a remake for a two-picture deal


In popular culture

Lau, Tsang, and
Jacky Cheung Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. One of the most influential artists in the Greater China region, Cheung is widely regarded as a Heavenly King of Cantopop music and an icon of Hong Kong popular culture. He ...
parodied the cinema 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 cinema?", to which Hon answers, "It's quiet. No one comes to movies". 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. The 2003
TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...
spoof celebrating the
Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...
called ''Mo Ba To'' (), the 2004 comedy film '' Love Is a Many Stupid Thing'' by Wong Jing, and the 2004 TVB television drama '' Shades of Truth'' were re-writings based on the plot of the film. In Taiwan SHODA () and a secondary school student Blanka () 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 A cease and desist letter is a document sent by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the oth ...
letters from the Group Power Workshop Limited (), the Taiwan distributor of the film. 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 success of the film inspired many genres, including an open-world video game from
United Front Games United Front Games, Inc. was a Canadian video game development studio based in Vancouver. They created titles for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. They are the de ...
titled '' Sleeping Dogs'' (or ''True Crime: Hong Kong'' before being canceled by
Activision Blizzard Activision Blizzard, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Santa Monica, California. Activision Blizzard currently includes three operating units: Activision, Blizzard Entertainment and King (company), King. Founded in July 2 ...
in 2011),Sleeping Dogs, by United Front Games – The New York Times
/ref> with the protagonist of the story infiltrating the criminal underworld as an undercover cop.


Remaster

A 4K remaster of the ''Infernal Affairs'' trilogy was released on 12 December 2022, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ''Infernal Affairs''.


Music and soundtrack

The original film score for ''Infernal Affairs'' was written and performed by Chan Kwong-wing. The theme song, ''Infernal Affairs'' (), was composed by Ronald Ng, lyrics provided by
Albert Leung Albert Leung Wai Man (, born 7 December 1961), better known by his pen name Lin Xi (), is a Hong Kong lyricist and writer. A prominent figure in Cantopop and Mandopop, he has written lyrics for nearly all major Hong Kong singers, with notable ...
, and performed in Cantonese and Mandarin by Andy Lau and Tony Leung. Although not included in the soundtrack album, Tsai Chin's song "Forgotten Times" () features prominently in this film as a recurring element of its storyline, and also in its sequels.


See also

* ''Infernal Affairs'' film series *
Cinema of Hong Kong The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese-language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former Crown colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of ar ...
* List of Hong Kong films *
Andy Lau filmography This is the filmography of Hong Kong people, Hong Kong singer, actor and film producer Andy Lau. Career summary Lau made his film acting debut in a supporting role the 1981 film, ''Once Upon a Rainbow'' and his television acting debut in an epis ...
* List of films featuring surveillance *
List of films set in Hong Kong While most of local Hong Kong movies were filmed locally, several foreign movies were also, at least partly, set in Hong Kong. The following is a list of foreign movies set in Hong Kong. Foreign movies * ''Argylle'' (2024) * ''Expats (TV series), ...


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Internal Affairs 2002 films 2002 crime drama films 2002 crime thriller films Hong Kong New Wave films Hong Kong crime drama films Hong Kong crime thriller films Hong Kong police films Hong Kong gangster films 2000s Cantonese-language films Films directed by Andrew Lau Best Film Hong Kong Film Award winners Films set in Hong Kong Films set in 2002 Films shot in Hong Kong Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Horse Award Police detective films Triad films Basic Pictures films Media Asia films Films directed by Alan Mak Fiction about rivalry 2000s Hong Kong films