Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9423 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-06-28
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL
• Original language: English, Thai
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 101 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
With Infernal Affairs, Hong Kong filmmakers Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak have successfully taken a smart script and a great cast, added some stylistic cinematography, and dual-fistedly given a new twist to a formulaic genre. Lau Kin Ming (Andy Lau), a young, loyal gangster, is ordered by his Triad boss Sam (Eric Tsang) to join the police force. While on the inside the young mole can keep a close eye on police activity, ensuring the gang's activities will not be interrupted. Police Superintendent Wong (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang) has a similar plan. He takes a bright, ambitious police cadet Yan (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and makes him an undercover cop with plans to get him inside the Triads. Years pass and both are now deep into their assigned roles. Undercover cop Yan, more or less living the life of a gangster, is now a member of Boss Sam's group, and "Officer" Lau has all the appearance of a good cop trying to bust up the Triads' drug ring. During a bust that could finally bring down Boss Sam, the moles inadvertently become aware of each other's existence, and each is left wondering who is on the inside. What follows is a unique and exciting twist on the classic cat and mouse chase in which each man is not fighting for his life, but for his anonymity. In addition to its plot twists, what lifts Infernal Affairs above the standard cop story is its subtle exploration of the relative nature of good and evil. Part action, part psychological examination, Infernal Affairs is a sharp and fresh take on the classic crime story, and the inspiration for a 2006 Martin Scorsese remake (The Departed). Not to be missed. --Rob Bracco

Synopsis
Directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, INFERNAL AFFAIRS is a tense thriller featuring Hong Kong superstars Andy Lau and Tony Leung. The film follows the parallel lives of Ming (Lau), a cop who secretly reports to ruthless Triad crime boss Sam (Eric Tsang); and Yan (Leung), an undercover police officer who poses as a Triad member in Sam's gang. For Yan, the years of living in the criminal underworld have taken their toll, and he longs to return to regular police duty. However, the only person who knows Yan's true identity is his mentor Superintendent Wong (Anthony Wong), also the unsuspecting superior of Ming. When Wong's officers come face to face with Sam's gang, both leaders realise there are moles in their midst. Soon Yan and Ming must track each other down, leading to an inevitable confrontation.
Unlike many contemporary Hong Kong films, INFERNAL AFFAIRS steers clear of over-the-top action in favour of a more stylised and subdued story that builds on emotional and psychological tension. Leung is riveting as the undercover cop who desperately wants a normal life, while Lau instills his corrupt character with confidence and charm that mask his deep inner conflict. These two stellar turns are ably supported by veteran actors Wong and Tsang, along with Sammi Cheng and Kelly Chen. A huge blockbluster in Asia, INFERNAL AFFAIRS is a landmark of Hong Kong cinema that deserves the same status abroad.

Customer Reviews

Words Fail Me...
Im a huge fan of chinese cinema, but this movie takes it to another plane for me. Infernal affairs follows the strory of two men, played by Tony Leung and Andy Lau, who lead secret lives behind the facet of their everyday roles. Leung is an undercover cop who has for years been a member of triad leader Eric Tsang's gang, to the point that he is questioning his own identity. Lau is the reverse article-a triad mole set into the Hong Kong PD from a very early age to ensure trust.
The Plot is not all it seems, even from a passing glance,and the twists and turns that follow (obviously not going to spoil them here for you) put this in the same league of the likes of the usual suspects in terms of potboilers. Some elements of this film pay tribute to John Woo's action packed Hard-Boiled(1992), which also starred Leung and Anthony Wong(Leung's boss here.)Though if you are used to the high bodycounts in those films, you will get a surprise here.
Th acting is all-round spectacular, rewarded justly at the Hong Kong film awards of 2002, and the scenery and cinematography are also top-notch.
I dont want to reveal much,if any, of the pictures reason for being, just suffice to say that I have never read a bad review of this masterpiece, or even heard a bad word uttered about it. it was followed by a prequel (excellent) and a sequel (a decline but still good), as well as Martin Scorsese's US remake The Departed earlier this year. Seek this one out first, undoubtedly one of my favourite films of all time.

Original and best.
This stylish Hong Kong thriller was recently remade (or helped influence, if you believe the director) in the form of Martin Scorsese's The Departed. While both versions of the movie are excellent in their own ways - The Departed is excellent if only to watch it for Jack Nicholson's powerhouse performance - it is the original that shines brightest.

Infernal Affairs is a compelling case study of two sides of the one coin. Tony Leung and Andy Lau counterbalance each other perfectly as the triad mole in the police force and the police mole in the triads respectively. The tale of the two morally ambiguous protagonists is beautifully crafted and the film is infused with an emotional weight that examines the inner state of the two characters and what affect there individual tasks are having on their lives - where does the line stop between cop and criminal? As Jack Nicholson's character says in the new version: "you can become cops or criminals; but when you're faced with a loaded gun, whats the difference?"

Unlike Joh Woo's action packed movies, Infernal Affairs is a more subtle, phsychological examination of the two leading men. This refined study of good and evil is remarkabely fresh and deserves to be seen by as many as have seen The Departed.

Infernal Affairs - Amazing HONG KONG movie
Firstly to the reviewer above, this is a CHINESE (Hong Kong) movie with CHINESE actors and is in the very best of CHINESE cinema tradition. Not Japanese.

Hong Kong cinema has been accused of being in decline recently, but the tide has been turning and amazing films such as Infernal Affairs (Infernal Affairs is a trilogy and this is film one).

The plot involves two undercover moles (infiltrators), one a triad in the police force and the other an undercover cop who is deep in with the triads. Questioning the morality of their respective positions and finding the lines between their real and undercover lives blurred, the film follows their story and the effect that their decisions take on their respective "careers".

The acting in this movie is INCREDIBLE. Every single actor works in this film with no weak links. (My favourite performance was that of Anthony Wong Chau-Sang who plays the superintendant of the undercover triad.)

This film is soon to be re-made as an Hollywood release, but do watch this version as it will surely be the definitive version. This movie is intelligent and more involving than most Hollywood thrillers I have seen for a long long while.

Highly Recommended.