Synopsis

Infernal Affairs is set in the never-ending war between the police and the Triads of Hong Kong. An undercover cop Chan, has managed to infiltrate the Triads while Lau, a Triad member, has infiltrated the police force. Both feed their bosses information on the plans of the organizations they pretend to serve. When the presence of a mole is detected by both, a game of survival ensues between Chan and Lau. Filled with original twists, Infernal Affairs is one of the best police stories ever, inspiring among others, the Oscar winner ‘Departed’.

Credits

Directed by Written by Produced by Cinematography by Film Editing by Production design by

Wai Keung Lau Felix Chong Wai Keung Lau Christopher Doyle Yiu-Fai Lai Wai Keung Lau Ching Hei Pang Danny Pang Sung Pong Choo

Cast

Character Chan Wing Yan SP Wong Chi Shing Hon Sam Dr. Lee Sum Yee Mary Young Lau Kin Ming Young Chan Wing Yan May Tsui Wai-keung Inspector B Inspector Cheung Officer Leung Del Piero Cadet School Principal Stereo Shop Owner Chief Inspector Elephant Double 8 Thai Drugdealer Cadet School Instructor Officer Chan Superintendent May´s Daughter

Actor's name Tony Leung Chiu Wai Anthony Wong Chau-Sang Eric Tsang Kelly Chen Sammi Cheng Edison Chen Shawn Yue Elva Hsiao Chapman To Ka Tung Lam Ting Yip Ng Chi Keung Wan Dion Lam   Hui Kam Fung Courtney Wu Lee Wah Chu Au Hin Wai Li Tin Cheung Chaucharew Wichai Cheung Yuk Sun Hui On Tat Ho Wing Ling Leung Chiu Yi

Influences

Followed by
Mou gaan dou II (2003) Mou gaan dou III: Jung gik mou gaan (2003)

Remade as
The Departed (2006)

References
Laat sau sen taan (1992)
Eight Legged Freaks (2002)
Men in Black II (2002)
K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)

Referenced in
Chuet chung tit gam gong (2003)

Featured in Infernal affairs 1: Origines d'une saga (2004) (V)

Spoofed in
Cheng chong chui lui chai (2004) Chun tian hua hua tong xue hui (2006)

Awards

Won the Blue Ribbon Award for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Blue Ribbon Awards (2004).

Won Audience Award at the Far East Film Festival (2003).

Won the Golden Bauhinia Best Actor, Best Director ,Best Picture , Best Screenplay and the Best Supporting Actor award at the Golden Bauhinia Awards (2003).

Won Golden Horse Award Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture, Best Sound Effects, Best Supporting Actor and the Viewer's Choice Award at the Golden Horse Film Festival (2003).

Won Hong Kong Film Award Best Actor, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Original Film Song, Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards (2003).

Won HKFCS Award Best Actor and Film of Merit at the Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards (2003)

Comments

About the Film

“Seductively shot and beautifully acted, this is like a summation film, bringing together all the themes, motifs, mood, and style of the gritty policier Hong Kong thriller, one that will make John Woo and Michael Mann proud.” - Emanuel Levy (EmanuelLevy.Com)

“A consistently engrossing thriller.” - Timothy Knight (Reel.com)

“Infernal Affairs could be the syllabus for “The Effects of Michael Mann, Tony Scott, and the American Police Procedural on Asian Cinema.” - Ed Gonzalez (Slant Magazine)

“The twists offered in Infernal Affairs ... take the genre to enthralling new heights, guaranteeing that any future such efforts will have an entirely new bar for which to aim.” - Wade Major (Boxoffice Magazine)

“Cop thrillers don't come much more polished, or enjoyable, than Infernal Affairs.” - Daniel Eagan (Film Journal International)

From the film

Lau Kin Ming: [raising his hands to police officers] I'm a cop.

Lau Kin Ming: I have no choice before, but now I want to turn over a new leaf. Chan Wing Yan: Good. Try telling that to he judge, see what he has to say.

Lau Kin Ming: You want me dead? Chan Wing Yan: Sorry, I'm a cop. Lau Kin Ming: Who knows that?

Sam: What thousands must die, so that Caesar may become the great.

Keung: Remember this, if you see someone doing something but at the same time watching you... then he is a cop.

Chan Wing Yan: Should I salute you? Lau Kin Ming: No, don't. How long have you been an undercover? Chan Wing Yan: I've followed Sam for 3 years, I had several other bosses before. All together it's been 10 years Lau Kin Ming: 10 years? I should salute you instead. Chan Wing Yan: I just want an identity, I want to be a normal man. Lau Kin Ming: Getting tired? Chan Wing Yan: You've never been a mole, you won't understand. Too bad I still can't find the stooge, I'll take him down if I found him. Lau Kin Ming: Don't worry. Let me give you back your identity, I'll open your file, but... I don't have the password. Chan Wing Yan: What's the Morse Code for Undercover? Mary: I can't finish the novel, I don't know whether he's good or bad. Lau Kin Ming: Do all undercover cops like rooftops? Chan Wing Yan: Unlike you, I'm not afraid of light.

Dr. Lee Sum Yee: I'll dream of you, Officer Yan.

SP Wong: Let me tell you a story. Two men need an organ transplant, but there's only one organ. So they play a game. They each put a card in their pocket. Whoever can guess the other's card wins the organ.

Sam: You know I can see your card. SP Wong: I see yours as well.

Cadet School Principal: Who wants to be like ex-cadet Yan? Young Lau Kin Ming: I do.

Chan Wing Yan: In a word: excellent.

Trivia

The English title is a play on words mixing Ming's job in the IA, the infernal nature of both characters' double lives, and finally Dante's Inferno, relating to the original Cantonese title.

There is a scene in which Tony Leung Chiu Wai's superintendent gives him surveillance gear, followed by watch, which he inspects believing it to be another piece of gear. The superintendent reminds him that it's his birthday, and the watch is a gift. A similar scene happens in _Lashou shentan (1992)_ , with Leung in the same role, but the gift is a cigarette lighter.

The psychiatrist's name, "Lee Sum Yee", is a homonym (in Cantonese) for "your psychiatrist".

The alternative ending found as a special feature on most Western DVD releases was created for release in China , where the authorities were uncomfortable with the political implications of the original ending.

When Yan and SP Wong are waiting at the elevator, the digital floor counter skips the 4th floor. In China and Hong Kong , the number 4 is considered bad luck because it sounds similar to the word 'death'.

Trailer