Infernal Affairs (film series)
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2022) |
Infernal Affairs film series | ||
---|---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin Wú Jiān Dào Xì Liè | | |
Yue: Cantonese | ||
Jyutping | Mou4 Gaan3 Dou6 Hai6 Lit6 |
Alan Mak
- Andy Lau (1,3)
- Tony Leung(1,3)
- Anthony Wong (1-3)
- Eric Tsang (1-3)
- Leon Lai (3)
- Francis Ng (2)
- Chen Daoming (3)
- Edison Chen (1-3)
- Shawn Yue (1-3)
- Chapman To (1-3)
- Kelly Chen (1,3)
- Sammi Cheng (1,3)
- Carina Lau (2-3)
- Hu Jun (1,3)
- Gordon Lam (2)
- Liu Kai-chi (2)
- Berg Ng (1,3)
- Wan Chi-keung(1-3)
- Andrew Lau
- Lai Yiu-fai
- Ng Man Ching
- Danny Pang
- Curran Pang
companies
Infernal Affairs is a series of three
Films
Infernal Affairs (2002)
Infernal Affairs focuses on a police officer named Chan Wing-yan
The prologue opens with the introduction of triad boss Hon Sam (Eric Tsang) ("Brother Sam"), who sends a number of young gangsters to the police academy as moles, among them a young Lau. Concurrently, a young Chan joins the police force but is seemingly expelled from the academy even though he manages to impress Superintendent Wong Chi-shing (Anthony Wong). In reality, Chan has become an undercover agent reporting only to Wong. Over the course of ten years, Chan experiences great stress from his undercover 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.
Wong and his team interrupt a deal between Brother Sam and a Thai cocaine dealer after receiving a tip-off from Chan using Morse code. However, Lau alerts Brother Sam, giving him enough time to order his minions to dispose of the cocaine, eliminating solid evidence of the drug deal. After the incident, Wong and Sam are both aware that they each have a mole within their respective organisations, placing them in a race against time to root out the other mole. Later, Chan sees Sam conversing with Lau at a cinema but does not see Lau's face clearly; he ultimately fails to capture Lau. 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.
At their next meeting, Wong intends to pull Chan out of undercover work for fear of his safety. They are unaware that Lau has his subordinate,
Lau retrieves Wong's cell phone and contacts Chan, with both of them agreeing to foil a drug deal by Sam. The plan succeeds and many of Sam's men are arrested, while Lau betrays Sam 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 Sam's triad. However, back at police headquarters, Chan discovers that Lau was the mole and leaves immediately. Lau, realising what has happened, erases Chan's file from the police database and makes a copy on his personal computer, intending to use the proof of Chan's identity as leverage, so that Chan would not reveal his real identity. Chan spends an evening with his therapist, Dr. Lee Sum-yee, with whom he has fallen in love. He sends to Lau a compact disc with a recording that Sam kept between himself and Lau; the disc is inadvertently intercepted by Lau's girlfriend, Mary.
Chan and Lau meet on the same rooftop where Wong was killed earlier. Chan disarms Lau and holds his
The original ending climaxes with Lau identifying himself to the police as one of them. Lee discovers records revealing Chan as the undercover officer; Big B is blamed of being the mole within the force 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 screened, in which 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.
Infernal Affairs II (2003)
In 1991,
Meanwhile, instructors at the police academy discover that Chan Wing-yan, a promising but troubled cadet, is the half-brother to Ngai Kwun's
By 1995, Chan has become a small-time gangster while Lau rises as a rookie cop. Chan's continual association with Hon and Ngai causes his girlfriend to have an abortion because she does not want their child to follow in Chan's footsteps. Ngai wishes the troubled Chan to be integrated into the Ngai family and invites him to his daughter's birthday party, where he announces that he is retiring to Hawaii and dividing his former business amongst the Big Four, also giving Hon the Thai cocaine racket. Meanwhile, Hon leaks information on criminal dealings to Lau, who is able to apprehend many local gangsters and earn promotions in rank.
During Ngai's next drug deal, a
In 1997, Lau is picked as one of the officers to preside over the ceremony signifying
Hon's tactics against Ngai leads to a falling out between him and Wong; shortly after their final meeting, Ngai's entire family is murdered. The pieces are set in place for the first film: Hon goes down the dark path of replacing Ngai as the main triad boss, becoming Wong's new foe; Lau is a police inspector and Hon's mole; Chan is forced to remain undercover, returning to join Hon's triad. As the handover ceremony takes place, Hon sheds tears over the loss of Mary before hosting a party. Back at police headquarters, Lau handles a case involving a young woman, coincidentally also called Mary, who becomes his wife in Infernal Affairs.
Infernal Affairs III (2003)
Infernal Affairs III uses parallel storytelling, flashing between the past and the present.
Six months before Chan's death
Undercover cop Chan Wing-yan seeks to uncover the link between
Concurrently, Chan is prosecuted for violent behaviour. His superior,
Ten months after Chan's death
Lau Kin-ming, Hon's former mole in the Hong Kong Police Force, has been demoted to administrative duty pending an investigation into the deaths of Chan and Inspector B. He falsely claims that B shot Chan in the head while holding him hostage, and that he killed B in retaliation. After months of investigation, Lau is transferred back to Internal Affairs, where he struggles to whitewash his past and cover his true identity. Lau later learns that Hon had previously planted five other moles in the police force, one of whom might be a fellow Security Division Inspector, Yeung. A battle of wits develops between Lau and Yeung, as each of them tries to discover the other's secret.
Meanwhile, Lau suffers from an identity collapse as he loses track of reality, wrestling with guilt over Chan's death and grappling with his impending divorce from his wife, Mary. His psychological trauma deteriorates to the point where he begins to see himself as Chan. As "Chan", Lau makes it a personal mission to apprehend Yeung, whom he sees as his former self. After witnessing an incident where Lau suffers a hallucination, Dr. Lee conducts a hypnosis on him and finds out that he was Hon's mole. Lau realises his folly and knocks Lee unconscious before escaping.
Lau steals tapes from Yeung's office safe, using
Eleven months after Chan's death
A series of flashbacks play: immediately after Chan's death, Shen and Yeung meet. Shen suspects Lau. Yeung breaks into Lau's office to find tape recordings of his conversations with Hon, proving that Shen is right.
Yeung is buried next to Chan in the police cemetery. Shen and Lee visit the graves and Shen says to Lee: "Events change men, but men do not change events. But these two men are extraordinary because they changed events."
Lau ends up crippled and
Before the film ends, there is one final flashback to the hi-fi shop scene in Infernal Affairs, where Lau is buying an audio system from Chan.
Cast and characters
Character | Film | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I | II | III | ||||
Senior Inspector Lau Kin Ming | Andy Lau | Andy Lau | ||||
Young Lau Kin Ming | Edison Chen | |||||
Chan Wing Yan | Tony Leung Chiu-Wai
|
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai | ||||
Young Chan Wing Yan | Shawn Yue | |||||
Superintendent Wong Chi Sing | Anthony Wong | |||||
Sam Hon | Eric Tsang | |||||
Tsui Wai Keung | Chapman To | |||||
Mary | Sammi Cheng | Chiu Chung Yu | Sammi Cheng | |||
Lee Sum Yee | Kelly Chen | Kelly Chen | ||||
Inspector Lam Kwok Ping | Gordon Lam | Cheung Wing Hong | Gordon Lam | |||
Ngai Wing Hau | Francis Ng | |||||
Superintendent Yeung Kam Wing | Leon Lai | |||||
Young Yeung Kam Wing | Eddie Li | |||||
Shen Ching | Chen Daoming | |||||
Mary Hon | Carina Lau | |||||
Superintendent Luk Kai Cheung | Hu Jun | |||||
Senior Inspector Cheung | Berg Ng | Berg Ng | ||||
Chief Superintendent Leung | Wan Chi-keung
| |||||
Del Pierro | Dion Lam | |||||
Officer Yip Kam Fung | Hui Kam Fung | |||||
Thai Drug Dealer | Chaucharew Wichai | |||||
May | Elva Hsiao | Kelly Fu | ||||
Law Kai Yin | Roy Cheung | |||||
Uncle Three | Liu Kai-chi | |||||
Elder sister | Kara Hui
|
|||||
Shen Liang | Huang Zhizhong |
Music
Infernal Affairs
The original film score for Infernal Affairs was written and performed by Chan Kwong-wing.
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Entering The Inferno" | Chan Kwong-wing | 2:06 |
2. | "If I Were Him" | Chan Kwong-wing | 1:36 |
3. | "Goodbye Master" | Chan Kwong-wing | 2:18 |
4. | "Who Are You?" | Chan Kwong-wing | 2:44 |
5. | "Let Me Quit" | Chan Kwong-wing | 1:32 |
6. | "I Dreamt About You" | Chan Kwong-wing | 1:23 |
7. | "Salute" | Chan Kwong-wing | 1:56 |
8. | "Mission Abort" | Chan Kwong-wing | 4:31 |
9. | "I Am A Cop!" | Chan Kwong-wing | 3:26 |
10. | "You Are The Only One" | Chan Kwong-wing | 1:06 |
11. | "I Want To Be A Good Guy" | Chan Kwong-wing | 3:30 |
12. | "Goodbye Master, Goodbye" | Chan Kwong-wing | 1:56 |
13. | "The Inferno" | Chan Kwong-wing | 1:51 |
The theme song, Infernal Affairs (無間道), was composed by Ronald Ng, lyrics provided by Albert Leung, and performed in Cantonese and Mandarin by Andy Lau and Tony Leung.
Infernal Affairs II
The film's score was composed by Chan Kwong-wing. The theme song, Eternal Realm (長空; Changkong), was composed by Wong Ka-keung, lyrics provided by Wong and Yip Sai-wing, and performed by the band Beyond.
Infernal Affairs III
The film's score was composed by Chan Kwong-wing. The theme song, Road to Inferno (自作自受; Zi Zuo Zi Shou), was composed by Andy Lau, Chan Tak-kin and Wan Ho-kit, lyrics provided by Andy Lau, and performed by Hacken Lee. Andy Lau also sang an alternate version of the song.
Reception
Infernal Affairs
Infernal Affairs was released on 12 December 2002 to Hong Kong Theaters to universal critical acclaim. Review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 57 of the tallied 60 reviews were positive, for a score of 95% and a certification of "fresh". Infernal Affairs won seven out of the sixteen awards it was nominated for at the
Infernal Affairs has grossed HK$55,057,176 in Hong Kong and USD$169,659 in North America.
Infernal Affairs II
The film was highly anticipated prior to its release due to the success achieved by Infernal Affairs. However, the general response to the film was mixed.[2]
The film grossed HK$24,919,376,[3] which was high by 2003 Hong Kong standards, but only about half of the original's earnings.
Infernal Affairs III
Despite grossing higher than the second film at the box office with HKD 30,225,661 (over HKD 5 million more than Infernal Affairs II),[4] Infernal Affairs III was not as critically successful as the previous film. It garnered mixed to positive reviews.
Awards and nominations
Infernal Affairs
List of Accolades | |||
---|---|---|---|
Award / Film Festival | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
Udine Far East Film Festival | Audience Award | Andrew Lau Alan Mak |
Won |
76th Academy Awards | Best Foreign Language Film
|
Andrew Lau ( Hong Kong entry )
|
Not Nominated |
Asia Pacific Film Festival
|
Best Sound | Kinson Tsang | Won |
46th Blue Ribbon Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Andrew Lau Alan Mak |
Won |
Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics
|
Grand Prix
|
Nominated | |
40th Golden Horse Awards | Best Picture | Won | |
Best Director | Andrew Lau Alan Mak |
Won | |
Best Actor | Tony Leung | Won | |
Best Supporting Actor | Anthony Wong | Won | |
Best Sound Effects | Kinson Tsang King-Cheung | Won | |
Viewer's Choice Award | Won | ||
Best Actor | Andy Lau | Nominated | |
Best Original Screenplay | Alan Mak Felix Chong |
Nominated | |
Best Film Editing | Danny Pang Pang Ching-Hei |
Nominated | |
Best Cinematography | Andrew Lau Lai Yiu-Fai |
Nominated | |
Best Art Direction | Choo Sung Pong Wong Ching-Ching |
Nominated | |
Best Action Choreography | Dion Lam Dik-On | Nominated | |
Best Visual Effects | Christopher Doyle | Nominated | |
8th Golden Bauhinia Awards | Best Picture | Won | |
Best Director | Andrew Lau Alan Mak |
Won | |
Best Actor | Tony Leung | Won | |
Best Actor | Andy Lau | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor | Anthony Wong | Won | |
Best Original Screenplay | Alan Mak Felix Chong |
Won | |
9th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards
|
Film of Merit | Won | |
Best Actor | Anthony Wong | Won | |
22nd Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Film | Won | |
Best Director | Andrew Lau Alan Mak |
Won | |
Best Screenplay | Alan Mak Felix Chong |
Won | |
Best Actor | Tony Leung
|
Won | |
Best Actor | Andy Lau | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor | Anthony Wong
|
Won | |
Best Supporting Actor | Eric Tsang | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor | Chapman To | Nominated | |
Best Cinematography | Andrew Lau Lai Yiu-Fai |
Nominated | |
Best Film Editing | Danny Pang Pang Ching Hei |
Won | |
Best Costume Design | Lee Pik-Kwan | Nominated | |
Best Action Choreography | Dion Lam | Nominated | |
Best Original Film Score | Chan Kwong Wing
|
Nominated | |
Best Original Film Song | Song: "Infernal Affairs"
Composer: Ronald Ng
|
Won | |
Best Sound Design | Kinson Tsang King-Cheung | Nominated | |
Best Visual Effects | Christopher Doyle | Nominated |
Infernal Affairs II
Although Infernal Affairs II earned twelve nominations for the
- Won: Best Original Film Song (Wong Ka Keung, Yip Sai Wing, Beyond)
- Nominated: Best Film (Andrew Lau)
- Nominated: Best Director (Andrew Lau, Mak Siu-fai)
- Nominated: Best Screenplay (Mak Siu-fai, Chong Man-keung)
- Nominated: Best Actor (Francis Ng)
- Nominated: Best Actress (Carina Lau)
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Chapman To)
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Liu Kai-chi)
- Nominated: Best Cinematography (Andrew Lau, Ng Man-ching)
- Nominated: Best Editing (Curran Pang, Danny Pang)
- Nominated: Best Original Film Score (Chan Kwong-wing)
- Nominated: Best Sound Effects (Kinson Tsang)
10th
- Won: Best Film
Infernal Affairs III
- Nominated: Best Picture
- Nominated: Best Screenplay
- Nominated: Best Cinematography
- Nominated: Best Film Editing
- Nominated: Best Original Film Score
- Nominated: Best Sound Effects
- Nominated: Best Visual Effects
41st Golden Horse Awards
- Won: Best Actor (Andy Lau)
- Nominated: Best Actor (Andy Lau)
Remakes
- The Departed (2006)
- City of Damnation (2009)
References
- ^ "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema – 30. Infernal Affairs". Empire.
- ^ Singer, Leigh. "Infernal Affairs II (Wu Jian Dao 2)". Channel 4. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
- ^ "Infernal Affairs II (2003)". HKMDB.com. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
- ^ "Infernal Affairs III (2003)". HKMDB.com. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
- ^ "23rd Annual Hong Kong Film Awards". Lovehkfilm.com. Retrieved 5 July 2009.