#1159a: LAU, Andrew and MAK, Alan: Infernal Affairs (2002)

LAU, Andrew and MAK, Alan (Hong Kong)
Infernal Affairs [2002]

Spine #1159a

Blu-ray

Two of Hong Kong cinema’s most iconic leading men, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Andy Lau Tak-wah, face off in the breathtaking thriller that revitalized the city-state’s twenty-first-century film industry, launched a blockbuster franchise, and inspired Martin Scorsese’s The Departed. The setup is diabolical in its simplicity: two undercover moles—a police officer (Leung) assigned to infiltrate a ruthless triad by posing as a gangster, and a gangster (Lau) who becomes a police officer in order to serve as a spy for the underworld—find themselves locked in a deadly game of cat and mouse, each racing against time to unmask the other. As the shifting loyalties, murky moral compromises, and deadly betrayals mount, Infernal Affairs raises haunting questions about what it means to live a double life, lost in a labyrinth of conflicting identities and allegiances.

101 minutes
Black and White/Color
5.1 Surround
Cantonese
2:35:1
Criterion Release 2022

Director/Writers

Screenplay by Felix Chong Man-koeng and Alan Mak.
Andrew Lau was 42 and Mak was 37 when they directed Infernal Affairs.

The Film

a

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Thirty-six page booklet featuring an essay by film critic Justin Chang.

Commentary

Featuring codirectors Lau and Mak and screenwriter Chong.

Alternate ending

Interview

With Lau and Mak.

Archival interviews

With Lau, Mak, Chong, and actors Lau, Leung, Wong, Kelly Chan, Edison Chan, Tsang, and To.

Making-of programs

Behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes and outtakes

Trailers

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

99

By Director
By Spine #