BEY’S BLOG

POSTED FEBRUARY 26, 2007
February 26, 2007

DEPARTED OSCAR WIN CAUSES INFERNAL AFFAIRS IN HONG KONG.

The triumph of Martin Scorsese’s The Departed at this year’s Oscars was a long overdue recognition of the director’s prodigious talents. It was also a great day for Hong Kong cinema. As a long-time aficionado of the genre, I felt very proud to see the American remake of Infernal Affairs, a Chinese crime thriller, feted in this way. I would have thought that the makers of the original film would have been even more delighted at the success of Departed, but this doesn’t seem to be the case. The co-writer and director of Infernal Affairs, Alan Mak, was quite outspoken when interviewed by the South China Morning Post the day after the Oscar ceremony. I’ve known Alan a long time. He was an assistant director on the first major film I worked on, Gen-X Cops, and I had acting roles (as policemen) in both Alan’s second film as director, Rave Fever, and Infernal Affairs 2, which he co-directed with Andrew Lau. He’s a smart, talented guy, and absolutely entitled to his opinion, but, in this instance, I think Alan should take a breath and look on the bright side. Whatever he feels about the relative merits of The Departed, the success of Scorsese’s film will undoubtedly mean the original Infernal Affairs trilogy will reach an even broader audience in the west. Film fans across the land will buy the Departed and Infernal Affairs DVDs, watch them back to back and make their own mind up as to each film’s relative merits. I’m certain that, in career terms, the Oscar victory of Departed will give a huge boost to the makers of Infernal Affairs, and deservedly so. Personally, I enjoyed both Infernal Affairs and The Departed equally. The main difference is that the Hong Kong version tends to never state what it can imply, while the American one never implies what it can state. In that sense, it spotlights the very different approach that each industry has to the same material. The success of The Departed is also overdue in another sense. Though American producers have been acquiring the remake rights to Hong Kong actioners for many years, The Departed marked the first time such a project actually hit the screen. I remember the pre-Internet buzz about a rumoured remake of John Woo’s The Killer, to star Richard Gere and Denzel Washington. There were also announcements of imminent Hollywood reworkings of Benny Chan’s Man Wanted, Johnny To’s The Mission and Ringo Lam’s Full Alert, though none has yet materialised. Departed’s Oscar win will make it easier for such projects to get green lit. My own philosophy on remakes has always followed John Huston’s: Why do they keep remaking the great films? Why not remake the bad ones ‘til they get them right?


Comments


Excellent point at the end Bey. I kind of found it ironic that Scorsese win's best picture for a film that is a remake, because although he directed the departed, it's not original material. My biggest gripe these days is just how Asian films are treated in U.S. markets. why didn't films like the original infernal affairs get a huge U.S. release when it is a great movie? I think it's because Hollywood does not think foreign films can be successful. Also, in the hands of the wrong distributor, foreign film releases will go awry.
- Challeng, Escondido | 2007-03-12 20:06:03
I agree, that remakes are a good thing in a sense, because they can give attention to the original movies. But I've seen all too many examples of when people have shrugged and said "why bother watching the original in some strange language when I've seen the American version?" And also, as you stated at the end, why remake a good movie? I'd like to add to that: why remake a good NEW movie? I long for the day when foreign language movies get proper releases all over the world.
- Danne, Umeå, Sweden | 2007-03-12 20:13:25
Speaking of Infernal Affairs, when are you going to release the first movie with accurate subs?
- Daniel Zelter, L.A. | 2007-03-13 02:42:52
I loved the INFERNAL AFFAIRS trilogy, especially part 2 (Francis Ng and Eric Tsangs performances in that movie is outstanding) I didn't like THE DEPARTED at all and dont think it was worthy of all the praise and awards that was thrown at it...! and I cringed when the announcer at the oscars referred to INFERNAL AFFAIRS as a JAPANESE film... thats just embarrasing and typically american!
- JAY LEE, Denmark | 2007-03-18 09:36:00
I agree! I was both happy to see IA remade so well, and to see Departed so successful. However, I was kinda dissapointed to hear IA incorrectly referenced by the announcer at the Oscars, she called it a Japanese film. :?
- Jeff Wildman, Canada | 2007-03-18 10:25:00
how come the LA Times ads for "the Departed" didn't seem to include any kind of "IA" credit? I think that the only kind of connection in those ads was the Media Asia name. Did any of you notice this about "TD" in its other newspaper ads? P.S. I don't see why "TD", a remake, should win as Best Picture when a very good Chinese movie like "Curse ofTGF" didn't even receive that nom. that Zhang Yimou/Chow Yun Fat movie seemed to be one of the best Chinese movies, if not the best IMO. Mr. CYF was a very good actor in the movie also, and should've received a best actor nom at least.
- Warren H, So. California | 2007-03-21 17:50:16
thnk bey-- my sentiments exactly. as much as trilogy-- I have always maintained the best PR and publicity it ever got/gets is that Departed was/is adapted from it. why can't more people see this? the basic premise maybe the same-- but both are different animals.I enjoyed them both equally.
- lizzie, hollywood | 2007-03-25 04:37:30
Hello Bey, I read your comments and thought them very insightful. Being a cinephile myself, I've followed Scorsese's career and films, and when "The Departed" came out, (and when he subsequently won the Oscar) I was torn. On the one hand, Scorsese had deserved an Oscar for a long time, no question. "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas" are two clear examples where he was shafted by the Academy. So, I was happy that he finally won the Oscar, essentially cementing his reputation as one of the great filmmakers. However, I didn't feel he deserved an Oscar for "The Departed" for several reasons: 1. He almost made the film wholesale from IA1 and parts of IA2 and 3. It would have been one thing if he had taken the ideas presented in "Infernal Affairs" and given them his own presentation and twist(beyond the locale and culture). But, even in minor transitional scenes, he copied things almost verbatim! Example: Andy Lau's character is told of his promotion by the CID commander while chipping golf balls. In "The Departed", Matt Damon's character is told of his promotion ...while chipping golf balls! 2. Speaking of Matt Damon, his performance just did not match Andy Lau's. With Andy, you truly feel the conflict within him. With Matt, you just get the feeling he only wants to cover his ass. 3. "Infernal Affairs" also gives you a good sense of secondary character relationships. The scene between Eric Tsang and Anthony Wong at the police station after the drug raid, is a good example. You watch the two talk to each and you realize those two have some kind of history. I didn't get that same feeling with Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg in the corresponding scene in "TD". I could go on and on, but these are just some examples. I would say that if I was to give Scorsese an Oscar, I would have given it to him for "Goodfellas", or "Raging Bull" or "Casino", which I consider some of his masterpieces. I will say though, that it is nice to see Scorsese gracious enough to thank Andy Lau in his acceptance speech, and for Andy Lau to give his kudos to "The Departed". But as you mentioned, hopefully, this will help bring more attention to "Infernal Affairs". Lord knows, I've been directing anyone I know that liked "The Departed" to Andy Lau's masterpiece. And they both now occupy my DVD shelf. After all, as a true cinephile, I could do no less. Thank you immensely for all your hard work and contributions to this wonderful film genre and culture. I look forward to hearing more of your commentaries on future Dragon Dynasty DVD releases!
- Ray Hoey, Santa Rosa, California | 2007-04-21 22:28:29
I personally think that the Chinese version is better. The American version seems to unnecessarily sexualize its version too much (but hey, it's American). When the Departed won the Ocars for best picture, the announcer gave credit to the Japanese instead of Chinese.
- Jay, California | 2007-05-01 16:45:47

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