USER REVIEWS
Great film series!
I enjoyed the every one of the films! The first one is the best, but the other two had really great stories too! After this series, I saw the Departed, but these films beat them in my record! Keep up the good work!
- Jin256, Las Vegas, NV | March 12, 2007
This trilogy is one of the best contemporary Hong Kong sagas ever!
Having been a longtime fan of Hong Kong cinema, I felt that it was time for something fresh to come along once John Woo, Chow Yun-Fat, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen and countless others had made their mark in Asia and in America. "Infernal Affairs" and its sequels were the answers I had been seeking. The trilogy is a wonderful example of how Hong Kong cinema has evolved over the last several decades and deserves to take its place in the pantheon of not just great Asian films, but world films.
What better way than to get heavyweight veteran actors such as Tony Leung, Andy Lau, Anthony Wong and Eric Tsang to star in the lead roles? As terrific as the first film is, the sequels help to show the much bigger tapestry that is the "Infernal Affairs" saga. I've always measured the quality of a theatrical DVD release based on any special features it might have, and this set did not disappoint. The feature commentary on "Internal Affairs II" was pure gold! It's nice to know that Dragon Dynasty has the best interests of the cinephile at heart with its releases.
One of the best things in "Infernal Affairs II" was the way the rival/adversarial relationship between Wong and Tsang was further explored and in "Infernal Affairs III" we got to see the consequences of Lau's actions.
At this writing, Martin Scorcese has won the Best Director Oscar for the Best Film of 2006, "The Departed", his remake of "Infernal Affairs". Though I am a Scorcese fan, and feel he has deserved an Oscar for a long time, I felt that he did not deserve it for "The Departed", since so much of it took wholesale elements from "Infernal Affairs". Andy Lau's performance blew Matt Damon's completely out of the water as far as I concerned, and I feel that's one of the chief reasons why "Infernal Affairs" is better. Let's hope more people become acquainted with IA, since without it, "The Departed" would literally not have existed. (At least Scorcese was gracious enough to thank Andy Lau in his acceptance speech.)
In any case, I am happy that this trilogy has come out on DVD in general release (otherwise I might have to try Chinese import stores or eBay!)and here's looking forward to the next releases by Dragon Dynasty!
- Ray Hoey, Santa Rosa, California | March 15, 2007
Beautiful
And sad. And powerful. And totally worth watching.
- Spence, Missouri | March 16, 2007
Near perfect DVD release of best HK Crime Series
Loved this series, however I was a little disappointed that Bey wasn't able to do a new commentary track on all 3 films.
- Don Jariyasunant, La Palma, CA | March 17, 2007
A masterpiece in Hong Kong cinematic excellence
Renown directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak delivered a visionary art form of action and suspense in this Hong Kong award-winning masterpiece that takes you into the world of organized crime and police corruption. A Superintendent (Anthony Wong- John Woo's HARD BOILED, BLACK MASK and THE MEDALLION) recruits a rookie cop ("Tony" Leung Chiu-Wai- Jet Li's HERO) as an undercover operative to work his way in the triad ring to help bring down the leader (Eric Tsang- THE ACCIDENTAL SPY and Jet Li's CONTRACT KILLER) but is unaware that the leader has a mole (Andy Lau- HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS and Jackie Chan's LEGEND OF DRUNKEN MASTER) who works in the police department.
As a respective fan of Hong Kong movies and corrupt cop-related action flicks like TRAINING DAY, DARK BLUE, RESERVOIR DOGS and CITY ON FIRE, the story in INFERNAL AFFAIRS captured my attention right away while I witness the cast of HK screen pros deliver a strong performance to keep the energy pumping.
Andy Lau plays Lau Kin-Ming who grew up around the life of crime headlined by triad boss Hon Sam (Eric Tsang). Sam feeds him the criminal lifestyle before he enters the police academy to obtain the proper needs to be a good cop. He witnesses his classmate Chan Wing-Yan (Tony Leung) get expelled from the academy which was planted as an act for him to be recruited by Superintendent Wong (Anthony Wong) as an undercover cop. Lau secretly works for Hon Sam while succeeding in the police department and Chan gains Sam's trust as a triad member, which is reported to Wong. A decade passes by and the two cops maintain their same positions but are confused about their true identities. Things get twisted when both bosses learn that the other has a mole working for them and the loyalty turns into betrayal, then things begin to unfold.
Renown action choreographer Dion Lam (THE PROMISE, EXIT WOUNDS, SPIDER-MAN 2 and DOOM) also stepped in to take part in the film as one of the triad members who kills off an important character in the movie.
INFERNAL AFFAIRS was well-crafted by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak along with masterful cinematography, nice action sequences and a strong cast who helped pull the strings to help earn it Best Picture at the 2002 Hong Kong Film Awards. Famed director Martin Scorsese (GOODFELLAS) would take inspiration from the film to helm the 2006 American remake, THE DEPARTED, which would also earn multiple nominations and awards due to it's success. This tells you that if it wasn't for INFERNAL AFFAIRS, THE DEPARTED would have never came into existence which is more evident that the movie was a crime thrilling phenomenon and a highly recommended film for American audiences.
This movie is a classic and will go in the history books due to it's excellent story, a supporting cast and a nice twist which makes it an enjoyable cop movie and a Hong Kong masterpiece in cinematic excellence for years to come.
- Chris Stoddard, Clinton, Md. | March 17, 2007
Well done package with great special features.
Amazing movie series. Best I've seen in years. Like the Godfather trilogy only all the movies were good. Now Dragon Dynasty needs to get out more movies with these actors! Fulltime Killer maybe?
- Ryan Fearing, Brooklyn Center, MN | March 23, 2007
Great set. . .almost perfect.
The films are great, the DVD's look good. But it would have been great to have had IA1 re-packaged and numbered to go with the set. Aside from that, its a great set!
- jeff, hkcuk.co.uk | March 28, 2007
So good you want to hate it
I seriously believe that this was just another opportunity to feed off of The Departed's success at the Academy Awards, but one must take into consideration that without this trilogy, there is no The Departed. It's obvious that the box set was rushed out for many reasons that can be seen on the exterior (the first film's packaging wasn't made to match the second two as they were released by American distributor Weinstein and the first by Miramax) and interior (all three films have "making of" featurettes but only one, [you guessed it] the first, has other extras like interviews, outside analysis and both languages supported by 5.1 Dolby Digital while the others do English but in 2.0 Stereo).
All hate aside, the films are brilliantly depicted with excellent cinematography and acting. Many of the roles are superior to parellel roles in The Departed and the action is evenly spread out. Climax after climax will have you flinching, reeling, laughing and screaming at the events that are unfolding until you are forced to realize that for most of us, the Hong Kong crime world is not a place we exist in nor wish to be. For $40 this is a bargain you do not want to miss.
- Jeff, Los Angeles | June 19, 2007
I thought it was put together nicely and was enjoyable.
After seeing that it was the inspiration of The Departed, I had to get. Reading that the second was a prequel I decided to watch them in the correct order based on the story, IA2, IA1, and IA3, and seeing it in that order makes you start to care for all the characters and feel sorry for them all, well maybe not the Triad boss. These movies were the best Hong Kong films I seen so far. After seeing the Infernal Affairs trilogy, I have to say The Departed wasn't as good.
- Andrew Inman, Tupelo, MS | April 26, 2008
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