The Hong Kong Film Festival will host a marathon of 'Infernal Affairs'
The Hong Kong Film Festival will host a marathon of 'Infernal Affairs'
Updated on July 21, 2022 16:19 PM by Dhinesh
At the 46th Hong Kong International Film Festival, all three "Infernal Affairs" films will be screened in a marathon screening. During the festival, a six-film section of Chinese-language restored classics will include these three restored films, all of which have been upgraded to 4K digital prints.
Since Hong Kong cinemas were closed during the first months of 2022 due to the fifth wave of the COVID pandemic, the HKIFF has been postponed to August. The festival will now last 17 days from Aug. 15-31, which will feature both screenings and events to engage the audience.
The section also includes Ann Hui's 1982 title "Boat People", Lou Ye's 2000 release "Suzhou River", and Hou Hsiao-Hsien's 2001 release "Millennium Mambo". The 2002 movie "Infernal Affairs" tells the story of an undercover cop taking down a mole from a triad gang, cementing Hong Kong's reputation as one of the world's top hard-boiled crime movie production hubs.
As a reference to the date when Hong Kong formally returned to Chinese control following the closure of the British colony, the festival called it "arguably the definitive film of the post-1997 era."
As well as the film's co-director Andrew Lau, who also produced through his Basic Pictures company, and established screenwriters Alan Mak and Felix Chong, galvanized their careers. In addition to acting as the lead actor opposite Tony Leung (aka Leung Chiu-wai), Cantopop's 'Heavenly King' Andy Lau (aka Lau Tak-wah) had a successful movie career.
As soon after appearing in Wong Kar-wai's "In The Mood For Love" and Zhang Yimou's "Hero," Leung cemented his status as one of Asia's biggest actors.
After Infernal Affairs I, a prequel film called Infernal Affairs II followed in 2003, and then a finale called Infernal Affairs III later that year. The Departed, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson, was made using scenes from parts of the trilogy by Martin Scorsese in 2006.
William Monaghan collected four Oscars for "The Departed," including best picture and best-adapted screenplay.
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Several changes have taken place in the Hong Kong film industry since "Infernal Affairs" aired. In the 2021 revision of Hong Kong's censorship law, national security considerations are incorporated into Hong Kong's censorship classification system to avoid losing market share to local titles.
Infernal Affairs featured Anthony Wong and Chapman To, two filmmakers, performers, and artists who have since left the territory.
Due to China's essentially taboo attitudes toward police corruption and organized crime, some commentators have asked whether "Infernal Affairs" could be made today.
China's Tencent Video is planning to make an online series adapted from "Infernal Affairs."
Media Asia handled the rights deal, and that studio retained the Chinese-language rights as the film's original representative. Most territories around the world remain the property of Warner Bros., the Hollywood studio behind Scorsese's "Departed."