This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards.(August 2020) |
Infernal Affairs | |
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Traditional Chinese | 無 間 道 |
Simplified Chinese | 无 间 道 |
Directed by | |
Written by |
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Produced by | Andrew Lau |
Starring | |
Cinematography |
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Edited by |
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Music by | Chan Kwong-wing |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Media Asia Distribution |
Release date |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | Hong Kong |
Languages | Cantonese Mandarin |
Budget | US$6.4 million [1] |
Box office | HK$55.1 million |
Infernal Affairs | |||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 無 間 道 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 无 间 道 | ||||||||||
Literal meaning | "Unceasing Path" | ||||||||||
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Infernal Affairs is a 2002 Hong Kong action thriller film [2] directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak from a screenplay written by Mak and Felix Chong. The film stars Andy Lau,Tony Leung,Anthony Wong,Eric Tsang,Sammi Cheng and Kelly Chen. The film follows an undercover Hong Kong Police Force officer who infiltrates a triad and another police officer who is secretly a spy for the same triad. It is the first in the Infernal Affairs series and is followed by Infernal Affairs II and Infernal Affairs III (both 2003).
At the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards,Infernal Affairs won seven out of the sixteen awards it was nominated for—including Best Film,Best Director,Best Actor (Leung),and Best Supporting Actor (Wong). It also won in those categories at the 40th Golden Horse Awards and 8th Golden Bauhinia Awards. The film was selected as Hong Kong's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 76th Academy Awards but was not nominated. Miramax Films acquired the United States distribution rights and gave it a limited US theatrical release in 2004. Martin Scorsese remade the film in 2006 as The Departed ,which won the Academy Award for Best Picture as well as Academy Award for Best Director,Scorsese's first and only Oscar in his career,and Best Adapted Screenplay. [3] [4]
A 4K remaster of the Infernal Affairs trilogy was released on 12 December 2022,to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Infernal Affairs.[ citation needed ]
Hon Sam,a Hong Kong triad boss,sends Lau Kin-ming,a young gangster,to the police academy to become his mole in the Hong Kong Police Force. Around the same time,cadet Chan Wing-yan is ostensibly expelled from the police academy,but is actually selected to be an undercover cop reporting only to Superintendent Wong Chi-shing,who sends him to infiltrate Hon's triad. Over the next ten years,Chan is under great stress due to his questionable actions working undercover. Meanwhile,Lau quickly rises through the ranks,becoming a Senior Inspector.
After successfully infiltrating the triad,Chan informs Wong of a transaction between Hon and some Thai cocaine dealers,which Wong's team interrupts. However,Lau alerts Hon,giving him enough time to get his henchmen to dispose of the evidence. After this incident,Wong and Hon realise they each have a spy within their own organisations,and race each other to uncover the moles. By this time,both Chan and Lau are struggling with their double lives. Chan is afraid he is turning into an actual criminal while also fearing his cover will be blown;he begins undergoing sessions with psychiatrist Lee Sum-yee and jokingly tells her that he is a cop. Meanwhile,Lau appreciates his life as a respected police officer and wants to sever his ties with the triad.
Lau is tasked by Hon to identify the cop who infiltrated the triad;coincidentally,he is also assigned by the HKPF to lead the mission to uncover the triad's mole within their ranks. He uses his new role to have Wong surveilled,hoping to catch him meeting his mole. Wong meets Chan on a rooftop to discuss Hon's next drug shipment as well as Chan's fear of being uncovered. Hon learns about Wong's location from Lau and sends his henchmen to confront them. Chan escapes from the building while Wong tries to distract the gangsters but ends up being thrown off the roof to his death. Just then,the police show up and a shootout ensues. Henchman Keung,unaware that Chan is the mole,chauffeurs him away from the scene but succumbs to a gunshot wound he sustained earlier. When the news reports that Keung was apparently an undercover cop,Hon assumes he was the mole. Using Wong's phone,Lau contacts Chan and convinces him to collaborate in taking Hon down. The police successfully foils Hon's subsequent drug deal and arrests his henchmen. Lau then betrays Hon and kills him.
Everything seems to have fallen into place—Chan can revert to his true identity as a cop while Lau has erased his criminal connections. At police headquarters,Chan and Lau meet for the first time. As Lau prepares to reinstate Chan into the police force,Chan deduces that Lau was the mole and leaves promptly. Realising what had happened,Lau takes possession of Chan's police identity file to use as leverage to dissuade Chan from exposing him. Chan meets with Lee,the only person left whom he can trust,and convinces her that he truly is a cop. Chan then sends a CD to Lau's address containing a recording of Lau's earlier meeting with Hon. Lau's fiancée,Mary,inadvertently listens to the CD and discovers Lau's secret. Chan arranges to meet with Lau on the same rooftop where Wong was killed. There,he disarms Lau and points a pistol to his head. Lau states calmly that he wants to start over as a good person,but Chan rejects his plea to help him conceal his criminal past. Inspector "Big B" arrives and points his gun at Chan,ordering him to release Lau. Chan holds Lau hostage at gunpoint and backs into a lift,but is shot in the head by Big B. Big B then reveals to Lau that he is also a mole planted by Hon,and assures Lau of his loyalty. When they ride the lift down to the ground floor,Lau kills Big B.
Six months later,Lee discovers records of Chan's identity as an undercover cop and he is buried with honours beside Wong. Lau salutes Chan at his funeral. Meanwhile,the internal affairs case is closed after they conclude that Big B was the mole in the police force. A flashback shows the day that Chan was ostensibly expelled from the police academy,with Lau looking back with guilt and wishing he was the one expelled instead.
An alternate ending for the film was shot in order to comply with Article 25 (7) of the Chinese Film Administration Regulations specifying that films cannot propagate obscenity,gambling or violence,or abet to commit crimes. [5] In the original Hong Kong ending,Lau concealed his true identity as a triad spy and identified himself as a police officer to avoid punishment. Therefore,the original ending was deemed to promote criminal activity and injustice,and an alternate ending was filmed to make the film suitable for mainland China. In the alternate ending,Inspector Cheung discovers evidence of Lau's criminal activity and immediately arrests him when he gets off the lift. This alternate ending was shown in mainland China and Malaysia. [6]
Writer Alan Mak had long wanted to write a story about police and gangsters. The script of Infernal Affairs was inspired by John Woo's Face/Off (1997) but Mak knew that its science fiction elements were too implausible in reality,so he focused on the exchange of identity and psychology between the two leads [7] as its themes. In the process of Mak's creation,his good friend Felix Chong also encouraged and supported him. The script,written by Mak and revised by Chong,took three years to complete. [8]
The dialogue in the famous rooftop showdown was created on the spot by Felix Chong and Tony Leung,with Chong playing Andy Lau's part. The script originally included a typical shootout in the third act,but Leung insisted on turning it into a dialogue scene.
Gordon Lam did not receive the full script and did not know his character was also a triad mole until the final scene. [7] [9]
The script for Infernal Affairs originally belonged to Andy Lau's Teamwork Motion Pictures,but due to the company's entanglement in a lawsuit at the time,it was unable to produce the film. [10] In addition,the creative team could not find investors because other studios at the time thought that an undercover film wasn't novel enough to make money. Eventually,Andrew Lau made a hopeless bid and showed the script to John Chong at Media Asia Entertainment Group. To his surprise Chong and company chairman Peter Lam saw potential in the story. Lam proceeded to invest HK $20 million in the film,under the condition that Andy Lau will star the film.
In Infernal Affairs,the identity crisis suffered by both Chan and Lau as moles hint at the struggle of Hong Kong residents,who faced both the colonization by the British and the reunification with Mainland China. Specifically,under Deng Xiaoping's one country,two systems policy,the duplicity,unsettling,and uncertain nature of the future of Hong Kong residents is tightly echoed in Chan and Lau's character developments. Scholar Howard Y. F. Choy further claimed that "this postcolonial (re)turn is actually more a recolonization than a decolonization of the capitalist Cantonese city by the mainland Mandarin master." [6]
Infernal Affairs opens with Buddhist classic Nirvana Sutra Verse Nineteen,stating that "The worst of the Eight Hells is called Continuous Hell. It has the meaning of Continuous Suffering. Thus the name." The film also closes with another quote from Buddha,stating that "He who is in Continuous Hell never dies. Longevity is a big hardship in Continuous Hell." In Buddhism,Continuous Hell is also termed The Avici,where one can never reincarnate nor be relieved from guilt and suffering. This concept of timeless,placeless,and endless suffering especially applies to the character Lau throughout the trilogy,who infinitely bears the burden of self-betrayal (serves as a mole),loss of family and friendship,and unsettledness. [6]
Upon its premiere in Hong Kong,Infernal Affairs grossed $160,356 during the opening day (16–19 January). In total,the film grossed $7,035,649 during its run in Hong Kong theatres. [11] The film was then released across Asia,where it grossed a further $169,659 from theatre receipts. In 2016,South Korean theaters re-released the film,which went on to gross $128,026 across three weeks. The total lifetime gross of the film in Korea is $977,903. [12]
In total,worldwide,the film grossed $8,836,958 across release in both domestic markets and European theatres which displayed the film.
On Rotten Tomatoes,Infernal Affairs has an approval rating of 94% based on reviews from 64 critics,with an average rating of 7.50/10. The consensus from the site reads as "Smart and engrossing,this is one of Hong Kong's better cop thrillers." [13] On Metacritic,the film has a score of 75 out of 100 based on reviews from 19 critics,indicating "generally favorable reviews". It was ranked as the 62nd Best Movie of 2004,86th Most Discussed Movie of 2004,and the 95th Most Shared Movie of 2004. [14]
Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film a three-out-of-four star rating and described Infernal Affairs as offering "rare emotional depth." In his words,"The movie pays off in a kind of emotional complexity rarely seen in crime movies. I cannot reveal what happens but will urge you to consider the thoughts of two men who finally confront their own real identities—in the person of the other character." [15] New York Times reviewer Elvis Mitchell was so enraptured with the film that he stated that "Infernal Affairs is so beautifully shot that the images occasionally distract you from the condensed policier plot." [16]
Infernal Affairs played an integral role in Andrew Lau's breakout films in entering the 21st century. Being the most critically acclaimed film of his to date,it was ranked No. 30 in Empire's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" in 2019. [17]
Infernal Affairs gained significant traction during its festival run as it was nominated for sixteen awards during the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards,winning seven of those categories. It also won the Best Picture at the 40th Golden Horse Awards,the 8th Golden Bauhinia Awards,and the Best Foreign Language Film at the 46th Blue Ribbon Awards.
Eventually,Infernal Affairs would spark the creation of two more films,with Infernal Affairs II getting 11 nominations and Infernal Affairs III getting 7 nominations during the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards,with Infernal Affairs II winning Best Original Film Song.
List of Accolades | |||
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Award / Film Festival | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
Udine Far East Film Festival | Audience Award | Andrew Lau Alan Mak | Won |
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 |
With star power,visual allure,and an engaging script,Infernal Affairs did very well critically and financially,spawned two sequels and a television series,and attracted the attention of Hollywood. [18] In 2003,Brad Pitt's production company Plan B Entertainment acquired the rights for a Hollywood remake,named The Departed ,which was directed by Martin Scorsese,written by William Monahan,starred Leonardo DiCaprio,Matt Damon,Jack Nicholson,Mark Wahlberg,Martin Sheen,Ray Winstone,Vera Farmiga,and Alec Baldwin,set in Boston,Massachusetts,and roughly based on the life of famed Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger. The Departed was released on 6 October 2006 by Warner Bros. Pictures and won four Academy Awards,including Best Picture,Best Adapted Screenplay for Monahan,and Best Director for Scorsese. Andrew Lau,the co-director of Infernal Affairs,who was interviewed by Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily ,said:"Of course I think the version I made is better,but the Hollywood version is pretty good too. [Scorsese] made the Hollywood version more attuned to American culture." Andy Lau, [19] one of the main actors in Infernal Affairs,when asked how the movie compares to the original,said:"The Departed was too long and it felt as if Hollywood had combined all three Infernal Affairs movies together." [20] Lau pointed out that the remake featured some of the "golden quotes" of the original but did have much more swearing. He ultimately rated The Departed 8/10 and said that the Hollywood remake is worth a view,though according to Lau's spokeswoman Alice Tam,he felt that the combination of the two female characters into one in The Departed was not as good as the original storyline. [21]
Media Asia released a limited edition of eight-DVD set of the Infernal Affairs trilogy in an Ultimate Collectible Boxset (無間道終極珍藏DVD系列(8DVD套裝)) on 20 December 2004. Features included an online game and two Chinese novelisations of the film series by Lee Muk-Tung (李牧童),titled 無間道I+II小說and 無間道III終極無間小說.
In 2009,a Korean remake City of Damnation ,which was directed by Kim Dong-won was released on 22 January 2009. In 2009,a Telugu remake Homam ,which directed and acted by JD Chakravarthy along with Jagapathi Babu was released and became a notable movie. [22] [23] In 2012,Double Face (ダブルフェイス),a Japanese television remake starring Hidetoshi Nishijima was released by TBS and WOWOW. [24] The production aired in two parts:"Police Impersonation" on WOWOW and "Undercover" on TBS.
A TV series remake debuted in 2018 produced by Media Asia and former TVB producer Tommy Leung. The series,which is titled Infernal Affairs like the film,stars Gallen Lo,Damian Lau,Paul Chun,Lo Hoi-pang,Eric Tsang,Derek Kok,Dominic Lam,Toby Leung and Yuen Biao. [25] The story takes place years after the films' events,with some minor characters reprising their roles alongside a new cast. The TV series uses the same concept as the film,but with an entirely new story and characters,and the setting expanded beyond Hong Kong to include Thailand and Shenzhen. It stretched through three seasons with each season consisting of 12 episodes. [26]
Hindi remake is going to be a joint development between Warner Bros. India and Mumbai –based banner Azure and is set for a remake for a two-picture deal [27]
Lau,Tsang,and Jacky Cheung parodied the cinema scene to promote the Hong Kong Film Awards. Lau and Tsang,in their respective characters,go through the scene where they meet to gather info on the undercover cop amongst Hon Sam's gang. Lau Kin-ming asks Hon,"Why do we always meet in a cinema?",to which Hon answers,"It's quiet. No one comes to movies". Cheung comes out from the shadows behind them and says,"I don't know...quite a few people watch movies" and we see a slew of Hong Kong celebrities watching various clips of Hong Kong films on the screen. Originally Tony Leung was going to appear but scheduling conflicts led to the recasting.
The 2003 TVB spoof celebrating the Chinese New Year called Mo Ba To (吐氣羊眉賀新春之無霸道),the 2004 comedy film Love Is a Many Stupid Thing by Wong Jing,and the 2004 TVB television drama Shades of Truth were re-writings based on the plot of the film.
In Taiwan SHODA (劉裕銘) and a secondary school student Blanka (布蘭卡) cut and rearranged the original film and inserted new sound tracks to produce their videos Infernal Affairs CD pro2 and Infernal Affairs iPod on the web. The videos had many views and both producers removed their videos after receiving cease and desist letters from the Group Power Workshop Limited (群體工作室),the Taiwan distributor of the film. [28]
The hi-fi shop scene was later recreated with additions of excerpts of the film to encourage businesses to join the Quality Tourism Services Scheme in Hong Kong. [29]
The success of the film inspired many genres,including an open-world video game from United Front Games titled Sleeping Dogs (or True Crime:Hong Kong before being canceled by Activision Blizzard in 2011), [30] with the protagonist of the story infiltrating the criminal underworld as an undercover cop.
The original film score for Infernal Affairs was written and performed by Chan Kwong-wing.
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
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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.
Although not included in the soundtrack album, Tsai Chin's song "Forgotten Times" (被遺忘的時光) features prominently in this film as a recurring element of its storyline, and also in its sequels.
Infernal Affairs III is a 2003 Hong Kong crime action film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is the third and final installment in the Infernal Affairs film series, and is both a sequel and a semi-prequel to the original film, as it intercuts events before and after the events in the first film. Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Kelly Chen, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, and Chapman To reprise their roles again, joined by new cast members Leon Lai and Chen Daoming.
Infernal Affairs II is a 2003 Hong Kong crime-action film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is a prequel to the 2002 film Infernal Affairs. Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue and Chapman To reprise their roles from the original film alongside new cast members Carina Lau, Francis Ng, Hu Jun and Roy Cheung. Neither Andy Lau nor Tony Leung, who played the central roles in the original, appear in this film as they are replaced by their younger versions portrayed by Chen and Yue respectively. The events of the film take place from 1991 to 1997. It was followed by Infernal Affairs III (2003), which is both a sequel and a semi-prequel to the original film.
The Departed is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs and also loosely based on the real-life Boston Winter Hill Gang; the character Colin Sullivan is based on the corrupt FBI agent John Connolly, while the character Frank Costello is based on Irish-American gangster and crime boss Whitey Bulger. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg, with Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Alec Baldwin, Anthony Anderson and James Badge Dale in supporting roles.
Andrew Lau Wai-keung is a Hong Kong film director, producer, and cinematographer. Lau began his career in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as a cinematographer to filmmakers such as Ringo Lam, Wong Jing and Wong Kar-wai. In the 1990s, Lau decided to have more creative freedom as a cinematographer by becoming a film director and producer. Apart from making films in his native Hong Kong, Lau has also made films in China, Korea and the United States. A highly prolific filmmaker, Lau has made films in a variety of genres, and is most notable in the West for his action and crime films which include the Young and Dangerous film series, the Infernal Affairs trilogy, and Revenge of the Green Dragons.
Shades of Truth is a 25-episode television comedy-drama from Hong Kong. Produced by Siu Hin-fai, the drama is a TVB production. The story is a parody on the legendary story of Wu Song from the 14th century Chinese classical novel Water Margin (水滸傳) and also the 2002 Hong Kong crime-thriller film Infernal Affairs (無間道).
Confession of Pain is a 2006 Hong Kong crime drama film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, starring Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Shu Qi and Xu Jinglei.
Felix Chong Man-keung is a Hong Kong screenwriter, film director and actor.
Alan Mak Siu-fai, is a Hong Kong writer, director, actor and producer.
This is the filmography of Hong Kong singer, actor and film producer Andy Lau.
Lady Cop & Papa Crook is a 2008 Hong Kong crime film written and directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong, and starring Sammi Cheng and Eason Chan. Chan plays the kingpin of a red diesel crime ring who is forced to team up and co-operate with a hot-tempered police officer (Cheng) when his son is kidnapped, thus beginning an unlikely alliance between fellow police officers and criminals.
The Emissary (獵鷹) is a 1982 Hong Kong crime drama television series produced by TVB and starring Andy Lau in his first television leading role, shooting him to instant fame. Since then, Lau's acting career began to take on a broad road. The series' theme song, titled Being at a High Game (胸懷大志), was composed and arranged by Joseph Koo, with lyrics written by Wong Jim, and was sung by Willie Fung.
Overheard is a 2009 Hong Kong crime thriller film written and directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong, and produced by Henry Fong and Derek Yee. The film stars Lau Ching-wan, Louis Koo and Daniel Wu as a trio of police officers conducting surveillance on a public company. The film was released theatrically in Hong Kong on 30 July 2009. The sequel, Overheard 2, was released in 2011.
Turning Point is a 2009 Hong Kong action crime thriller film directed by Herman Yau and starring Michael Tse in the title role of "Laughing Gor" and co-starring veteran actors Francis Ng and Anthony Wong. Released in Hong Kong on 13 August 2009, this is the first film to be produced by Shaw Brothers since 2003's Drunken Monkey.
Love Is a Many Stupid Thing is a 2004 comedy film written, produced and directed by Wong Jing and starring Eric Tsang, Chapman To, Natalis Chan, Shawn Yue, Lam Chi-chung and Raymond Wong Ho-yin. The film is a parody of the 2002 hit film Infernal Affairs, which featured Tsang, To and Yue. The film based in a bizarre and nonsense war between police and the triads
Infernal Affairs is a series of three crime-action films directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, starring Andy Lau and Tony Leung. It tells the story of a police officer who infiltrates the triads, and a police officer secretly working for the same gang. The Chinese title means "the non-stop way", a reference to Avici, the lowest level of hell in Buddhism. The English title is a word play combining the law enforcement term "internal affairs" with the adjective "infernal". The Criterion Collection released the trilogy as a box set on November 15, 2022.
A True Mob Story is a 1998 Hong Kong crime drama film produced, written and directed by Wong Jing and starring Andy Lau and Gigi Leung.
To Live and Die in Tsimshatsui is a 1994 Hong Kong crime film directed by Andrew Lau and starring Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung, Jacklyn Wu and Power Chan. The film is said to be a remake of a film titled Man on the Brink.
Line Walker is a 2014 Hong Kong crime thriller drama produced by TVB, starring Michael Miu, Charmaine Sheh and Raymond Lam as the main leads, with Sharon Chan, Benz Hui, Elena Kong, Sammy Sum, Oscar Leung and Toby Leung in major supporting roles. It is the first entry in the franchise.
The Infernal Walker, previously known as The Spy Walker and The Redeemer, is a 2020 Hong Kong action film produced by Billy Chung and directed by Ally Wong. The film stars Michael Tse as an undercover cop who infiltrates the triads and Pakho Chau as a triad mole planted into the police force. The Infernal Walker is the first film of a planned trilogy. Originally set for release on 30 September 2020, the film's release was postponed to 19 November 2020.
The Goldfinger is a 2023 Hong Kong crime drama film written and directed by Felix Chong, and starring Tony Leung and Andy Lau. Set in the 1980s, the film is based on the story of Carrian Group, a Hong Kong corporation which rose rapidly before collapsing shortly afterwards due to a corruption scandal.