Criterion in the UK and USA are to release a new 4K remaster box set of the Infernal Affairs Trilogy.
Infernal Affairs was a bracing, explosively stylish critical and commercial triumph that introduced a dazzling level of narrative and thematic complexity to the genre with its gripping saga of two rival moles-brilliantly played by superstars Tony Leung and Andy Lau- who navigate slippery moral choices as they move between the intersecting territories of Hong Kong’s police force and its criminal underworld.
Set during the uncertainty of the city-state’s handover from Britain to China and steeped in Buddhist philosophy, these ingeniously crafted tales of self-deception and betrayal mirror Hong Kong’s fractured identity. (Martin Scorcese remade the film in Holywood as The Departed.)
This box set also includes parts 2 and 3. Flashing back in time, Infernal Affairs II traces the tangled parallel histories that bind the trilogy’s two pairs of adversaries: the young, duelling moles (here played by Edison Chen and Shawn Yue), and the ascendant crime boss (Eric Tsang) and police inspector (Anthony Wong). Their respective rises reveal a shocking hidden connection. Infernal Affairs III follows triad gangster turned corrupt cop Lau Kin-ming (Andy Lau) as he goes to dangerous lengths to avoid detection, matches wits with a devious rival in the force (Leon Lai), and finds himself haunted by the fate of his former undercover nemesis (Tony Leung). A swirl of flashbacks, memories, and hallucinations culminates in a dreamlike merging of identities that drives home the trilogy’s vision of a world in which traditional distinctions between good and evil have all but collapsed.
Special Features –
- New 4K digital restorations, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
- Audio commentaries for Infernal Affairs and Infernal Affairs II featuring co-directors Andrew Lau Wai-keung and Alan Mak and screenwriter Felix Chong Man-keung
- Alternate ending for Infernal Affairs
- New interview with Lau and Mak
- Archival interviews with Lau, Mak, Chong, and actors Andy Lau Tak-wah, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Anthony Wong Chau-sang, Kelly Chen Wai-lam, Edison Chen Koon-hei, Eric Tsang Chi-wai, and Chapman To Man-chak
- Making-of programmes
- Behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, and outtakes
- Trailers
- New English subtitle translations
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Justin Chang
