Infernal Affairs (Mou Gaan Dou; Pinyin) is a 2002 Hong Kongcrime-thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. 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 path", 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. Due to its commercial and critical success, Infernal Affairs was followed by aprequel, Infernal Affairs II, and a sequel, Infernal Affairs III, both released in 2003, as well as a 2006 American remake, The Departed.
Pre-release publicity for Infernal Affairs focused on its star-studded cast (Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Kelly Chen and Sammi Cheng), but it later received critical acclaim for its original plot and its concise and swift storytelling style. The film did exceptionally well in Hong Kong, where it was considered "a box office miracle" and heralded as a revival ofHong Kong cinema which at the time was considered to be direly lacking in creativity.
The film features all the members of the popular Hong Kong 'Cantopop' group EO2, playing Triad boss Hom Sam's men. One member of this group has subsequently become a lead actor (Osman Hung).
Miramax Films acquired the United States distribution rights of this film and gave it a limited US theatrical release in 2004.
The Infernal Affairs series was then remade by Martin Scorsese in 2006 as The Departed, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. (wiki)
