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Winner of seven Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, the original version of Infernal Affairs is making its way to North American shores courtesy of Miramax before Martin Scorsese re-imagines the story with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead roles. The original Hong Kong version of the film has already spawned two follow-up films, a sequel and a prequel, and is one of the most popular series the country has ever seen.

In the first film, the story is set in the never-ending war between the police and a gang known as the triads. Chan (the remarkable Tony Leung) is a police officer who has been assigned to do undercover work within the gang for such an extended period of time that he has been able to rise through the ranks of the Triads to a position of authority.

Meanwhile, Lau (Andy Lau) is a member of the Triads who has infiltrated the police force and has been just as successful as Chan in his work as an "undercover agent." As both men feed their bosses and organizations information on the secret plans of the organizations to which they pretend loyalty, they begin to feel oppressed by the strain of their double lives. Both Chan and Lau are torn between their obligations to their real affiliations and the growing camaraderie they feel with the everyday coworkers they are actually trying to sabotage.

Both the police and the Triads become aware that they have moles in their midst, so the pressure is on as Chan and Lau both race to escape the dangerous games they are playing with their lives.

A suspenseful, stylistic, and marvelously acted film, Infernal Affairs is definitely a film worth anticipating. Here's hoping Miramax doesn't bungle its release as badly as it has Shaolin Soccer, Zhang Yimou's Hero and Jackie Chan's Legend of Drunken Master. (Kim Hollis/BOP)

June 10, 2004
In keeping with their long-standing tradition of thumbing their noses at foreign film lovers, Miramax has completely removed Infernal Affairs from the release schedule. At this time, there is no indication whether or not the Weinsteins intend to give the film a theatrical release. (Kim Hollis/BOP)

Vital statistics for Infernal Affairs Main Cast Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong Supporting Cast Eric Tsang, Kelly Chen, Sammi Cheng, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Elva Hsiao Director Andrew Lau, Alan Mak Screenwriter Felix Chong, Alan Mak Distributor Miramax Trailer Click Here for Trailer Official Site http://www.infernalaffairs.com/ Rating R Running Time 97 minutes Screen Count 5 Also see David Mumpower reviews Infernal Affairs Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture