Infernal Affairs I
As with the ‘87 Man on Fire, I was initially surprised by how much this original resembled its remake (The Departed) not just in content but also in style. I even had the same panic I had on my first viewing of The Departed – in the first half, that I’d completely lost the plot – this even, again similar to the Man on Fire situation, when I pretty much already know the story, lol. As with Scorsese’s movie, though, it all falls neatly into pleasant focus by the end, with really only a few differences on the way.
It’s always tempting to play “which is the best?” in these situations and in most cases, the answer’s simple: the remake usually pales next to the original. In the Man on Fire situation the opposite was true … but I think Infernal Affairs falls into that other category where the question simply doesn’t apply – like the two Lolitas, the many Wuthering Heightses, in my opinion even the two adaptations of Stephen King’s “Carrie” (sorry, I just love the story and Angela Bettis), and I’m sure there are more and better examples – there’s just no comparing the two. Me being lazy, of course, I’m more likely to favour The Departed for repeat viewings, and Thelma Schoonmaker’s editing (though that too, I’ll admit to my surprise, owes something to the editing here), kind of clinches it for me.
Again, going back to the Man on Fire experience again, anyone who loved the remake really does owe it to themselves to watch this if they haven’t already – you might be surprised and may even question the need for Scorsese’s (almost shot-for-shot in places, it has to be said) effort, practically perfect as it turned out. The soundtrack is really great and, yes, the ending is arguably a lot better than William Monahan’s. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for the other two installments of this (it was ultimately a trilogy), ‘cos I’m really intrigued as to where they take it next.