Infernal Affairs? The Hollywoodisation of World Cinema

Martin Scorsese's 'The Departed' (2006) is an academy award winning crime film about the police and the Irish mob infiltrating each other with a mole.  What most people don't know is that The Departed is actually a remake of Hong Kong crime-thriller 'Infernal Affairs' (2002) directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak.  Both films are critically acclaimed, so why remake such a successful film so soon (only four years) after the original?  It's all part of the 'Hollywoodisation' (Klein, 2004) of taking foreign films and turning them into marketable American blockbusters.

The two movie posters here show that both films thrive on tension, but there are some elements in The Departed that are not part of Infernal Affairs, mainly the love triangle that develops as well as more emphasis on personal relationships.  







'The Departed' poster, courtesy of imdb.com                                   'Infernal Affairs' poster, courtesy of imdb.com


Klein says that eastern and western cinema are borrowing from each other (2004), and this is very much the case with these two films.  ‘These industries are becoming more closely integrated with on another, both materially and aesthetically’ (Klein 2004, p.360).  While the main plot is pretty much the same, the characters relationships and all the small details very much set each other apart.  The Departed focuses more on personal relationships, while Infernal Affairs is more into the action and the shootouts.  

Infernal Affairs trailer via youtube.com

The Departed trailer via youtube.com

Again the two trailers show that both cinema's are taking inspiration from each other, and this is showing just how important globalisation is for world cinema.  

References

Klein C. 2004, ‘Martial Arts and the Globalization of the US and Asian Film Industries’, comparative American studies, Sage publications, London, p360.