Chinese disaster film based on events surrounding the 1976 earthquake in Tangshan, which took the lives of 240,000 people. In the aftermath of the devastating quake, a widowed seamstress (Xu Fan) must choose which of her brother-and-sister twins will be saved after rescuers find them pinned down by a single concrete block. She chooses her son, Fang Dan (Chen Li), unaware that her daughter Fang Deng (Jingchu Zhang) has in fact also survived the ordeal. The film then follows the divergent lives of the two siblings from this point until their eventual reunion in the Sichuan earthquake of 2008.
10 months after the murder of Chen Wing Yan (Leung) the investigation is closed with the conclusion that Ming (Lau) successfully took out the Triad's mole. Relegated to a benign office job and his marriage over a new star enters the IA team in the form of the up-and-coming Superintendent Yeung whose meteoric rise mirrors that of Ming. Suspecting that Yeung is a mole like he was Ming begins to investigate the new hot-shot... Involving a complex flashback narrative binding the new
Director Zhang Yimou brings the sumptuous visual style of his previous films (Raise the Red Lantern, Shanghai Triad) to the high-kicking kung fu genre. A nameless warrior (Jet Li, Romeo Must Die, Once Upon a Time in China) arrives at an emperor's palace with three weapons, each belonging to a famous assassin who had sworn to kill the emperor. As the nameless man spins out his story--and the emperor presents his own interpretation of what might really have happened--each episode is drenched in red, blue, white or another dominant color. Hero combines sweeping cinematography and superb performances from the cream of the Hong Kong cinema (Maggie Cheung, Irma Vep, Comrades: Almost a Love Story; Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, In the Mood for Love, Hard Boiled; and Zhang Ziyi, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). The result is stunning, a dazzling action movie with an emotional richness that deepens with every step. --Bret Fetzer
The explosively stylish, gripping saga of two rival moles that jolted the Hong Kong crime drama to new life is now available in one box set.The Hong Kong crime drama was jolted to new life with the release of the Infernal Affairs trilogy, 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-played by superstars TONY LEUNG CHIU-WAI (In the Mood for Love) and ANDY LAU TAK-WAH (As Tears Go By)- 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 own fractured identity and the psychic schisms of life in a postcolonial purgatory.Infernal AffairsTwo of Hong Kong cinema's most iconic leading men, TONY LEUNG CHIU-WAI and ANDY LAU TAK-WAH, face off in the breath-taking thriller that revitalized the citystate's twenty-first-century film industry, launched a blockbuster franchise, and inspired Martin Scorsese's The Departed.The setup is diabolical in its simplicity: two undercover moles-a police officer (Leung) assigned to infiltrate a ruthless triad by posing as a gangster, and a gangster (Lau) who becomes a police officer in order to serve as a spy for the underworld-find themselves locked in a deadly game of cat and mouse, each racing against time to unmask the other. As the shifting loyalties, murky moral compromises, and deadly betrayals mount, Infernal Affairs raises haunting questions about what it means to live a double life, lost in a labyrinth of conflicting identities and allegiances.Infernal Affairs IIThe first of two sequels to follow in the wake of the massively successful Infernal Affairs softens the original's furious pulp punch in favour of something more sweeping, elegiac, and overtly political. 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 KOON-HEI and SHAWN YUE MAN-LOK), and the ascendant crime boss (ERIC TSANG CHI-WAI) and police inspector (ANTHONY WONG CHAU-SANG) whose respective rises reveal a shocking hidden connection.Unfolding against the political and psychological upheaval of Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China, this elegant, character-driven crime drama powerfully connects its themes of split loyalties to the city-state's own postcolonial identity crisis.Infernal Affairs IIITONY LEUNG CHIU-WAI and ANDY LAU TAK-WAH return for the cathartic conclusion of the Infernal Affairs trilogy, which layers on even more deep-cover intrigue while steering the series into increasingly complex psychological territory. Dancing back and forth in time to before and after the events of the original film, Infernal Affairs III follows triad gangster turned corrupt cop Lau Kin-ming (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 (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.Product FeaturesNew 4K digital restorations, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracksAudio commentaries for Infernal Affairs and Infernal Affairs II featuring codirectors Andrew Lau Wai-keung and Alan Mak and screenwriter Felix Chong Man-keungAlternate ending for Infernal AffairsNew interview with Lau and MakArchival 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-chakMaking-of programmesBehind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, and outtakesTrailersNew English subtitle translationsPLUS: An essay by film critic Justin Chang
Infernal Affairs (2002): A mole in the police force. An undercover cop inside the criminal organisation. The objective is the same: each must discover the other before their own position is exposed. Who will succeed and who will pay the ultimate price for their failure? A gripping police Hong Kong police thriller starring Andy Lau and Tony Leung the super-stylish Infernal Affairs was the biggest grossing Hong Kong film of 2002 and has even seen the Hollywood re
One man will challenge an empire... In pre-Imperial China feared warrior Nameless (Jet Li) is granted an audience with the ruler of the most powerful of the seven warring kingdoms (Chen Daoming). Posing as a minor official Nameless sets about his mission of revenge by relating the tale of how he defeated the three most fearsome of the ruler's adversaries. However nothing is as it seems and Nameless is placed in great personal peril as the king suggests a very different version of events which brought him to the palace... Filled with breathtaking wirework-enhanced martial arts sequences from action choreographer Ching Siu-Tung ('New Dragon Gate Inn' 'A Chinese Ghost Story') truly sumptuous cinematography from the legendary Christopher Doyle ('In The Mood For Love') and an expressive traditional score from Tan Dun ('Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon') Zhang Yimou's elegant epic features an intriguing 'Rashomon' style flashback structure that will keep the audience guessing until the very end. The most expensive movie ever made in China and a blockbuster upon its' theatrical release in the U.S. 'Hero' showcases the outstanding talents ofa multi-award winning cast including the pairing of Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as star crossed lovers the coquettish Zhang Ziyi ('Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon') as a feisty apprentice venerated Chen Daoming lending gravitas as the Emperor-in-waiting and real-life martial arts masters Donnie Yen and Jet Li who co-designed perhaps the greatest duel ever committed to celluloid. Nominated for both an Oscar and a BAFTA 'Hero' is an exceptional example of Asian cinema and really is one of the best looking films ever made. - The Guardian.
Aftershock
Ming (Andy Lau) and Tan (Tony Leung) lead parallel lives: Ming is a Triad mole in the police department; Yan is a police stooge in mob boss Sam′s (Eric Tsang) Triad Gang. Both men have a desire to put their false lives behind them and to take their rightful place in a society that eludes them One night during a police raid to bring down Sam's Empire the two men′s paths finally cross. Both the police and the mob soon realise that there is a mole amongst them and a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues. In this race again time nobody is safe and the lives of everyone involved becomes threatened. In the meantime Superintendant Wong (Anthony Wong) does his best to keep Yan′s secret safe but how long can the men′s hidden lives remain undiscovered
Director Zhang Yimou brings the sumptuous visual style of his previous films (Raise the Red Lantern, Shanghai Triad) to the high-kicking kung fu genre. A nameless warrior (Jet Li, Romeo Must Die, Once Upon a Time in China) arrives at an emperor's palace with three weapons, each belonging to a famous assassin who had sworn to kill the emperor. As the nameless man spins out his story--and the emperor presents his own interpretation of what might really have happened--each episode is drenched in red, blue, white or another dominant color. Hero combines sweeping cinematography and superb performances from the cream of the Hong Kong cinema (Maggie Cheung, Irma Vep, Comrades: Almost a Love Story; Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, In the Mood for Love, Hard Boiled; and Zhang Ziyi, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). The result is stunning, a dazzling action movie with an emotional richness that deepens with every step. --Bret Fetzer
City Of God (2002): Youth gangs took over the slums of Rio de Janeiro during the 1960s and didn't relinquish their stronghold until the mid-1980s. Only a sucker wouldn't have turned to crime and this is exactly how naive teen Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) views himself. His attempts in illegal activity fail as he finds potential victims too friendly. Equally unsuccessful in love he regularly fails to lose his virginity. Blood spills throughout the streets of the Cidade de Deus as gang leader Li'l Ze (Douglas Silva) is challenged by local druglords and a gang of pre-teens known as the Runts. Nominated for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2004 Oscars. (Dir. Fernando Meirelles Cert. 18) Hero (2004): One man will challenge an empire... In pre-Imperial China feared warrior Nameless (Jet Li) is granted an audience with the ruler of the most powerful of the seven warring kingdoms (Chen Daoming). Posing as a minor official Nameless sets about his mission of revenge by relating the tale of how he defeated the three most fearsome of the ruler's adversaries. However nothing is as it seems and Nameless is placed in great personal peril as the king suggests a very different version of events which brought him to the palace... Filled with breathtaking wirework-enhanced martial arts sequences from action choreographer Ching Siu-Tung ('New Dragon Gate Inn' 'A Chinese Ghost Story') truly sumptuous cinematography from the legendary Christopher Doyle ('In The Mood For Love') and an expressive traditional score from Tan Dun ('Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon') Zhang Yimou's elegant epic features an intriguing 'Rashomon' style flashback structure that will keep the audience guessing until the very end. The most expensive movie ever made in China and a blockbuster upon its' theatrical release in the U.S. 'Hero' showcases the outstanding talents ofa multi-award winning cast including the pairing of Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as star crossed lovers the coquettish Zhang Ziyi ('Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon') as a feisty apprentice venerated Chen Daoming lending gravitas as the Emperor-in-waiting and real-life martial arts masters Donnie Yen and Jet Li who co-designed perhaps the greatest duel ever committed to celluloid. Nominated for both an Oscar and a BAFTA 'Hero' is an exceptional example of Asian cinema and ""really is one of the best looking films ever made."" - The Guardian
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy