CINEmelma: infernal affairs II

Difficile, dopo un grande successo, tirarsi indietro di fronte alle sirene che invitano a fare seguiti su seguiti; molti ci sono caduti e tantissimi si sono scottati.
Wai Keung Lau e Siu Fai Mak, reduci dal successo del primo Infernal Affairs, non perdono l'occasione per cimentarsi in un secondo capitolo; quello che sorprende è che anche questa volta sono riusciti a creare un ottimo film con una trama solida ed appassionante.

Infernal Affairs II si presenta come un prequel alle vicende del primo capitolo, spiegando come e perché polizia e gangster sono arrivati ad infiltrare i rispettivi uomini nell'altrui organizzazione. Assistiamo alla genesi ed all'ascesa del boss Sam (anch'egli coi suoi impensabili trascorsi) al centro di una spietata lotta per il controllo del crimine ad Hong-Kong nei turbolenti anni del ritorno alla Cina.
Sparatorie, doppi giochi, amore e vendetta in una trama eccellente che si incastra alla perfezione con quanto narrato nel primo film.
Dopo una partenza un po' lenta e confusa che rischia di spiazzare un poco, il film carbura man mano che vengono fornite spiegazioni sui vari ruoli, in un crescendo che porterà ad un finale da brividi lungo la schiena.

Decenti - senza eccedere - gli interpreti (ma apprezzo molto Eric Tsang), sempre brillante la regia: pulita ed impeccabile, non si fa mancare un paio di perle notevoli.
Assolutamente da vedere dopo il primo.

Voto: 8. Non vedo l'ora di guardare il terzo, che ho già in casa.
Tags: crimine, azione, drammatico, thriller, seguito, Hong-Kong, gang, gangster, prequel, codice morse, informatore, talpa, droga, Cina, polizia, triade, sparatoria, omicidio, Thailandia, mafia, strage, infiltrato, poliziotto, amore, morte, sotto copertura.

Lau, Wai Keung

Nome di battesimo: Lau, Wai-Keung
Data di nascita: 4 April 1960

Ultimi lavori:

The Flock (2007) .... (producer) (as Andrew Lau) [produttore]
Hau mo chu (2007) .... (producer) [produttore]
Yan tsoi gong wu (2007) .... (producer) (as Andrew Lau) [produttore]
Daisy (2006) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
Seung sing (2006) .... (producer) (as Andrew Lau) [produttore]
Siu sum ngan (2006) .... (producer) [produttore]
Ching yi ngor sum gi (2005) .... (producer) [produttore]
Tau man ji D (2005) .... (producer) [produttore]
Chow lok yuen (2003) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
Hak yau nyn long (2003) .... [regista]

Biografia:
Andrew Lau Wai-Keung was born in Hong Kong in 1960, and has been fond of photography as a child. He joined Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. after secondary school graduation. The first film he participated in as a semi-skilled worker in cinematography was Legendary Weapons of China directed by Chia-Liang Liu.His position rose throughout the years with film such as City on Fire, Where's Officer Tuba?, As Tears Go By, Curry and Pepper, Lee Rock and Lee Rock II. His work as a cinematographer has also garnered him several nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Lau had later gotten recognition for his loose style in capturing natural light and dynamic camera movements.His directorial debut arrived in 1990 with Against All, but he didn't give up his career as a cinematographer. He also co-directed the films To Live and Die in Tsimshatsui and Modern Romance, alongside director Jing Wong. In 1995, he took up the position of director and cinematographer once again for the films Love of the Last Emperor and The Mean Street Story.Lau founded B.O.B. & Partners Co. Ltd. jointly with Manfred Wong and Jing Wong. The first film of this company was Young and Dangerous which was released in 1996 and became a box office hit. In the same year, the 'B.O.B. trio' produced the film's first two sequels.From 1996 to 1998, he continued to direct films including the Young and Dangerous Saga--and "The Storm Riders." Having been involved in the Young and Dangerous films including its four sequels, Lau finished his involvement with the franchise with "Young and Dangerous: The Prequel" in 1998, and "Born to Be King" in 2000.Lau has also made a name for himself for combining martial arts with computer-animated special effects on the movie screen in such acclaimed films as The Storm Riders and A Man Called Hero. Other films such as Sausalito and Dance of a Dream have lightened Andrew's film career.In 2002, Lau established Basic Pictures, a company that started out with the blockbuster movie Infernal Affairs, in which he co-directed alongside co-writer Siu Fai Mak (Alan Mak). It would be the first of many collaborations involving the directing duo.The film starred the four top actors of its year--Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Eric Tsang and Anthony Wong Chau-Sang-- along with the year's two top actresses--Kelly Chen and Sammi Cheng.Infernal Affairs was the number one box-office hit in Hong Kong that year, breaking several box office records alone. Furthermore, the film won many Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Picture, Best Directors (Lau and Mak), Best Screenplay (Mak and co-writer Chong), and Best Supporting Actor (Wong). Infernal Affairs also went on win awards at the 40th Golden Horse Awards and the Golden Bauhinia Awards.Not only was the film successful worldwide, but it later became the inspiration for Martin Scorsese's 2006 film, The Departed (2006).In 2003, Lau and Mak had completed the trilogy with the prequel Infernal Affairs II, and the sequel/prequel Infernal Affairs III. Later that year, the directing duo won the "Leaders of the Year 2003" Award in the Sports/Culture/Entertainment Category.In 2004, Lau and Mak worked on another blockbuster, Initial D, which was shot in Japan and released in Hong Kong during the summer. Once again, it was also another successful film for Lau and Mak, winning multiple awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards, winning for Best New Performer (Jay Chou), Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang), and Best Visual Effects.In 2006, Lau, Mak and scriptwriter Felix Chong re-teamed to make the 2005 film, Moonlight in Tokyo. They re-teamed again for the 2006 film Confessions of Pain, once again re-teaming with Infernal Affairs star Tony Leung Chiu Wai.With his difference in style and aspiration, Andrew Lau, as a prolific director/cinematographer continues to make good quality films that will appeal to a mass audience.

Trivia random: Founded B.O.B. & Partners Co. Ltd., in partnership with writer-producer Manfred Wong, and writer-producer-director Jing Wong. The B.O.B. stands for 'Best of the Best'.
Citazione random: "When I direct a script, because of my background as a cinematographer, the look of the film becomes essential."

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Mak, Siu Fai

Data di nascita: 1 January 1965

Ultimi lavori:

Hei wong ji wong (2007) .... [attore]
The Departed (2006) .... (2002 screenplay Mou gaan dou) (as Alan Mak) [scrittore]
Seung sing (2006) .... (written by) (as Alan Mak) [scrittore]
Ching yi ngor sum gi (2005) .... [scrittore]
Tau man ji D (2005) .... [regista]
Miu gaan diy III: Chung gik miu gaan (2003) .... (characters) (written by) (as Alan Mak) [scrittore]
Mou gaan dou II (2003) .... (characters) (written by) (as Alan Mak) [scrittore]
Mou gaan dou (2002) .... (written by) (as Alan Mak) [scrittore]
Sun jaat si mui (2002) .... [attore]
Bit luen (2001) .... [regista]

Biografia:
Alan Mak Siu Fai was born in Hong Kong in 1965. In 1986, he studied in the School of Drama at the Hong Kong Academy for Performance Arts. Upon graduation in 1990, he started his movie career.Mak made his directorial debut in 1997, with his first film being Nude Fear, which was written and produced by Joe Ma. After that, Mak had directed more films such as Rave Fever (1999), A War Named Desire (2000), Final Romance (2001), and Stolen Love (2001), which would be his first collaboration with writer Felix Chong.In 2002, Mak and Chong wrote their first script together. The movie was Infernal Affairs, which was produced by Mak's directing partner, Wai Keung Lau (Andrew Lau), who also served as cinematographer. Lau and Mak also served as directors for the film, and it would be the first of many collaborations involving the directing duo.The film starred the four top actors of its year--Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Eric Tsang and Anthony Wong Chau-Sang--along with the year's two top actresses--Kelly Chen and Sammi Cheng.Infernal Affairs was the number one box-office hit in Hong Kong that year, breaking several box office records alone. Furthermore, the film won many Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Picture, Best Directors (Lau and Mak), Best Screenplay (Mak and co-writer Chong), and Best Supporting Actor (Wong). Infernal Affairs also went on win awards at the 40th Golden Horse Awards and the Golden Bauhinia Awards.Not only was the film successful worldwide, but it later became the inspiration for Martin Scorsese's 2006 film, The Departed (2006).In 2003, Lau and Mak had completed the trilogy with the prequel Infernal Affairs II and the sequel/prequel and Infernal Affairs III. That same year, Mak received the '2003 Leader of the Year' award in the Sports/Culture/Entertainment category. This honor has made Mak's accomplishment scale new heights.In 2004, Lau and Mak worked on another blockbuster, Initial D, which was shot in Japan and released in Hong Kong during the summer. Once again, it was also another successful film for Lau and Mak, winning multiple awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards, winning for Best New Performer (Jay Chou), Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang), and Best Visual Effects.In 2006, Lau, Mak and scriptwriter Felix Chong re-teamed to make the 2005 film, Moonlight in Tokyo. They re-teamed again for the 2006 film Confessions of Pain, once again re-teaming with Infernal Affairs star Tony Leung Chiu Wai.To this day, along with his partners, Wai Keung Lau, and Felix Chong, Alan Mak, as a prolific director, continues to make films, that will continue to challenge and appeal a mass audience.

Citazione random: "I like shooting movies in Thailand very much because the government is so cooperative there. The police help you to close the roads for shooting. The industry people are well trained, too, since they have supported a lot of Hollywood films, particularly war movies."

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

martedì 21 agosto 2007

infernal affairs II

Mou gaan dou II (2003)

Lau, Wai Keung

Tsang, Eric (I)

Mou gaan dou (2002)

Mak, Siu Fai

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