The Departed vs Infernal Affairs... Which Is Better?

Leigh Singer offers a side-by-side look at Andrew Lau and Alan Mak’s 2002 crime thriller #InfernalAffairs and #MartinScorsese’s star-studded remake #TheDeparted.
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[@santioned_sneh]

It's a bit funny for me on how this legend filmaker actually won an Oscar's for a remake in compare to his other original classics.

[@charlesderosas5577]

Fuck the oscars.

[@gastonmartintripodi2561]

It aint funny😞

[@dawsondjodvorj2408]

FUNNY HOW?

[@santioned_sneh]

@@dawsondjodvorj2408 "you know... the way you tell the story, its funny"

[@jjohnny6424]

Because they have the top directer and actors in hollywood on basis of the story. But the chinese films and their culture always put more implicit meanings in the film and can be easily overlooked for English audience. That is the greatness of Ang Lee because he could use a west logic to tell a story and reach a balance. Actually i like the second one best in the Infernal Affairs Trilogy.

[@offungod1476]

to be honest if u understand Hong Kong Cantonese and watch it carefully, you can find a lot of Easter eggs in infernal affairs. For examples, in the beginning of the movie, the movie describes the situation is like continuous hell. At the last scene the baby was born and Andy Lau used Morse codes to send a message to his wife and baby and it said 'HEL' then the movie stopped, so would it be Hello or Hell ? another example is the elevator scene, Andy Lau wants to turn over a new leaf but Tony Leung didnt trust him at all. After Tony's dead. Andy Lau did a revenge for Tony and shot 3 times upwards in the elevator just like lighting incense sticks for Tony which is a custom to pray for the dead.etc

[@chocoluvluv]

And the point that movie tells is Andy Lau who although the only surviver from both sides who have been suffering from continuous hell, who like to change his life with Tony from the beginning so as to escape from the continue hell, but in fact has to keep living in the continuous hell as long as he mask up himself as a cop. The story tells a lot about the sins of human and audience should feel and review a lot after watching Infernal Affairs.

[@tk7806]

Also, when the commissioner wong gaved the watch on Tony, he said "your birthday is on 25th right?" 25 (yim chai) is a slang or a code for designating traitors or undercovers within the triads, also an other observation, yan's death was the beginning the descent in hell for lau, metaphorically imaged by the elevator going down, i also noticed that the version of " goodbye policeman" was more ominous in yan death than in wong death

[@shaunphan9039]

Infernal Affairs to me is better than The Departed.

[@thephilosopher7173]

Thanks for explaining that, I would have never known what that meant because of the cultural differences. I'm glad you shared!

[@howardzhu2298]

As a Chinese who can fully understand Cantonese and so for the original Infernal Affairs, I'd say the original one is much better than the US version. The original movie integrated Buddhism and Philosophy thinking. And the relationship is way more complicated than the US version. If you finish watching the original trilogy, there are more details that make the story more convincing, and you can feel the tragedy core and kind of destiny and helplessness. It's a very complicated and sentimental sense. The Departed is more like a simple gangster movie compared to Infernal Affairs.

[@FrankyEspositoFE]

I’ve just watched “Infernal Affairs” and I’ve not seen the other two films, but compared to this first film, “The Departed” is much better…

[@joemammon6149]

Costello is like the devil incarnate while the mob boss in IA isn't that scary, so his demise isn't that big of a deal.

[@charliecho5392]

i had to watch a few more times for infernal affairs. For departed, you can watch once and understand at once. But with infernal affairs, you need to watch at least twice the whole trilogy. That said, departed is a very good remake, but infernal affairs is indeed quite better.

[@angelsunemtoledocabllero5801]

So the original is better or you just like it more because you are chinese? Also in the same way that IA integrated buddhism, The Departed integrated catholism, with ideas of guilt and condemnation. Also having a subtext about the experience of Irish migrants trying to fit in the US wich is a theme that is not present in the original. Finally IA have to change the ending because of censorship wich is something that didnt happen in The Departed, for that reason the movie could show with more realism this criminal organisations and be more critical of the police wich IA couldnt because of censorship.

[@charliecho5392]

@@angelsunemtoledocabllero5801 😂 you think everything is about nationalism? Haha. If you like the american one over the "Chinese" one, that do as you may 😂. This is coming from a person who thinks martin scorsese is the goat in film

[@dreamsteddybearsmaster]

At least the director had the decency to give credit where its due. Every other Westerner forgets or doesn't know the fact its a remake

[@faizfuad8361]

yea called it a Japanese movie, and only taking a few inspiration he said.

[@dreamsteddybearsmaster]

@@faizfuad8361 Japanese?

[@faizfuad8361]

@@dreamsteddybearsmaster*Scorsese called it a Japanese movie at the Oscars and claims to only taking a few inspiration from the movie

[@faizfuad8361]

@@dreamsteddybearsmaster but it's a Hong Kong movie. I wouldn't be too agitated if he said it's a chinese movie if he looked at it in terms of language but misidentifying it that much while adapting the movie is kinda shitty.

[@dreamsteddybearsmaster]

@@faizfuad8361 Are you sure? Because IA is definitely a HK film and he knows the Director is HK too hence the surname. Its a dead giveaway with the surname and in no way Japanese

[@tk7806]

I think the last flashback of Lau represents his deepest regrets for being an triad mole, when you compare to young Lau, he said "i want to trade place with him" out loud, and after many years of regrets and suffering, he realizes that he really wanted to be a real cop and deeply regrets his choices in his life

[@alvifadhollah]

That's why his character was so likeable and sympathetic than Damon's

[@shogun2heroicvictories15]

Honestly the fact that Tony Leung was undercover again, really plays the part of a homage to Hard Boiled, Since he was also an undercover policeman in that aswell and he was again another piece whose identity was only known by his handler.

[@jacobhoa]

Fun! Infernal Affairs is inspired by John Woo's Face/OFF. John Woo is the director of Hard Boiled.

[@greycat111]

It’s also interesting that the triad boss in Hardboiled is the police captain in Infernal Affairs lol

[@jeremyseaton4898]

Absolutely.

[@hectorescobar9450]

I personally found Infernal Afairs to be the better movie. The departed was placed by amera an stereotypes and outside of Jack Nicholson, most of the movie was a little to colourful for my liking. HK also serves as a much more interesting background stage to the characters than anything from the Departed. The police Death was also far more impactful on infernal affairs than the one from the departed and the interaction between the two moles were far more professional and interesting in Infernal Afairs

[@angelsunemtoledocabllero5801]

"amera an stereotypes" ?

[@thienphuchuynh8378]

The Departed is a fine movie. Infenal Affairs is a masterpiece

[@yipyip2503]

Infernal Affairs is the best! And I speak Cantonese and im from hong kong, so it make it even better for me. Anyway both are great.

[@ZhangBangsFury]

Of course not! The Hollywood version casted not Asian actors and this makes them better!!!!!

[@yang9645]

@@ZhangBangsFury your racism is showing

[@zhengyuettan1503]

@@ZhangBangsFury you joking

[@tommyyi1757]

@@ZhangBangsFury no one gives a fuck about your opinion.

[@shaunphan9039]

I agree. I like both movies but infernal affairs is better in my opinion

[@samtemdo8]

2 things that makes Infernal Affairs the better movie: 1. I like how Infernal Affairs handles Lau Kin-ming betrayal and killing of his boss Hon Sam, all they had to do was just look at each other to fully understand what's about to transpire. Hon Sam doesn't even say a word, he knows he's betrayed and will die from his underling. Not too keen on how that resolution happened between Matt Damon's character and Jack Nicholson. 2. The ending is miles superior. The Mole in the Police Force lives in the end, but his eventual fate is left ambiguous. (If haven't watched the sequels though), in the scene where he visits the undercover cop's funeral, you get these questions in your head "has he reformed? Is he still using his position in the police for criminal activity?, Will he live the reminder of his life as a lie?"

[@theitfactorjameswheezer2852]

samtemdo8 well he gets himself permanently put in a catatonic state in the 3rd movie after shooting himself in order to avoid arrest after his crimes are revealed so not that ambiguous anymore

[@samtemdo8]

@@theitfactorjameswheezer2852 Yeah I heard, but if you were watching the first movie when there were no sequels, you get that ambiguous ending and questions in your head.

[@onwun4292]

Your second point is actually the theme of the movie, it's elaborated in text at the end of the movie : Those who are in inferno, they don't die, they live there forever, and Andy continues to be a mole in the police force forever struggles with his identity, that's why he said "I want to exchange with him(Tony)", this was said in the beginning of the movie by the Young Lau(Edison Chen), which didn't have much meaning, but at the end of the film when Andy said the same thing, it means that he's in real pain, he's really in inferno and never get to choose another way.

[@mastertheblaster4323]

I watched infernal affairs as a stand alone movie when it was released. I liked the ending . One should live. Why should every one die. I like silence from actors in HK movie than noisy acting from American actors. But when I later watched departed without any judgement I liked that too but not wholly . Only in scenes. Infernal affairs was a perfect movie . Complete in every thing

[@tk7806]

@@onwun4292 if you noticed, the young lau kin ming says "i want to trade places with him" in his mind, quietly, but when it switches to the current lau, he says out loud, like after all these years, he deeply regrets his choices to be a triad mole,

[@davidogan]

I would say Infernal Affair was the better movie overall. Perhaps it was because it’s the original. But it just feels more genuine and heartfelt. You can feel the loneliness and heartbreak of the hero while truly despising the desperate actions of the villain. I truly thought Matt Damon was miscast here. Andy Lau portrayed the corruption of the villain much better and genuinely.

[@crocop4life]

Not to mention it was a three part movie, so had a better character backstory and development.

[@dawsondjodvorj2408]

Andy Lau and Matt Damon were actually pretty different. Lau was a completely a corrupt cop, whereas Damon wasnt.

[@bananian]

I think it's because the protagonist is more likeable. It would be nice if they build DiCaprio to be a softy or something.

[@archiefc44]

But Andy Lau isn't just a villain he was also very conflicted compared to damon

[@mohdhafiz900]

Andy lau. He good in making poker face with his smirk or smile. I can say no one has that other than him.

[@dude3780]

Hey, around the 6:48 mark, this music starts to play that I think sounds really good. I actually think that another ost, specifically the "Deus Ex: Human Revolution OST - Zhao Yun Rhu's Penthouse" sounds very similar to the music that starts to play at 6:48. I wonder if the creators of the Deus Ex: Human Revolution soundtrack actually sampled this song. Could you please send me the name of it? Is it part of the Infernal Affairs ost? Either way I'd be very interested if anybody knows what the name of that track is, thank you.

[@gracie719]

I'm a practical person. INHO, Infernal Affairs is a much better film because it was completed on a shoe-string budget compared to The Departed and in a much more compressed time frame, typical of HK films. Despite these practical disparities, it has more depth and leaves room for visceral interpretation - the hallmarks of a film with staying power. It sticks to your psyche long after you've left the theatre, as opposed to a killing fest that leaves you hollow and empty. Scorcesse is a skillful director but unfortunately, The Departed is to me, not one of his best works.

[@mastertheblaster4323]

That's what I thought too. Infernal affairs is a complete movie perfect. Lot of great acting they don't have to shout or act psycho. . There is another Tony Leung movie they wanted to remake with di Caprio . But I still think tony Leung is better .

[@canuck21]

The leading men doing a duet is nothing out of the ordinary. In Hong Kong, it is very frequent for actors to sing and singers to act. Andy Lau was actually one of the four most popular singers and whilst Tony Leung is not as popular as a singer, he's been singing since the '80s. Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon are not singers, but Andy Lau and Tony Leung are. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXbJnWeNbbenfaM

[@Maddoxxx]

i barely enjoy the departed, i understood it was a heavy weight director, actors but the story about irish mobs vs cops were not appealing at all.. shouldnt it be, the mafioso vs cops maybe it will be better.. Tony leaung and andy lau gave soul to the respective characters and made you felt for them but not from damon and leo.

[@1986BNick]

I'm actually crossing my Westerner fingers for a British or any European remake and also hope Hong Kong Cinema does their own version of the Al Pacino vs Robert Deniro heist movie "Heat" complete with a realistic shootout. They could probably use the same main actors from this original movie.

[@csy9366]

Infernal Affair is a phenomenal movie, and The Departed is fine. It could have gone so much worse. Just think about the Death Note western remake, oh my god.

[@coraalllllll]

Bruh the English dub of death note is bad enough - I can’t imagine a whole new movie of it😂😂

[@rickie3041]

@@coraalllllll bruh the eng dub is great wtf

[@Bjork4s]

Infernal Affairs was a masterpiece, The Departed is excellent, it's more than just fine. It's almost as close to Infernal Affairs' greatness

[@AnandVenigalla]

@@Bjork4s Andrew Lau and Andy Lau both liked Scorsese’s version while preferring their own

[@swagikuro]

I actually felt Jack Nicholson hurt the film, his acting was so over the top he felt like a cartoon character. Also, Damon's portrayal of the character lacked the nuance of Lau's- he was 100% just a one dimensional asshole, while Lau's was a more realistic portrayal of a "bad guy". The remake has its own merits, but the original is superior.

[@duffyalverson1918]

The Departed was good. But Infernal Affairs is one of the best movies ever!

[@DwiLestari-ed9pt]

Nah

[@bryanlomo9897]

The main difference between the two movie was the back story which was in Infernal Affairs II, the 3 women for example, was very vital in building up the story in Infernal Affairs I actually, when the back story was told.

[@deborjajazzershiem5306]

Both are great movie. The Departed was excellent. But Infernal Affairs is a masterpiece. Although there is one things that I think The Departed did better, that is the action sequences that is the area where I think The Departed did better but when it comes to story, performance ( Andy Lau is a mile better actor than Matt Damon and I liked more Tony Leung's version of Chan compared to DiCaprio's Costigan ), ending and editing style Infernal Affairs is superior.

[@frankyang1834]

The Departed is a quality Hollywood industrial product with good directors and actors. It is a good movie with a lot of effort, it is a Oscar award winning level movie, but it is really unfair to compare it with the original version. The Departed only has the story of Infernal Affairs 1, and it is transformed to a acting and talking style more suitable to American movie culture and background, since then, the style of the Departed is a direct conflict against the original version's style, with both having same story frame. The second and third Infernal Affairs movies made the story much deeper with much more details and enhanced context and bring the series to Godfather series level in all movies. I mean, almost every Chinese who watched the Infernal Affairs series would be so touched by the story and drugged into the deeper feeling the series bring to them, they don't want the flying White powered and people yelling and Mafia boss acting insanely mixed into that deeper feeling. In other word, it is the same thing for American viewers for the The Departed, they don't want all that invisible fate things and hidden language embedded into the context. But if you have to compare the two together, as a Chinese who watched both movie many times, and can understand the context of the Infernal affairs, again, if you have to think the Departed as a remake and have to compare it with what it was based on, I think it is fair to say that the Departed is a superficial version of the original (at its best). Like how can you trying to make a point that the Departed is better, when it is having a direct conflict style and movie language from it is original? It also shows how amazing Ang lee is, he is the only one who can use 100% American movie language to make a movie with Chinese story and culture as its core. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk has the Chinese culture values in its American story, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is an Chinese WUXIA story written in English.

[@o6ina]

There is international audience for this movies, not just American or Chinese. An in a sense, our opinions are unbiased by the said sentiments. Unless someone is a hard core Scorcese fan, most people agree that IA is better.

[@lang1892]

both are amazing movies

[@studentism]

This could have been a 2 second video where you just said "no" over a black background, but I appreciate the thought and attention to detail that went into making this. I'm insanely biased having seen the original a couple years after it came out. The final scene of Marty's actively upset me.

[@SuccessforLifester]

Infernal Affairs has better complex demonised characters. Though it at times didn't explain certain plot points clearly. Like the rushed ending of Part 1, convoluted Part 2 and even more convoluted Part 3. But overall Infernal Affairs are still the better series than The Departed.

[@HibiscusFlowerFC]

I personally think The Departed was better. I need to revisit Infernal Affairs though. The Departed being a masterpiece and infernal Affairs being a good movie.

[@linewalker]

Both Masterpieces.

[@mmsizzlak]

Sorry but infernal affairs was far superior to the departed... Just watch the first ten minutes of each film... And remember that infernal affairs LITERALLY invented the dynamic of revealing the antagonist AND the protagonist with an almost matter of fact route versus trying to pretty it up with chronological time jumping or twists and plot reveals later on... And the departed LITERALLY took each and every plot relevant scene from infernal affairs and reused it... Departed followed the storyline closer than comic book movies follow their ORIGIN, the books themselves...

[@noahmay7708]

The bit about: "but it follows the original closely" doesn't have anything to do with your point.

[@josephwalker1853]

Don't see how any of that makes it a better movie.

[@LamSH1109]

Fair points all in all, but the Departed adopts the entire Trilogy of Infernal Affairs, so it feels a bit unfair / incomplete that you're only looking at the first IA vs. TD

[@VWYL900802]

Infernal affairs is better because it is a three part movie. The departed adapted only the first and second part of the series. Though overall if you're not comparing the original and the remake, The Departed is actually quite good. Though a bit fast paced and not as straight forward like how the second one depict the background of the two leads. I think this movie is even more relevant now since HK and China's relationship is really bad right now. Police force in HK is a lot more in murky waters right now compared to the last decade. Not that it wasn't good back then, but in Infernal Affairs three, they start to introduce the Security Bureau in HK, making it the start of China budding in to HK's law enforcement at the most earliest stage. It's kind of like the FBI version of HK, except the boss isn't the land of the free, but a totalitarian king ruled by Xi Jingping, your boss is the mob.

[@stuffstuff6135]

Actually the second and third IA are not good, Hong Kong people don’t like it

[@VWYL900802]

@@stuffstuff6135 why is it not good?

[@stuffstuff6135]

@@VWYL900802 well the second on was ok it was a prequel

[@stuffstuff6135]

@@VWYL900802 but the third one was about Lau having mental disorder and stuff and he thought he was Chan and it involved the Chinese government blah blah blah ppl just thought they were making stuff up

[@VWYL900802]

@@stuffstuff6135 but it’s like gaslighting a guy going through a breakdown because of guilt of the things he did on the first one. It’s true about the Chinese gov blah blah blah because there’s no real claim what they did or anything because no one knew anything yet, but a lot knew the national security bureau was a department started by the CCP and there was a lot of unrest about it.

[@VWYL900802]

I'd say, Infernal Affairs 1 and 2 is like a nice claypot rice, it's not the cheap takeouts with the styrofoam boxes, it has the fragrant smell of the fried rice with soy on and the smell from the clay in the claypot with all the good meat and veggie pairing. The reason I say this is because IA is the most HK film to have this kind of recognition. All the cast came from TVB, the cinematography and acting is so HK. Like Francis Ng's acting is so naturally progressed, that putting him as the new family patriarch, seem so natural in IA2. The whole progression is so understatedly paced, you feel so at home watching it, it's not trying too hard to be "high art", yet the meaning is clear, you can see it's for a commercial mainstream film, yet that scene outside the theatre, it's basically art. The Departed is like a nice lasagna from a good traditional italian place, with unending garlic bread. You can see it's understatement, but in a way, it gives the feeling of exposition about why the creepy guy in the neighbourhood that everyone tells you he's dangerous, and your mom says to not even look at him, that type of thing. It talks about morality, it talks about life lessons and philosophy, it talks about how the dangerman thinks and feels in the process, making you understand why and how gangs exists, and make you think as a society and as yourself, about gangs and how you should live your life, things like that.

[@weilim10]

Claypot rice is dope!

[@xiaoz56]

Did you see all of 1,2,3?

[@mrmortimer710]

Deeply, I would rather watch Infernal Affairs Trilogy than The Departed any given day of the week. The Departed felt very overrated.

[@tk7806]

There's also a Japanese remake, they made it in a 2 episode drama, it's watchable but not great compared to Infernal affairs

[@o6ina]

The only thing that is better developed in the "The Departed' was the female character. Everything else was kind of mediocre and over the top Good Ol'Merica! with a bucked of F**k'n'S**t poured into the script. And I agree that you can't compare both scripts if you don't speak both languages, as English subs are notorious for been as generic as possible. The acting was also better in IA in my opinion. In the TD, It felt as Scorcese relied on the cast's overall charisma and didn't directed them much. Especially with Nickleson, I just imagine his day one on the shoot: "So happy you're with us Jack! Now, do your thing, but meaner!"

[@NotOnlyHollywood]

Infernal Affairs is the better movie. The actors are better in Infernal Affairs, and Tony Leung is so GOOD.

[@dawsondjodvorj2408]

Lmao you're joking, right? 😂

[@NotOnlyHollywood]

@@dawsondjodvorj2408 I thought the same when watching The Departed.

[@dawsondjodvorj2408]

@@NotOnlyHollywood well you could like infernal affairs more, but the acting in the departed was miles ahead. Jack Nicholson, leo, wahlberg, damon, they just outperformed the entire infernal affairs team. I liked the departed more, I thought the story, direction, everything was better, you could say the same about infernal affairs. But saying the acting was better in this is dumb.

[@NotOnlyHollywood]

@@dawsondjodvorj2408 Yeah, right. You are funny today, I'll give you that!

[@dawsondjodvorj2408]

@@NotOnlyHollywood thats a fact bro.

[@natehandford5030]

Reminds me of In Too Deep

[@Thespeedrap]

I'm surprised that movie was mentioned in this very underrated.

[@WarrenPostma]

Each film sells its audience what it wants to buy. A moral to the story, for one, and cynicism and ennui, the other. Each also adds quite a lot of excellent action and pretty great acting.

[@cklive4182]

In original is by far much better. Movie.

[@Thespeedrap]

remakes speaking of remakes can you do Race and Goodbye Lover how one worked and the other didn't same way with Oldboy the original was better than the horrid Spike Lee crap that was made even he knew he took his joint signature off it.

[@onwun4292]

Both are great so I only state bad points here, IA: Unnecessary try-hard emotional editing and music. Departed: Excessive sex scene and unnecessary shouting screaming swearing, typical Hollywood. I think what is missing in The Departed is the connection between the two characters,The Departed is pure action movie. In Infernal Affairs, at the beginning of the movie, when Chan Wingyan was "kicked out" of the police school, the young Law said "I actually want to exchange with him" which didn't have much meanings. But in the flashback at the end of the movie, after the whole story, the same thing that Law said is explained by Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra at the end : Those in inferno they don't die, they live there forever, which is a torture that would last forever, and Law would continue to be a spy infiltrated in the police until god knows when, forever tortured by the struggling of identity. And this ending brings you to the second and the third movie of Infernal Affairs.

[@yukie_tn]

Infernal Affairs treats the material like a thriller, very few action scenes or shootouts and mostly just masterfully building tension. The Departed tries to be a gritty gang movie and overloads with profanity, gore and guns. Also I'm not a fan of over the top acting. To think that IA wasn't even given a foreign language film nomination, while the far inferior remake won best picture, Oscars really are worthless.

[@oldgems4816]

Is Martin Scorsese’s The Departed Better Than The Original? no way

[@Toosii2times]

Different movies with 2 completely distinct tones.. however there’s no way Scorsese didn’t watch IA before filming Departed (like he claims) And I know I’m in the minority but I personally prefer the Departed- again different movies- IA is great tho. Being the original boosts it up even higher in my book.

[@nuncioalvarez9817]

Is Martin Scorsese’s The Departed Better Than The Original? Short Answer: NO. Long Answer: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

[@jkim6200]

Well "Little 'White' Lies" is the name of the channel.

[@MyHandle4455]

The US version had the chance to make the trilogy better by planting some of the characters from 3 into 1 so that they don’t seem to pop out of nowhere. But… they had to cram all the good parts into one film. Could have made an epic trilogy… oh well.

[@vinchenzo2502]

Something else I'd like to add that I think you may have touched over, is that the real difference for me between The Departed and infernal affairs is that there's no character growth in The Departed. I'm not a big fan of DiCaprio as it is because I think this is a reoccurring theme in his performances. But it's like every character in The Departed suffers from this. Nicholson is a stand out because he's so over the top but I credit that to him just being a great actor. Infernal affairs is a far superior film

[@KaPowProduction]

Infernal Affairs of course, how could anything better than the original. It was so good that's why hollywood had to remake it. And I didn't enjoy the added Warlberg character to end his doing, not that easy end.

[@gypruzzcaccamo6586]

Just like Ringu scared the crap outta me way more than The Ring did (and that one was really fucking scary, too), Infernal Affairs also was more "WHOA" to me than The Departed, overall. Even if DiCaprio was a monster in that movie, I still slightly preferred the original because it seemed more direct to me, more straight to the point. Oh right, I obviously watched both original movies years after the remakes.

[@PesterFester1966]

There both pretty shit.

[@bananian]

The departed was 3 films fitted into one though.

[@frankyang1834]

no, it is mainly the first film, not about the second and the third

[@GABRIELA-ACEVEDO.]

@@frankyang1834 the only scene that I could remember from IA2 being linked to Departed, was the scene where he has to go to jail to make it look to the crew that he had done time in the joint.

[@nd1262]

Tony alone is greater than Leo and Mark combined

[@canuck21]

Do you mean Matt instead of Mark? Anyway... Leonardo DiCaprio > Tony Leung > Matt Damon

[@mastertheblaster4323]

Tony is the better actor. .I watched these movies when they were released. Even di Caprio will say that Tony is better

[@canuck21]

@@mastertheblaster4323 Leo is a better dramatic actor, Tony is a better all-around actor.

[@havenht]

Tony Leung acting is the reason why infernal affair is a better movie. He is the best actor in both of the movies.

[@wesam6385]

Okay calm down he's not that great

[@CyberHAC100k]

Original hands down!

[@poisson_lamproie]

original win

[@junw9827]

el original siempre sera el mejor

[@lyfxjt]

First of all you need to know the meaning of the movie's name--《无间道》 In ancient China, many words in Buddhist scriptures were translated by transliteration, because free translation was often incomplete and superficial.

[@freedom040542]

you should learn your Chinese better, it's written as 無間道

[@igivehonestcommentsonly]

Its the same. Dont try to be smart to correct someone if you are half assed

[@freedom040542]

@@igivehonestcommentsonly I know full well what I am talking about dear broken chinese is considered an abomination and while the original movie was released under the true chinese name, there is no reason to use broken chinese to name it

[@igivehonestcommentsonly]

@@freedom040542 how is it broken? it is just the simplified (modern) version of the same chinese character, which carries the same meaning, and applied in different countries depending of the versions accepted. so in case u think it is 'broken', let me enlighten you that it is not. and dont be a sour person who criticise someone on small things, which isnt a mistake to begin with.

[@freedom040542]

@@igivehonestcommentsonly broken chinese has only been around for a few decades and proper chinese still exists and prospers while retaining most of the features from the writing system that has been in use for centuries if not a millenia the birth of broken chinese was a mistake in its own right and while it was implemented with the intention to increase literacy rate, countries that use broken chinese ironically have lower literacy rates than countries that use proper chinese

[@NerdLord]

If you prefer the style of Martin Scorsese you would say the Departed is way better than the original like me but if you prefer the old school classic you would love the original one

[@acriticwithoutacause8983]

I watched the Departed first. Except few scenes that are already in the original I didn't like it. & then when I watched IA & except the emotional and loud music I liked IA way more. The departed was unnecessarily long for my taste. I prefer Martin's & Leo's other works.

[@gastonmartintripodi2561]

1:33 Is it Ip man ? It cant be reality tv?

[@colala4481]

no it's not

[@HSCEconomicsMadeEasy]

@@colala4481 Well, actually, he did play Ip Man. Google 'Ip Man: the Final Fight'

[@SevenFold-ck2kl]

Jack Nicholson should play hong kong movie

[@MixSonaProductions]

Matt Damon's acting is as flat as Mark Wahlberg No expression Nothing beats the uncles Anthony and Eric. They are the best at what they do, playing senior characters. Gangsters, cops, you name it, they nail it

[@dawsondjodvorj2408]

Wahlberg was great. Wtf are you saying?

[@THEREALZENFORCE]

@@dawsondjodvorj2408 Damon and Wahlberg, both Hollywood actor's guild hyped B grade actors. DiCaprio, Nicholson and Scorsese sold the lesser good movie

[@onwun4292]

Eric Tsang was trash in Infernal Affairs 1 compared to Jack Nicholson. But he was so great in Infernal Affairs 2 !! Really Infernal Affairs 2 is a supreme movie !! The acting, directing, dialogues, music, everything is perfect.

[@creepymaster9584]

wahlberg had the best role fuck u smoking holmes

[@mastertheblaster4323]

Infernal affairs was a simple movie I watched it like 20 years ago i still remember itit stays with you It was different from all those Hong Kong movies this had minimum action minimum dialogues. It's good story . . It's a great movie that's y they remade it . Anyway holywood tried to remake many movies and didn't work . So they made their own version of it. If you really want to enjoy departed I think you should free from all comparisons and watch it as an American movie .

[@the20hunk]

In my opinion Departed is better directed and a better put together movie compared to Infernal affairs, Infernal Affair has better ending IMO, continuous hell is more of a punishment than death it self.... I have seen Departed 4 times now and its one of my all time favorite movies.

[@greycat111]

They only gave Scorsese that Oscar bc they knew they jipped him from Goodfellas and Casino

[@coraalllllll]

Infernal affairs was definitely more dramatic- I watched the departed first and it’s cool to see where the scenes came from

[@salomaonplanetsaturn6038]

American version depends on actors much more

[@nope5657]

Nope. I deify Scorsese and have always felt The Departed is easily his most overrated film. I didn't even seen Infernal Affairs until long after and was stunned by how much better it was. Something about The Departed feels safe. It's not bad. Scorsese has never made a genuinely bad film - Leo's continuous descent in stressed out wreck is a great performance. Nicholson's nonchalant evil is chilling, but for some reason the film just feels tedious and the payoff simply doesn't work.

[@SzerlokHelmlok]

Hey dud, why don't you hire a voice actor?

[@linkbiff1054]

I'm in the minority when I say The Departed was superior. Not because Frank Costello was a real guy, but because we get much more detailed backstories of our two leads.

[@GABRIELA-ACEVEDO.]

I get your point, but that's why it was a trilogy. The 2nd movie was a prequel to the first movie, and that's your backstory on those characters. The 3rd movie was a prequel and a sequel. I heard they were going to try to do that with Departed, but it never got made.

[@testla3383]

Combining the female characters is pretty stupid, these 2 men's lives arent entangled enough they have to be with the same woman too?

[@Hrathen39]

original is much better despite liking the American actors more

[@mica.motion]

This remake is so overrated, everyones laugh at the gunshot scene in the theatre... The original makes you feel real pressure.

[@danielengel4593]

Prove to myself that I'm an Asian movie type of guy. Departed is such a mess, it made me angry how bad that movie was, considering it's ranking, on the other hand I loved Infernal Affairs...this world is fucked up in so many ways.

[@rjmacready9828]

Infernal affairs is a solid crime thriller, but you guys in the comments saying its better than the Departed are just delusional. Scorsese completely fleshed out all the characters and expanded on all themes, Departed is better its simply not close. One of the best remakes of all time. Theres a reason Infernal Affairs is never put on "best movies of the century" lists like the Departed..

[@user-tz9jh6pv2j]

Anything good about The Departed is literally just copied from Infernal Affairs so................ conversation over. Furthermore, anyone who doesn't know Cantonese fluently isn't exactly qualified to analyze it, so one thing I will concede is the fact that the Hong Kong film has absolute shite subtitles.

[@charliewillis7596]

Infernal Affairs is much better. It’s hilarious to me how Martin complains about so many superhero movies and remakes yet his Oscar was for a remake

[@funnyhatguy]

Tbh I think most of the people who say orginal is better say that because it's "orginal" I'm not saying orginal is worst I'm saying both are great at things that other is not so both are at the same level and keep saying that which one is better is meaningless

[@dnc411]

Little White Lies, your narrating pace is so painfully slow I couldn't finish the video. Speeding up the video just made the movie parts as bad in the opposite way. Sorry.

[@jamescorg7115]

watch the hong kong original. the departed sucks

[@misugijun5607]

original is the best

[@misugijun5607]

i eager to watch the departed but after watch this , i think i need no to watch it

[@Thespeedrap]

Of course every film that's original is going to be better than original unless the original flick is bad itself than the remake could be better.

[@Aston-vt2vj]

Always

[@Jose-gx5vp]

Am I the only one who saw both movies and liked The Departed more? For me, the more fleshed out story is what made me like the remake more.

[@vaibhav4634]

yeah scorcese combined all the infernal affairs parts and made a melodramatic inferior product

[@dawsondjodvorj2408]

Agreed the departed was more detailed, with better acting and symbols.

[@dawsondjodvorj2408]

@@vaibhav4634 umm... What? Infernal Affairs was so much more dramatic compared to the departed. The Departed wasnt even melodramtic.

[@xiaoz56]

So you saw all 1,2,3? And think departed is better？

[@Jose-gx5vp]

@@xiaoz56 When I posted the comment, I wasn't aware there were more movies. I still haven't seen them, but I want to someday. Although just comparing the first movie and the Departed, I enjoy watching the latter more, perhaps my opinion will change when I watch the sequels.

[@gskvforever7139]

If you don’t understand Cantonese thoroughly. You cannot review the two. Lol.

[@jow6510]

There is no need for comparison; Infernal Affairs is 100 times better. It is the only story I can compare with the God Father.

[@errwhattheflip]

I personally thought The Departed was better by quite a big margin from the cinematography to editing to the writing as well, but that doesn't discredit Infernal Affairs. Infernal Affairs is a well thought-out, well-scripted film. It's amazing. It's sentimental, it's philosophical, it's energetic, etc. But I do think The Departed is a much better film. I think the editing is far better, and it rightfully won the oscars for best editing. As for the script, while Infernal Affairs is leaner, The Departed manages to implement more theme into its story while also further developing its cast and world while still never feeling bloated or poorly paced. I think the acting in The Departed is also slightly better mainly because of Nicholson and Dicaprio. Both gave absolutely masterful performances in this movie, and I don't think anyone in Infernal Affairs comes close besides maybe Tony Leung. It's also the more complex film, blurring the line between good and evil, between cop and criminal. While the criminals are shit people, so are the cops. Racist, homophobic, clearly willing to invade privacy such as them proudly mentioning the Patriot Act, etc. Scorsese masterfully makes a completely morally gray world. If I were to rate the two out of 10, Infernal Affairs is a 8.5/10, while The Departed is a straight 10/10 film

[@James-zy8nh]

Infernal affairs is better

[@dreamsteddybearsmaster]

I mean if Infernal Affairs had a bigger budget and twice the run time that it did like The Departed who knows what kinda magic could have happened. All the profanities in The Departed I felt were unnecessary and took away too much from the dialogue and script making scenes cornier

[@errwhattheflip]

@@dreamsteddybearsmaster Few problems here. 1. Saying that it could be better with a bigger budget and longer runtime is dumb because that's not why people love The Departed. 2. The profanities are unnecessary only if you don't want the story to be authentic to its location. The story is set in Boston, and the characters talk like that.

[@the_invincible8494]

Mou Gan Dao is 1000 times better

[@strangemovietheories9114]

Shouldn’t it be internal affairs cause it’s corruption inside the police starion

[@mhawang8204]

The Chinese title refers to the lowest level in hell in Buddhism. It’s English title “Infernal Affairs” is basically a pun 😂

[@dreamsteddybearsmaster]

LOL that was me when I first heard the title. I thought it was a typo or a bad translation

[@antonindvorak6651]

your view is very limited to English cinema

[@Turbo9987]

No. It's not.

[@Thespeedrap]

Jack makes the Departed rule I never seen the original.

[@TheMinnaKat]

The thing is... why do you need to have graphic violence, sex and overboard swearing in a movie? And why can't you have more than one woman in a movie? Infernal Affairs is a masterpiece that I will keep rewatching. I will never touch The Departed again after seeing it once. How is it even possible to make a movie that long and still take out everything that I like about Infernal Affairs? I appreciate Martin Scorsese as a director and I appreciate the cast, but I did not enjoy the movie one bit.

[@minhkhoaluong25]

Renowned director had to borrow an Asian masterpiece to desperately have an Oscar. I thought Martin Scorsese was better than that.

[@TheMinnaKat]

@@minhkhoaluong25 Exactly..

[@mayitbe6606]

@@minhkhoaluong25 This movie is definitely not one of his best ones.

[@angelsunemtoledocabllero5801]

You are seriously asking why a movie about criminals should be graphic? In that case not make movies about crime at all.

[@TheMinnaKat]

@@angelsunemtoledocabllero5801 There are many ways to depict violence in films. Have you heard of off screen violence? Scorsese's style in depicting violence has changed to more graphic than it used to be and I find it very unnecessary. In my comment, I was comparing the original Infernal Affairs and the movie it inspired, The Departed. Infernal Affairs was a good movie about crime without excessive graphic violence.

[@CharlesRaines4946]

The Departed is still a piece of shite

[@everyonesidol9731]

Tony Leung is more badass than Dicaprio

[@lookingglassgaming1695]

LOL No! The Departed is a awful piece of trash that can not and will never match up to Infernal Affairs. Infernal Affairs is a masterpiece. The Departed sucks. American Remakes of Foreign Movies and Shows and Books always tend to suck so hard. And also American Remakes should be outlawed.

[@Sonyhamster]

This is an outright rip off of the Hong Kong movie, Infernal Affairs. Yet after some whitewashing, The Departed gets an Oscar

[@norodom2074]

Usually remakes are never better than the original but the departed is so much better than IA. Everything from the cinematic feels to the acting. IA acting is over the top and cheesy.

[@bbwendy89]

Perhaps it’s because you were busy reading the subtitle. I don’t know how many times I re-watched IA but Departed only once. Departed story is way too slow

[@mhawang8204]

Lol Tony Leung is known for his subtle acting. I can’t believe you feel the acting in IA is over the top when Jack Nicholson is doing his thing (the scene highlighted in this video took me out of the movie) and Matt Damon screams and shouts so much. Andy Lau is usually cheesy but even he did better in IA.

[@dreamsteddybearsmaster]

While it's good to disagree and have other opinions how on earth is Infernal Affairs acting bad? If anything I feel like you could say The Departed has worse acting as some things felt flat, overdone or unnecessary while everything flowed better in IA. Tony Leung is also hailed as a great actor outside of Asia now that he has dipped into Hollywood & The MCU

[@EdgyNumber1]

Newsflash: *NO!*

[@bigdickballsack]

I do love The Departed, Marty and the cast. But Infernal Affairs is simply a movie about the relentless life of being a mole (both sides), it's about the morality, the pysche of being a mole for justice or play justice and be a mole, and the struggle along the way. "無間道” (Chinese name of Infernal Affair) named after the lowest level of the hell" realm. It represents the struggle of Chan, one of the line really highlighted the struggle, Chan: "You said three years. Three years after three years, three years after three years. Ten years is coming soon." I do think a story like the Infernal Affair, simple is more.

[@angelsunemtoledocabllero5801]

And The Departed is about the strugle of being transformed by your envionment until you forget your identity reminiscent of how migrant comunities in this case irish tried to fit in the US.

[@jimmydbags1070]

No.

[@Norman_Peterson]

NO

[@iamjamesmix]

Not even going to watch the video. NO it isn't.

[@officialpablomusic]

Absolutely not