6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
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 as he goes to dangerous lengths to avoid detection, matches wits with a devious rival in the force, and finds himself haunted by the fate of his former undercover nemesis.
Starring: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Andy Lau, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Leon Lai, Kelly Chen (I)Drama | 100% |
Crime | 44% |
Thriller | 10% |
Action | 4% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.38:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Alan Mak and Andrew Lau's "Infernal Affairs III" (2003) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include archival cast and crew interviews; making of featurette; original trailer; and more. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.38:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Infernal Affairs III arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:
"These 4K digital restorations (for the three films) were undertaken by Media Asia from the 35mm original camera negatives at L'Immagine Ritrovata's facilities in Bologna, Italy, and Hong Kong. The original 5.1 surround soundtracks were remastered from the digital audio master files.
Transfer supervision: L'Immagine Ritrovata, Asia, Hong Kong.
Color grading: One Cool Production."
The third film has the most convincing appearance. However, it is primarily because the stylization of the visuals does not consistently favor the greenish/softer yellowish tint that shapes the identity of the previous films. In the third film, there are still numerous sections that retain the tint, but there is plenty of silver and gray that routinely counters it. (These contrasts are present on the previous Region-B release of the Infernal Affairs trilogy that I have referenced). I think that the dynamic range of the visuals is convincing, but I would not describe it as perfect because in certain areas there are small brightness fluctuations that could have been avoided. How do we know that they are not native fluctuations? We do because the same softness that emerges in the first two films is retained here, which means that the color grade affects the native dynamic range of the visuals in the exact same manner (you can see examples in screencaptures #3 and 6). The rest looks great. Image stability is outstanding. Fluidity is very good as well. The entire film looks spotless. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
The lossless track is excellent. This isn't surprising because the lossless tracks that are provided for the first two films are equally impressive. I don't have any criticisms to share. I viewed the entire film during the day with the audio turned up quite a bit and thought that it reproduced the qualities of the soundtrack as well as it could have. The English translation is excellent.
In the overwhelming majority of big commercial cinematic trilogies, the final film is usually quite weak. However, the final film in the Infernal Affairs trilogy is outstanding. In fact, I think that its characterizations, messaging -- about a wide range of subjects, from loyalty to the nature of modern politics in Hong Kong -- and even visual style are superior to those of the previous two films. After it was redone in 4K, it looks quite good, but it is not the solid visual stunner that it could have been. RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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