Opening the movie "Infernal Affairs" script at hand, Levi also felt a little unclear. This movie was one of his favorite movies he had seen in his previous life, and in this life, it was also the one he wanted to shoot.
In order to shoot this movie, he specially went to Hong Kong, found the two original authors of this movie, and asked them to write this movie, just to make this movie the best.
This movie is a very important step for Levi: after all, the previous three movies are still literary films, but this movie can no longer be called a literary film. For this movie, Levi also has to consider the movie's box office and quality. He also needs to make some efforts to make this movie well.
After sending away the two screenwriters, he has been flipping through the script. At the same time, the scenes of the two movies flashed in his mind.
The reason why there are two is because the movie 'Infernal Affairs' not only has a version shot by Hong Kong people but also a version shot by Americans. Now that Levi wants to shoot this movie, he can't help but think of all the details in these two movies.
In his memory, the American version of this movie won an Oscar; however, no matter how you look at it, that award is a consolation for Martin Scorsese. And compared to the American version, the film's Hong Kong version is more popular — at least Levi prefers the Hong Kong version.
Now, comparing the two movies, he can indeed find the differences between the two movies.
There are actually many reasons why the Hong Kong version of the film has been so successful.
Firstly, the lineup is strong enough; with the joining of four powerful actors, and a large enough investment, the entire film family can express everything they want to convey.
Secondly, this movie is one of the rare deep movies in Hong Kong. It shows some traditional cultural thoughts of the people through gang wars. Although it is a modern film, it does involve culture.
In addition to this, there is another important reason. The undercover agent in the film is confused and lonely about not knowing who he is and where he is, which is also experienced by many people, especially Hong Kong people's mental state at the time. It is very in line with this state.
He remember someone once pointed out that this movie is a miracle of economics. Levi thinks that's true: films that capture the human psyche can work miracles.
Of course, the Hong Kong version of the film is not without flaws; for example, this movie has the flaws of most Hong Kong versions of movies: too little foreshadowing, sudden turning points, and many places are too blunt compared with the scenes that were reflected before and after.
This shortcoming has always been one of the chronic problems of Hong Kong-produced films, and only a very small number of classics can get rid of it. But Infernal Affairs has not overcome this chronic illness.
On the other hand, the street scene in the Hong Kong version is really bad. In the Hong Kong version of the movie, all the scenes are clean and spotless. High streets and alleys. The rooftop and alleys are extremely clean and tidy everywhere. The neatness makes people feel unreal.
The American version does this better. The rooftop where the protagonists meet is almost a big garbage dump, and the outside of the movie theater is also full of garbage. This kind of scene is not good-looking, but it is indeed more real.
And in addition, there are some episodes of filming. In the Hong Kong version of the movie, a few policemen are facing an open field playing golf, looking very comfortable, but in the American version, the place where they play golf is basically a place for leisure and entertainment after getting off work on Saturdays.
In the Hong Kong version of the movie, it feels like they want to showcase that Hong Kong is an international metropolis, and the city is beautiful and extraordinary. In the American version, these things are absent, and more of them reflect the authentic style of the city. Obviously, Americans are different from Hong Kong people, and they don't bother to promote the beauty of their city.
To shoot a realistic movie, what is needed is the truth, not to promote this kind of beauty that does not conform to reality - Scorsese did better in this regard.
However, the American version of "The Departed" has more problems.
It can be said that The Departed is actually just a gangster film whose story is very similar to Infernal Affairs. It is a film with a strong Scorsese style. The movie's swearing, rhythm, tone, and shooting techniques all have a very strong Scorsese style, and the personal color is extremely obvious.
But the significance of this movie shooting is to win an award for Scorsese. The old man has 37 years of qualifications and is the number one living director in Hollywood, but he has never had a best director award, which is unreasonable. Therefore, as long as the story of this movie is similar and the film is in the style of Scorsese, it is considered excellent.
However, no matter how good a director is, if he only considers how to win awards when shooting a movie, then his film will not become a classic.
Scorsese has indeed shot this film at a very high level, which proves his extraordinary strength: the multi-line advancement of the film, the interlaced space-time structure and then stitching, the bold use of parallel and cross montage editing techniques, and scattered stories.
While the rhythm of the filming is tense, the narrative structure is clear, and the picture is natural and smooth, allowing the audience to easily understand the relationship between the characters.
How many directors can achieve this level? After all, Scorsese's skills are deep enough. Nolan also likes to use nonlinear narratives in storytelling. However, the proficiency of his techniques is far behind that of Scorsese. He can complete such a story without sound. The narrative of the complex nonlinear structure is not difficult to understand. Scorsese's title of the first living director can be said to be well-deserved.
However, this still cannot conceal the problems shown in the movie.
Because he lacked a correct attitude toward the film's original version, he deleted all the poetry, hidden meanings, and beautiful lines in the original movie.
In the film, there is no depth without those people's friendship and morality, without the heroes' sympathy and persistence in disputes.
The two protagonists in the original film doubted their own beliefs and doubted their own practices. They have been in extreme torment. These things are also not shown in the American version of the movie, and without these tortures of human nature, the movie's tone has been lowered by more than one grade.
The reason why the Hong Kong version of the movie is good is because of the many subtle emotions. In the gangster movie, what is hidden is a discussion of human nature.
But Martin's film removes all these places. When Martin made the film, it was still shot in his own style because he liked it, so he made the original scene where the police and gangsters split the scene equally and changed it to mostly gangsters he wanted.
And because he admired that realistic style, he filled the play with all kinds of abuse. If there is no poetic flavor left in the original work, the depth of the original work will be lost.
The more serious problem is that the three scripts were forcibly combined into one, and the originally clear storyline and character relationship also became chaotic.
In the US version, the undercover time is too short. Between Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Sheen, there is no emotion at all, and the death of Martin Sheen was not stimulating enough. Moreover, there is an extra insider in the US version. Travolta is not dead yet and knows that Leonardo is an undercover agent. Was Matt Damon singled out?
What is the most important change in a movie script? The general idea remains the same, but the details are different. But with the changes in the US version, the story can't be explained; it's unbearable.
Overall, the adaptation is good, and some wonderful lines are also good, but in the part where Leonardo fights in the bar, the lines are meaningless and cumbersome. It takes a long time to babble for a fight, and it also needs to drag the text; if it wasn't an undercover agent looking for faults, the fight would have started immediately.
Of course, not to mention the women's arrangements - Levi really doesn't understand. Do both the leads have to sleep with the same woman? Are the police in America really that violent? Are gangsters that stupid? Psychiatrists are so sexy they go to bed after two meetings? These processes, obviously, failed.
Some people say that American movies have to be simple and rough, but Levi doesn't think that American movies have to be made like this: Is The Godfather full of foul language? Isn't this an American movie?
This is not a cultural issue - the screenwriter of the American version didn't watch the original movie at all and even thought it was a Japanese movie. In order to cater to Scorsese's style, he forcibly added foul language; the works made for winning awards are too pleasing.
Adapting a movie is like grooming a beautiful woman; you can let her change her clothes, jewelry, hairstyle, and makeup, and even let her tan her skin to look good. You can do whitening, lose a few pounds, or even fill up her breasts. However, no matter how it changes, it must reflect the charm of the original beauty.
But the American version of Infernal Affairs doesn't do that. The original suspense, psychological struggle, and the entanglement of good and evil in human nature are all gone, replaced by a set of old-fashioned gangster movies: violence, foul language, darkness, mainly gangsters, and reducing the number of police scenes - this approach is really not smart.
What is even more despicable is that after deleting most of the other essences, details such as plaster smashing, police throwing, rooftop meetings, and elevator deaths are still retained. Who adapted the script in such a way? Are there no other plots available? Will you die if you use your brain too much?
Levi doesn't want to shoot a movie like The Departed. Let's not say he doesn't like it, but he likes it. If Scorsese is not the person who shot that movie, it will be very difficult to get an award — and even if it's really good enough, it will be questioned why it should be copied from Scorsese style.
Levi doesn't want people to say that he is imitating others. What he wants to shoot is his own movie - and he believes he can do it because he has enough research on these two movies. He has analyzed the differences between Hong Kong and American gangster movies thoroughly.
*****
Thanks and kudos for my patreons
Cherif Doghri
Scott DePaepe
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