Film Remaking and Practices: “Infernal Affairs” Versus “Double Face”: Film Repetition Networks, Contexts and Taxonomy

Scholars usually consider such “repetitions” through the scope of institutional and industrial practices for commercial benefits through previously established and tested titles. Some scholars approached remakes from the contextual perspective, revealing their novelties, thematic value and how remakes attempt to “translate” them. However, with the development of streaming services and further sophistication of the source and remaking titles into more extensive franchises, the borderline between well-defined film “repetition” practices may be elusive. This paper will argue whether the remake of Andrew Lau’s and Alan Mak’s 無間道 / 无间道 [Infernal Affairs] (Lau & Mak, 2002), TV film Daburu Feisu [Double Face], consisting of Daburu Feisu: Gisou Keisatsu-hen [Double Face Disguise Police Edition] and Daburu Feisu: Sennyuu Sosa-hen [Double Face Undercover Investigation Edition] (Nakazawa & Sasaki, 2012), affect the contemporary definition of film remakes as a critical and practical category. Together with Martin Scorsese’s The Departed (Scorsese, 2006), Double Face is not a part of the broader franchise but may be part of another form of “supersystem” (Kinder, 1991). The paper will test whether the Japanese remake contributes to creating such a system as a “repetition network” and identify what kind of film “repetition” qualities it encapsulates. Furthermore, its minor contextual adjustment compared to the source material significantly reshapes to deliver the themes of higher cultural appropriation and relevance. Thus, the paper will explore these contextual qualities and evaluate whether they are enough to build a context-based remaking taxonomy.