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The Departed is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film [2] [3] [4] directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. [5]
- Overview
- Production notes and credits
- Cast
- Academy Award nominations (* denotes win)
The Departed, American crime film, released in 2006, that was directed by Martin Scorsese and won four Academy Awards, including best picture. A tense action thriller with an all-star cast, it was one of Scorsese’s biggest hits at the box office.
(Read Martin Scorsese’s Britannica essay on film preservation.)
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The Departed is set in Boston. Colin Sullivan (played by Matt Damon) is a protégé of Irish American crime boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), and he joins the state police force as a mole for Costello. Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a police recruit who is chosen by Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Staff Sgt. Sean Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) as an undercover officer, known only to them, assigned to infiltrate Costello’s organization. Both Sullivan and Costigan have a relationship with police psychiatrist Madolyn Madden (Vera Farmiga). As each organization becomes aware that it has been infiltrated, Sullivan and Costigan work to determine the identity of the mole while trying to keep their own duplicity from being found out. They engage in a game of cat-and-mouse in which each is often within a hair’s breadth of discovering the other. In an extra twist, it emerges that Costello is also an FBI informant. Upon learning of this, Sullivan kills Costello. Costigan then attempts to give up his undercover role, thus revealing himself to Sullivan, but he discovers that Sullivan was Costello’s mole. In a violent climax, Costigan is killed by a second dirty cop, and Sullivan kills that cop and walks away free. He returns to his home, only to be ambushed and killed by Dignam.
The Departed was a remake of the popular Hong Kong film Mou gaan dou (2002; Infernal Affairs). It was the first movie for which Scorsese, one of the industry’s most respected directors, won a best director Oscar. Nicholson’s portrayal of Costello was loosely based on real-life crime boss Whitey Bulger and was often improvised.
•Studios: Warner Bros., Plan B Entertainment, Initial Entertainment Group, and Vertigo Entertainment
•Director: Martin Scorsese
•Writer: William Monahan, based on a screenplay by Alan Mak and Felix Chong
•Music: Howard Shore
•Leonardo DiCaprio (Billy Costigan)
•Matt Damon (Colin Sullivan)
•Jack Nicholson (Frank Costello)
•Martin Sheen (Captain Queenan)
•Mark Wahlberg (Staff Sgt. Sean Dignam)
•Vera Farmiga (Madolyn Madden)
- Pat Bauer
South Boston cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes under cover to infiltrate the organization of gangland chief Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). As Billy gains the mobster's trust, a career...
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- Martin Scorsese
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- Leonardo Dicaprio
Jul 5, 2007 · A mob boss (Jack Nicholson, left) tangles with an undercover cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) sent to infiltrate his gang in Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning "The Departed." Most of Martin Scorsese’s films have been about men trying to realize their inner image of themselves.
- The Departed is a remake. In 2002, the action movie Infernal Affairs debuted in Hong Kong cinemas. Hailing from directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, it proved to be an extremely popular crime drama that scored numerous prestigious award wins at ceremonies like the Golden Horse Awards.
- Brad Pitt was originally set to star. Brad Pitt was entangled with The Departed from the very instant it was getting off the ground. When Warner Bros. first purchased the American remark rights to Infernal Affairs, Pitt was attached to the project as a producer.
- Robert De Niro almost appeared in a supporting role. Scorsese has used a handful of recurring actors across his filmography, but none of them are as prolific as his ongoing collaborations with Robert De Niro.
- Jack Nicholson's character was based on a real-life mobster. The 2002 film Infernal Affairs isn't the only place The Departed takes creative inspiration from.
Dec 14, 2012 · Martin Scorsese’s return to the contemporary gangster genre — via a remake of Andrew Lau and Alan Mak ’s glossy, stylized Hong Kong film of 2002, “Infernal Affairs” – has a bored, dutiful feeling, as if Woody Allen had been forced to remake one of his “early, funny ones.”
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Oct 6, 2006 · Directed by Martin Scorsese. Crime, Drama, Thriller. R. 2h 31m. By Manohla Dargis. Oct. 6, 2006. There are almost as many films fighting in “The Departed” as there are guys slugging it...
