The Departed

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I think that the movie showed some ins and outs of how the mafia operates, with Jack Nicholson as the supposed godfather!



A system of cells interlinked
OR, it showed us some of the ins and outs of mob infiltration by special police units, and vice versa...

So, what did you think of it?
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Loved it!!!

Third in my Top 10 list of Scorsese movies.

1. Raging Bull
2. Goodfellas
3. The Departed
4. Mean Streets
5. Taxi Driver
6. The King of Comedy
7. After Hours
8. The Age of Innocence
9. Gangs of New York
10. Casino
You forgot the Aviator...

I am still trying to figure out if Sgt. Dignam was also a rat or did he just wack Culligan in the end for revenge.



um well imo i think he wacked em because he found out that Sullivan was the rat and remeber th roof scene where william (leo) told that black dude to call dignam and bring him to it is a possiblility that dignam was there and saw Sullivan kill the other 2 at the bottom of the elevator Dignam always hated sullivian so could of been many reasons (dont mind my spelling im in a hurry lol)



great movie... loved damon and dicaprio and nicholson... just absolutely great!



Movie Forums Stage-Hand
enjoyed this movie... full of twist and expect the unexpected... No Spoilers... just go and get a hold of this film...



My review:


Martin Scorcese finally snagged a Best Director Oscar for The Departed and though there are some (myself included) who do not feel this was his best work, the film is more than worthy of the Director Oscar it finally nailed for Scorcese as well as the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year that it also received.

This exquisitely mounted epic tale looks at the war between the police and the mob in South Boston, supposedly during the 70's and 80's, centering primarily on three characters. Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio)is a young cop with a shady family legacy, who is sent deep undercover to get the goods on renowned Boston mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson).

Matt Damon plays Colin Sullivan, a young man who grew up working for Costello,a la Ray Liotta's character in Goodfellas, but also becomes a police officer. A two-way cat and mouse game ensues as Costello tries to learn which member of his organization is a cop while the police try to figure out which one of their officers is a stooge to Costello. The race to learn which rat is where advances to the point where Sullivan is actually assigned to, in so many words, rat out himself.

Scorcese offers one of the greatest examples I have seen in years of storytelling on screen with a meticulous and detailed screenplay that requires complete attention, not to mention multiple viewings to fully appreciated the multi-layered story presented here. Scorcese's direction is crisp and in-your-face, as always, and surprises are offered around every corner of the story told here. Every time you think you've figure it out, the story takes another detour and if you miss anything, you will be confused.

DiCaprio offers the best performance of his career as the tortured Costigan and he might have won the Oscar if he had been nominated for this instead of Blood Diamond. Matt Damon's richly complex portrayal of Collin Sullivan hits the bullseye as does Nicholson's expectedly ruthless mafioso. Mark Wahlberg received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his razor sharp performance as DiCaprio and Damon's 2nd commanding officer who allows matters to get personal. Alec Baldwin, Martin, Sheen, Ray Winstone, and Anthony Anderson also register in strong supporting roles, but it is primarily the compelling story, masterful direction by Scorcese and the three electrifying lead performances that make this film an instant classic not to be missed. 8/10



Been going back and tagging lots of old reviews, and happened to find this:

You won't find a bigger Scorsese fan than me, but you guys are delusional about his Oscar chances this year. I will bet you a LOT of money against that prediction. Scorsese won't even get nominated, much less win. It's a good movie, I like it, but it's simply not the kind of piece that gets Oscar nods.

...

So I'll wager a good chunk of change Marty won't get a nomination for The Departed, and a HELL of a lot of money that he will not win.
Bumping this probably seems a lot cheekier than I mean for it to. Just couldn't resist a little good-natured ribbing about it, since nobody else seems to have noticed.



I am the Watcher in the Night
The Departed is one of my all time favourites and easily some of Scorsese's best work, ranking up there in the same tier as The Aviator, Raging Bull, Goodfellas and The King of Comedy.
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I figure those who don't check my reviews, can talk about the film here.

Here is my review again.

ADMIN EDIT: SPOILERS BELOW

Billy Costigan is an undercover cop who gets thrown into the hands of a notorious gangster, Frank Costello. Colin Sullivan is a member of Costello's gang who is a mole in the Boston police department. Once word gets out that there is a mole in the police department and a rat in Costello's gang, things begin to heat up as they try and smoke out the other.

Infernal Affairs blew me away a couple years ago, then I heard that one of my favourite directors was doing a remake. I was a little hesitant at first, I didn't know if I was going to see old Scorsese (Goodfellas, Casino) or the recent Scorsese (Gangs Of New York, The Aviator). Granted the films under his belt as of late are not horrible, in fact they're great, they just don't have that old school touch that made Scorsese such a great director. With The Departed Scorsese is back to his old form and gives us the best film of 2006.

The Departed is full of old school tricks from Scorsese. From an Iris Out and that classic Goodfellas feel, it makes for an intense thrill ride that will have you on the edge of your seat. With the crop of films this year not being all that great (save for a select few), The Departed blows them all out of the water. It's brutal with it's violence and doesn't hold back on anything.

DiCaprio and Damon both shine in their roles, with DiCaprio having the more intense part and more screen time. I only favour DiCaprio a tad more because the scenes with Damon and Farmiga are a tad boring to watch. It was a joy to watch both of these characters slowly lose their minds being on both sides of the fence. Although they both shine in this film, they can't touch the great Nicholson. He is absolutely astonishing. He owns every scene he is in, even when he starts acting like a rat. He has this evil presence about him in this film, but he plays it with such a comedic tone, you can't hate the guy, but you can fear him. After seeing how great he is in this film I'm left wondering why Scorsese and Nicholson haven't worked together before now.

Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Vera Farmiga and even Anthony Anderson all blend well together to bring the cast of The Departed full circle. Wahlberg stands out in this list, he is just as mean and foul mouthed as Nicholson and can actually hold his own with such a prominent actor as Sheen sitting right beside him. Alec Baldwin is a joy to watch as he spits out his comedic lines left right and centre and Martin Sheen brings the missing piece that fits the thrilling puzzle that is The Departed.

There are numerous violent scenes that scream Goodfellas or Casino and it's nice to get that old feeling back. The film is gritty, brutal and violent and doesn't let you sit there and feel comfortable with any of it. People are getting shot left right and centre, beaten to death, hit numerous times with coat racks, beaten with shoes, stabbed, thrown out of buildings. The blood splashes all over the screen and with people getting shot in the face everywhere, you feel the uneasiness that Scorsese wanted. It's not as brutal as the one infamous baseball bat scene in Casino, but it ranks up there.

The film does tend to drag on in certain areas, but that's expected. With it's fast story telling pace, Scorsese slows it down a bit so we can get to know more about who these two characters are. He keeps us on the edge of our seats wondering if their cover is going to be blown cause it can be blown at any point in time. Even after watching Infernal Affairs I was still tense, wondering what was going to happen next. That is the work of a great director.

The Departed will get recognized by the Academy, but I doubt it will win anything. Scorsese is after 0/5 in that race. One can only hope though, cause he deserves it so much. This film, although definitely not his best (I don't think anything he does will surpass Goodfellas) packs one hell of a bloody punch. It has strong performances and a dark comedic tone that will have you laughing along with it. In the hands of any other director, it could have been a mess. Thank you Mr. Scorsese, for letting me have fun at the movies again.


9/10
Definitely one of the best gangster movie about today 10\10 performance's



Welcome to the human race...
Been going back and tagging lots of old reviews, and happened to find this:


Bumping this probably seems a lot cheekier than I mean for it to. Just couldn't resist a little good-natured ribbing about it, since nobody else seems to have noticed.
I don't blame him. It had sympathy vote written all over it, which Holden has noted are statistically improbable given the Academy's history and preferences.
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Legend in my own mind
An absolute masterpiece.

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28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Been going back and tagging lots of old reviews, and happened to find this:


Bumping this probably seems a lot cheekier than I mean for it to. Just couldn't resist a little good-natured ribbing about it, since nobody else seems to have noticed.
I don't blame him. It had sympathy vote written all over it, which Holden has noted are statistically improbable given the Academy's history and preferences.
I'd agree with this, then I looked at what was nominated



Welcome to the human race...
Yeah, you do have to wonder how many of these legacy/sympathy wins happen largely because the rest of the given nominees just so happen to be comparatively unimpressive - the same could be said of DiCaprio's lack of serious competition last year (who even was the runner-up in that situation?). It's not like Iñárritu deserves a Best Director Oscar anyway.



9/10 for sure. I do like how it was loosely based on Whitey Bulger and FBI agent John Connolly
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