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''The Departed'' is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film directed by
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...
and written by
William Monahan William J. Monahan (born November 3, 1960) is an American screenwriter and novelist. His second produced screenplay was '' The Departed'', a film that earned him a Writers Guild of America Award and Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. ...
. It is both a remake of the 2002
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
film '' Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-life
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
Winter Hill Gang; the character Colin Sullivan is based on the corrupt FBI agent John Connolly, while the character Frank Costello is based on Irish-American gangster Whitey Bulger. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and
Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Mark Wahlberg, multiple accolades, including a B ...
, with Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone,
Vera Farmiga Vera Ann Farmiga ( ; born August 6, 1973) is an American actress who is best known for portraying paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring Universe films ''The Conjuring'' (2013), ''The Conjuring 2'' (2016), ''Annabelle Comes ...
, and Alec Baldwin in supporting roles. The film takes place in Boston. Irish Mob boss Frank Costello (Nicholson) plants Colin Sullivan (Damon) as a spy within the Massachusetts State Police; simultaneously, the police assign undercover state trooper Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) to infiltrate Costello's crew. When both sides realize the situation, Sullivan and Costigan each attempt to discover the other's identity before they are found out. ''The Departed'' was a critical and commercial success, and won several accolades, including four Oscars at the
79th Academy Awards The 79th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2006 and took place February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m ...
: for Best Picture, Best Director,
Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...
, and Best Film Editing. It became Scorsese's first and, to date, only win for Best Director; Wahlberg was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor. The film also received six nominations at the
64th Golden Globe Awards The 64th Golden Globe Awards were aired on January 15, 2007. The ceremony was broadcast live on NBC. Indicating the impact that animated films have had on the film industry, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced in early 2006 that a G ...
, six nominations at the 60th British Academy Film Awards, and two nominations at the
13th Screen Actors Guild Awards The 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony, honoring the best in American film and television acting achievement for the year 2006, took place on January 28, 2007 at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center, in Los Angeles, California. ...
. DiCaprio was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (also nominated that year in the same category for ''
Blood Diamond ''Blood Diamond'' is a 2006 American political war action thriller film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, and Djimon Hounsou. The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds min ...
''), BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance.


Plot

In South Boston, Colin Sullivan is introduced to Irish Mob boss Frank Costello. Twenty years later, Sullivan has been groomed as a spy inside the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) and joins the Special Investigations Unit, led by Captain Ellerby. Another recruit, State Trooper Billy Costigan Jr., is recruited by Captain Queenan and Staff Sergeant Dignam to go undercover and infiltrate Costello's crew. They set up a cover: Costigan serves time in jail on a phony charge and eventually joins Costello's crew. Ellerby informs Special Investigations that only Queenan and Dignam will know their undercovers' names and that Costello's crew has stolen computer microprocessors to sell to a Hong Kong
Triad Triad or triade may refer to: * a group of three Businesses and organisations * Triad (American fraternities), certain historic groupings of seminal college fraternities in North America * Triad (organized crime), a Chinese transnational orga ...
. Costigan's emotional state declines, but Queenan and Dignam plead with him to keep his cover. Sullivan begins a romance with police psychiatrist Dr. Madolyn Madden. The MSP prepares to catch Costello selling the microprocessors; however, Sullivan tips off Costello about the police presence causing the deal to occur off-camera, allowing everyone to escape. Costello realizes there is a spy in his crew and tasks Sullivan to uncover his identity. Sullivan asks Costello for information to cross-reference his crew members in the MSP database. Meanwhile, Costigan learns that Costello is a protected FBI informant, and Costello accuses Costigan of being the spy within his crew, which he denies. Costigan shares his discovery with Queenan and warns that Costello is aware of a spy within his crew, and tells Dignam that there's spy in the MSP. Other than Queenan and Dignam, Costigan’s only contact in the MSP is Madolyn Madden, Sullivan’s girlfriend, with whom he later has an affair. Costigan follows Costello into a theater and witnesses him giving Sullivan an envelope. Queenan instructs Costigan to get a visual ID of Sullivan before making the arrest but Costigan is unable to get a good look at Sullivan's face; when Sullivan realizes that he is being followed he attempts to hide and stab Costigan as he walks by but mistakenly stabs a restaurant worker and flees the scene. Sullivan tries to cross-reference Costigan’s picture, captured by nearby security footage, against police officer databases but cannot recognize him. Queenan advises Sullivan to follow Costello to find the MSP mole. Costigan calls Queenan and sets up a meeting but Sullivan has Queenan tailed by another officer by lying to the officer about Queenan being the possible spy. Sullivan uses the tail's information on their location to call in Costello's gang. When Costello's men arrive, Queenan helps Costigan escape before confronting them and being thrown from the building's roof to his death. Angered by Queenan's murder, Dignam attacks Sullivan and is suspended by Ellerby shortly after. Meanwhile, one of Costello's mortally wounded henchmen, Timothy Delahunt (who is later revealed to be another undercover cop working for the local department), explains to Costigan that he is aware of his infiltration but doesn't alert the crew; he then succumbs to his injury. Sullivan also learns that Costello is an FBI informant and decides to help the MSP catch him. Costello is tailed by the MSP to a cocaine drop-off, where a gunfight erupts, killing most of Costello's crew. Sullivan confronts Costello, who admits to being an FBI informant, and fatally shoots him. When Costigan goes to Sullivan to reveal his undercover status, he notices the envelope Costello used to collect the gang's personal information to find the mole on Sullivan's desk and realizes that Sullivan is Costello's spy. Sullivan erases Costigan's records from police computers. Costigan hands Madolyn, who has moved in with Sullivan, an envelope and instructs her to open it if something happens to him. Later, she reveals that she is pregnant to Sullivan, then opens a different letter containing tapes Costello made of himself with Sullivan, listens to them, and leaves Sullivan. Costigan arranges to meet Sullivan on the rooftop at the building where Queenan was killed, then arrests him. Costigan calls Trooper Brown, a friend from the police academy, to substantiate his identity, but Brown pulls a gun on Costigan when he arrives, unsure who is telling the truth. Costigan says that he has evidence tying Sullivan to Costello, and Brown lets him go down the elevator. Upon reaching the lobby, Costigan and Brown are killed by Trooper Barrigan, a friend of Sullivan's, who reveals himself to be another spy working for Costello. Sullivan shoots Barrigan dead, allowing him to out Barrigan as the mole while removing suspicion from himself. When Sullivan arrives home after attending Costigan’s funeral, Dignam is waiting for him. Sullivan indifferently accepts his fate, and Dignam shoots him in the head, avenging Queenan and Costigan's deaths.


Cast


Production

In January 2003, Warner Bros., producer Brad Grey, and actor/producer Brad Pitt bought the rights to remake the Hong Kong film '' Infernal Affairs'' (2002) from
Media Asia Media Asia Entertainment Group (), Media Asia Group (, ), is a Hong Kong production company and film distributor for films made in Hong Kong and throughout China. It is a subsidiary of Lai Sun Development Company Ltd. History Headquarter ...
for $1.75 million.
William Monahan William J. Monahan (born November 3, 1960) is an American screenwriter and novelist. His second produced screenplay was '' The Departed'', a film that earned him a Writers Guild of America Award and Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. ...
was secured as a screenwriter, and later
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...
, who admired Monahan's script, came on board as director. In March 2004,
United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 2 ...
announced that Scorsese would be remaking ''Infernal Affairs'' and setting it in Boston, and that Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt were slated to star. Pitt, tentatively scheduled to play Sullivan, later declined to play the role, saying a younger actor should play the part; he decided to produce the film instead. Scorsese's associate Kenneth Lonergan suggested Matt Damon, who grew up in Boston, for the part of Sullivan, and Scorsese asked Jack Nicholson to play Costello. Nicholson wanted the film to have "something a little more" than the usual gangster film, and screenwriter Monahan came up with the idea of basing the Costello character on Irish-American gangster Whitey Bulger. This gave the screenplay an element of realism—and an element of dangerous uncertainty, because of the wide-ranging ''carte blanche'' the FBI gave Bulger in exchange for revealing information about fellow gangsters. A technical consultant on the film was Tom Duffy, who had served three decades on the Boston Police Department, particularly as an undercover detective investigating the Irish mob. ''The Departed'' was officially greenlit by Warner Bros. in early 2005 and began shooting in the spring of 2005. Some of the film was shot on location in Boston. For budgetary and logistical reasons many scenes, in particular interiors, were shot in locations and sets in New York City, which had tax incentives for filmmakers that Boston at the time did not.


Analysis

Film critic Stanley Kauffmann said that for ''The Departed,'' Scorsese "was apparently concerned with the idea of identity, one of the ancient themes of drama, and how it affects one's actions, emotions, self-knowledge, even dreams." Kauffmann, however, did not find the theme conveyed with particular effectiveness in the film. Film critic Roger Ebert compared Costigan and Sullivan's seeking of approval from those they are deceiving to Stockholm syndrome. Ebert also noted the themes of
Catholic guilt Catholic guilt is the reported excess guilt felt by Catholics and lapsed Catholics. Guilt is a by-product of an informed conscience but "Catholic" guilt is often confused with scrupulosity. An overly scrupulous conscience is an exaggeration of he ...
. In the final scene, a rat is seen on Sullivan's window ledge. Scorsese acknowledges that while it is not meant to be taken literally, it somewhat symbolizes the "quest for the rat" in the film and the strong sense of distrust among the characters, much like post- 9/11 U.S. The window view behind the rat is a nod to gangster films like '' Little Caesar'' (1931), '' Scarface'' (1932), and ''
White Heat ''White Heat'' is a 1949 American film noir directed by Raoul Walsh and starring James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Margaret Wycherly and Steve Cochran. Written by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, ''White Heat'' is based on a story by ...
'' (1949). Throughout the film, Scorsese uses an "X" motif to foreshadow death in a manner similar to
Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A ...
' film '' Scarface'' (1932). Examples include shots of cross-beam supports in an airport walkway when Costigan is phoning Sgt. Dignam, the taped windows of the building Queenan enters before being thrown to his death, behind Costigan's head in the elevator before he is shot, and the carpeted hallway floor when Sullivan returns to his apartment before being shot by Dignam at the film's end. Jim Emerson, writing for '' RogerEbert.com'', noted that Nicholson's character, and possibly Damon's, may be read as latently homosexual. He also notes that the inspiration for Nicholson's character, Bulger, was reportedly bisexual.


Release

''The Departed'' grossed $132.4 million in the United States and Canada and $159 million in other territories for a total gross of $291.5 million, against a production budget of $90 million. The film grossed $26.9 million in its opening weekend, becoming the fourth Scorsese film to debut at number one. In the following three weeks the film grossed $19 million, $13.5 million and $9.8 million, finishing second at the box office each time, before grossing $7.7 million and dropping to 5th in its fifth week.


Reception

On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film holds a 90% approval rating based on 284 reviews, with an average rating of 8.30/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Featuring outstanding work from an excellent cast, ''The Departed'' is a thoroughly engrossing gangster drama with the gritty authenticity and soupy morality we have come to expect from Martin Scorsese."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 85 out of 100 based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...
'' ranked it on its end-of-the-decade "Best of" list, saying: "If they're lucky, directors make one classic film in their career. Martin Scorsese has one per decade (''
Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying ...
'' in the '70s, ''
Raging Bull ''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin from Jake LaMotta's 1970 memoir '' Raging Bull: M ...
'' in the '80s, '' Goodfellas'' in the '90s). His 2006 Irish Mafia masterpiece kept the streak alive." Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four, praising Scorsese for thematically differentiating his film from the original. Online critic James Berardinelli awarded the film four stars out of four, praising it as "an American epic tragedy." He went on to claim that the film deserves to be ranked alongside Scorsese's past successes, including ''Taxi Driver'', ''Raging Bull'' and ''Goodfellas''.
Andrew Lau Andrew Lau Wai-keung ( zh, t=劉偉強, born 4 April 1960) is a Hong Kong film director, producer, and cinematographer. Lau began his career in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as a cinematographer to filmmakers such as Ringo Lam, Wong Jing and W ...
, the co-director of '' Infernal Affairs'', who was interviewed by Hong Kong newspaper '' Apple Daily'', said: "Of course I think the version I made is better, but the Hollywood version is pretty good too. corsesemade the Hollywood version more attuned to American culture." Andy Lau, one of the main actors in ''Infernal Affairs'', when asked how the movie compares to the original, said: "''The Departed'' was too long and it felt as if Hollywood had combined all three ''Infernal Affairs'' movies together." Although Lau said the script of the remake had some "golden quotes", he also felt it had a bit too much profanity. He ultimately rated ''The Departed'' eight out of ten and said that the Hollywood remake is worth a view, though according to Lau's spokeswoman Alice Tam, he felt that the combination of the two female characters into one in ''The Departed'' was not as good as the original storyline. A few critics were disappointed in the film, including
J. Hoberman James Lewis Hoberman (born March 14, 1949) is an American film critic, journalist, author and academic. He began working at '' The Village Voice'' in the 1970s, became a full-time staff writer in 1983, and was the newspaper's senior film critic ...
of the '' Village Voice'', who wrote: "''Infernal Affairs'' was surprisingly cool and effectively restrained for HK action, but Scorsese raises the temperature with every ultraviolent interaction. The surplus of belligerence and slur reach near- Tarantinian levels—appropriate as he's staking a claim to QT's turf."


Top ten lists

The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2006. Carrie Rickey of ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pen ...
'', Joe Morgenstern of ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', Ruthe Stein of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...
'', and Steven Rea of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' named it one of the top ten films of 2006. Richard Roeper of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...
'' named it the best film of the 2000s. * 1st – Richard Roeper, '' Ebert and Roeper'' * 1st – Peter Travers, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' * 1st – Rene Rodriguez, '' The Miami Herald'' * 1st – Scott Tobias, '' The A.V. Club'' * 1st – Joshua Rothkopf, '' Time Out New York'' * 1st – Philip Martin, ''
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette The ''Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'' is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell. It is distributed for sale in all 75 of Arkansas' counties. By virtue of one of ...
'' * 1st – James Berardinelli, ReelViews * 2nd – Chris Kaltenbach, ''
The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...
'' * 2nd – Adam Kempenaar, '' Filmspotting'' * 2nd – Keith Phipps, ''The A.V. Club'' * 2nd – Kyle Smith, ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' * 2nd – Mike Russell, ''
The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...
'' * 2nd – Richard James Havis, ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'' * 2nd – Richard Schickel, ''
TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'' * 3rd – Frank Scheck, ''The Hollywood Reporter'' * 4th – Glenn Kenny, '' Premiere'' * 4th – Marc Savlov, '' The Austin Chronicle'' * 4th – Michael Wilmington, ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' * 4th – Roger Ebert, ''Chicago Sun-Times'' * 5th – ''
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' * 5th – David Ansen, ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' * 5th – Kevin Crust, ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' * 5th –
Lisa Schwarzbaum Lisa Schwarzbaum (born July 5, 1952) is an American film critic. She joined ''Entertainment Weekly'' as a film critic in the 1990s and remained there until February 2013. Career She has been featured on CNN, co-hosted '' Siskel & Ebert at the Mo ...
, ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...
'' * 5th – Stephen Hunter, ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' * 6th – Ann Hornaday, ''The Washington Post'' * 6th – Jack Mathews, '' Daily News'' * 6th – Nathan Rabin, ''The A.V. Club'' * 6th – Ty Burr, ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' * 7th – Nathan Lee, ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'' * 7th – Noel Murray, ''The A.V. Club'' * 7th – Peter Hartlaub, ''San Francisco Chronicle'' * 8th –
Michael Sragow Michael Sragow (born June 26, 1952 in New York) is a film critic and columnist who has written for the ''Orange County Register'', ''The Baltimore Sun'', ''Film Comment'', ''The San Francisco Examiner'', ''The New Times'', ''The New Yorker'' (whe ...
, ''The Baltimore Sun'' * 9th – Claudia Puig, ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' * 9th – Desson Thomson, ''The Washington Post'' * 9th – Lou Lumenick, ''New York Post'' * 9th – Michael Rechtshaffen, ''The Hollywood Reporter''


Accolades

At the
64th Golden Globe Awards The 64th Golden Globe Awards were aired on January 15, 2007. The ceremony was broadcast live on NBC. Indicating the impact that animated films have had on the film industry, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced in early 2006 that a G ...
on January 15, 2007, ''The Departed'' won one award for Best Director (
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...
), while being nominated for five other awards including Best Picture,
Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...
( Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor ( Jack Nicholson,
Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Mark Wahlberg, multiple accolades, including a B ...
), and
Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...
(
William Monahan William J. Monahan (born November 3, 1960) is an American screenwriter and novelist. His second produced screenplay was '' The Departed'', a film that earned him a Writers Guild of America Award and Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. ...
). At the
79th Academy Awards The 79th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2006 and took place February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m ...
on February 25, 2007, ''The Departed'' won four
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
s: Best Picture ( Graham King), Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Best Film Editing ( Thelma Schoonmaker), and Best Adapted Screenplay Writing (William Monahan). Mark Wahlberg was also nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance, but he lost to Alan Arkin for his role in '' Little Miss Sunshine''. The film marked the first time Scorsese won an Oscar after five previous losses. Many felt that he deserved it years earlier for prior efforts. Some felt he deserved it for his prior nominations and the win was described as a "Lifetime Achievement Award for a lesser film". Scorsese himself joked that he won because: "This is the first movie I've done with a plot." At the
11th Satellite Awards The 11th Satellite Awards, honoring the best in film and television of 2006, were given on December 18, 2006. Special achievement awards Auteur Award (for his visionary work as a filmmaker) – Robert Altman Mary Pickford Award (for outstandin ...
on December 18, 2006, ''The Departed'' won awards for Best Ensemble, Motion Picture, Best Motion Picture, Drama, Best Screenplay – Adapted (William Monahan), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Leonardo DiCaprio). In 2008, it was nominated for the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...
Top 10 Gangster Films list


Home media

''The Departed'' was released by Warner Home Video on DVD in 2007. The film is available in a single-disc full screen (1.33:1), single-disc widescreen (2.40:1) edition, and 2-disc special edition. The second disc contains deleted scenes; a feature about the influence of New York's Little Italy on Scorsese; a
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...
profile; and a 21-minute documentary titled ''Stranger Than Fiction: The True Story of Whitey Bulger, Southie and The Departed'' about the crimes that influenced Scorsese in creating the film, including the story of
James "Whitey" Bulger James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger Jr. (; September 3, 1929 – October 30, 2018) was an American organized crime boss who led the Winter Hill Gang in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, a city directly northwest of Bo ...
, upon whom Jack Nicholson's character is based.


Music


Soundtrack


Score

The
film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...
for ''The Departed'' was written by Howard Shore and performed by guitarists
Sharon Isbin Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...
, G. E. Smith, Larry Saltzman and Marc Ribot. The score was recorded in Shore's own studio in
New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...
. The album, ''The Departed: Original Score'', was released December 5, 2006 by
New Line New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
, and produced by Jason Cienkus. Scorsese described the music as "a very dangerous and lethal tango" and cited the guitar-based score of '' Murder by Contract'' and the zither in '' The Third Man'' as inspiration.


Cancelled sequel

Although many of the key characters in the film are dead by the end, there was a script written for a sequel. This was ultimately shelved due to the expense and Scorsese's lack of interest in creating a sequel.


See also

*
List of American films of 2006 This is a list of American films released in 2006. Box office The highest-grossing American films released in 2006, by domestic box office gross revenue, are as follows: January–March April–June July–September October� ...
* "
The Debarted "The Debarted" is the thirteenth episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 2, 2008, and features Topher Grace as guest star a ...
", an episode of ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
'' that parodies the film.


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* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Departed, The 2006 films 2006 crime drama films 2006 crime thriller films 2000s American films 2000s English-language films American crime drama films American crime thriller films American neo-noir films American police detective films American remakes of Hong Kong films American thriller drama films Best Picture Academy Award winners Culture of Boston Edgar Award-winning works Fictional portrayals of the Boston Police Department Films about Irish-American culture Films about the Irish Mob Films directed by Martin Scorsese Films produced by Brad Grey Films produced by Brad Pitt Films produced by Graham King Films scored by Howard Shore Films set in 1986 Films set in 2006 Films set in 2007 Films set in a movie theatre Films set in Boston Films shot in Boston Films shot in Massachusetts Films shot in New York City Films whose director won the Best Directing Academy Award Films whose director won the Best Director Golden Globe Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award Films with screenplays by William Monahan Initial Entertainment Group films Media Asia films Plan B Entertainment films Vertigo Entertainment films Warner Bros. films