79th Academy Awards · 2007
The Departed
Directed by Martin Scorsese
“Cops or criminals. When you’re facing a loaded gun, what’s the difference?”
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The story
To take down South Boston's Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewise. While an undercover cop curries favor with the mob kingpin, a career criminal rises through the police ranks. But both sides soon discover there's a mole among them.
What critics & audiences say
Tomatometer91%Fresh#55 of 98 winnersIMDb8.51.6M votes#8 of 98 winners
Metacritic85/ 100#48 of 93 winners
TMDB8.2/ 10
Famous lines
I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.
Surveillance Guy: Who the fuck are you?
Dignam: I'm the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy.
When I was your age they would say we can become cops, or criminals. Today, what I'm saying to you is this: when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?
Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe fuck yourself.
One of us had to die. With me, it tends to be the other guy.
My theory on Feds is they're like mushrooms. Feed 'em shit and keep 'em in the dark.
A man makes his own way. No one gives it to you. You have to take it.
I'm fucking Irish, I'll deal with something being wrong for the rest of my life.
Being a cop is not an identity, I want my identity back.
Unfortunately, this shithole has more fuckin' leaks than the Iraqi Navy.
Quotes via Wikiquote
Fun facts
- The Departed brought Martin Scorsese his first Oscar after five previous losses. Some called it a "Lifetime Achievement Award for a lesser film," and Scorsese joked he won because "this is the first movie I've done with a plot."Wikipedia · Accolades
- Brad Pitt was tentatively set to play Colin Sullivan but declined, saying a younger actor should play the part, and produced the film instead. Scorsese's associate Kenneth Lonergan then suggested Boston native Matt Damon.Wikipedia · Production
- Jack Nicholson wanted the film to have "something a little more" than the usual gangster movie, so screenwriter William Monahan based Frank Costello on real Boston gangster Whitey Bulger.Wikipedia · Production
- Robert De Niro was approached to play Queenan but declined in order to direct The Good Shepherd, though Martin Scorsese said De Niro simply was not interested. Ray Liotta also turned down a role because of another commitment.Wikipedia · Production
- Martin Scorsese uses an "X" motif to foreshadow death throughout the film, as Howard Hawks did in Scarface (1932), from cross-beams in an airport walkway to the taped windows of the building where Queenan dies.Wikipedia · Themes and motifs
- The final shot of a rat on Sullivan's window ledge nods to gangster films like Little Caesar and White Heat, while the funeral scene where Madden walks past Sullivan without looking at him quotes the ending of The Third Man.Wikipedia · Themes and motifs
- Andy Lau, a star of the original Infernal Affairs, said The Departed felt as if Hollywood had combined all three Infernal Affairs films together and had a bit too much profanity, but still rated it eight out of ten.Wikipedia · Critical response
- Frank Costello's phone ringtone is the famous sextet from Donizetti's opera Lucia di Lammermoor, which he is also seen listening to in the film.Wikipedia · Music
- The Departed opened at number one with $26.9 million, making it the fourth Martin Scorsese film to debut at the top and the most recent Best Picture winner to do so.Wikipedia · Box office
- William Monahan wrote a script for a sequel that producer Roy Lee called "an amazing idea" despite most of the main characters being dead, but it was shelved due to the expense and Martin Scorsese's lack of interest.Wikipedia · Sequel