The Departed
is a 2006 American crime drama film remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs
. The Departed
was directed by Martin Scorsese, written by William Monahan and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga and Mark Wahlberg. The film won four Academy Awards at the 79th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and a Best Director win for Scorsese.
This film takes place in Boston, Massachusetts, where notorious Irish Mob boss Francis "Frank" Costello (Nicholson) plants Colin Sullivan (Damon) as an informant within the Massachusetts State Police. Simultaneously, the police assign undercover cop Billy Costigan, Jr. (DiCaprio) to infiltrate Costello's crew. When both sides of the law realize the situation, each man attempts to discover the other's true identity before being found out.
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THE DEPARTED TICKETS
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Plot
At a young age, Colin Sullivan (Damon) is introduced to organized crime through Irish mobster Frank Costello (Nicholson), eventually training him to become his mole inside the Massachusetts State Police. Performing exceptionally, all the while helping Costello remove his enemies, Sullivan is accepted into the Special Investigation Unit, focusing on organized crime.
Before he graduates, Trainee William Costigan Jr (DiCaprio) is asked by Captain Queenan (Sheen) and Staff Sergeant Dignam (Wahlberg) to become an undercover agent, as his strong family ties to organized crime have left him too emotionally damaged to be a cop. He agrees and does time in prison on a phony assault charge.
As both men infiltrate their organizations, Sullivan begins a relationship with psychiatrist Madolyn Madden (Farmiga), whom Costigan also sees as part of his probation, developing his own relationship with her.
Years pass by and after Costello barely escapes a sting operation, both moles become aware of the other's existence. Sullivan is assigned to find the mole in SIU and asks Costello for his crew’s personal information to infer who is the mole within Costello's crew. Costigan follows Costello as he brings Sullivan the information, but is unable to see his face. Sullivan is equally frustrated when the information fails to help him.
Both Costigan and Queenan become alarmed after learning Costello is an FBI mole and Sullivan, trying a different tactic, has Queenan tailed. As Queenan meets Costigan in an abandoned building, Costello sends men in. Queenan distracts them as Costigan escapes, but is thrown from the roof and dies. Costigan pretends he's come to rejoin Costello's team, and leaves with them. The trailing team opens fire on Costello’s crew, with casualties on both sides.
His actions now under
scrutiny, Sullivan is attacked by a suspicious Dignam, who is placed on
Paid time off. Sullivan reaches Costigan using Queenan’s phone, but Costigan refuses to abort his mission. Sullivan also learns of Costello’s FBI-informant role from Queenan’s diary, causing him worry for his own life and begin plotting against Costello.
With Costigan’s help, Costello is tracked to a cocaine drop-off, where he and his crew become trapped in a gunfight with police, resulting in all his crew being killed and Costello shot in the stomach before escaping. Confronted by Sullivan, Costello admits he is an occasional FBI mole but maintains he wouldn’t turn Sullivan in. However, Costello soon attempts to kill Sullivan, with Sullivan killing him in rage for the betrayal.
With Costello dead, Sullivan, still disturbed at killing his father figure, is applauded for his actions at SIU. Costigan comes to him for restoration of his true identity and payment, but notices a distinctive envelope submitted by Costello's crew on Sullivan’s desk, and flees. Knowing he’s been made, Sullivan erases all record of Costigan as a Trooper.
Costigan leaves an envelope in the care of Madden, who is now living with Sullivan, pregnant, and guilty about a brief affair between them. Some time later, Costigan sends an audio CD to Sullivan with a note to contact him on it. Madden listens to the CD first, hearing Sullivan and Costello’s taped conversations, and becomes enraged at this betrayal.
Sullivan contacts Costigan, who reveals that Costello recorded such conversations as insurance, and with his death, his lawyer gave the tapes to Costigan, the crewman Costello trusted most. Agreeing to meet at the empty building where Queenan died, Costigan holds Sullivan at gunpoint, intent on arresting him. Officer Brown, who is part of Sullivan’s team and an academy friend of Costigan, appears and draws his gun on Costigan. Using Sullivan as a shield, Costigan gets in the elevator. The elevator reaches the ground floor and the door opens. Costigan, momentarily exposed, is shot in the head and dies. The shooter is Officer Barrigan, another member of Sullivan’s team. Brown appears on the scene, but is shot and killed by Barrigan who reveals himself to Sullivan as Costello’s second mole. Pledging to look out for each other, the two clean the crime scene. Sullivan, not wanting any loose ends, shoots and kills Barrigan and leaves. Sullivan blames all mole activity on Barrigan and, out of guilt, has Costigan’s identity restored and posthumously rewarded.
At Costigan’s funeral, Madden silently rebuffs Sullivan and the two part ways. Some time later, Sullivan returns home to find Dignam waiting for him with a suppressed pistol. Sullivan realizes his fate when he relents, "OK," and Dignam dispatches Sullivan with a bullet to the head and leaves the scene. The film ends with a lone rat crawling on the apartment's balcony railing, which frames the gold dome of the Massachusetts State House in the background.
Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprio
as Trooper William "Billy" Costigan Jr.
, undercover State Trooper
- Matt Damon
as Staff Sergeant Colin Sullivan
, Costello's informant in the Special Investigations Unit
- Jack Nicholson
as Francis "Frank" Costello
, boss of the Boston Irish mob
- Mark Wahlberg
as Staff Sergeant Sean Dignam
, second in command of the undercover unit
- Martin Sheen
as Captain Oliver Charles Queenan
, commander of the undercover unit
- Vera Farmiga
as Dr. Madolyn Madden
, occupational psychiatrist and girlfriend to both Billy and Colin, respectively
- Ray Winstone
as Arnold French
, Costello's right-hand man
- Alec Baldwin
as Captain George Ellerby
, commander of the Special Investigations Unit
- Anthony Anderson
as Trooper Brown
, member of the Special Investigations Unit and Billy's classmate at the MSP Academy
- James Badge Dale
as Trooper Barrigan
, member of the Special Investigations Unit and Colin's classmate at the state police academy
- David O'Hara
as "Fitzy" Fitzgibbons
, one of Costello's enforcers
- Mark Rolston
as Timothy Delahunt
, one of Costello's enforcers
- John Cenatiempo as Mark Brambilla, Providence mob associate
- Armen Garo
as Eugene Fratti
, Providence mob associate
- Kevin Corrigan
as Sean
, Billy's cousin
- Robert Wahlberg
as FBI Special Agent Frank Lazio
, FBI liaison to the special investigations unit
Themes
Film critic
Stanley Kauffman describes a major theme of
The Departed
as one of the oldest in drama—the concept of
identity
—and how it "affects one's actions, emotions, self-assurance, and even dreams."
[1]
The father-son relationship is a motif throughout the film. Costello acts as a father figure to both Colin and Billy while Queenan acts as Costello's foil in the role of father-figure presenting both sides of the Irish-American father archetype.
[2] Colin also refers to Costello as 'Dad' whenever he calls him to inform him of police activities.
In
Rolling Stone
magazine, Scorsese linked the
zero-sum feeling of the end of his movie to real-world feelings toward terrorism and the war on terrorism.
Boston setting
right skyline into the gun reinforces the film's thematic use of Boston's heritage and culture. Born to an
Irish-American family in the Boston neighborhood of
Dorchester, Massachusetts,
William Monahan (who adapted the screenplay from
Infernal Affairs
) incorporates the culture and history of Boston heavily into the film. The first images are news clips from the
busing riots of the 1970s, over which Costello muses about the city's troubled racial history. Several times, Dignam refers to Billy as "lace curtain," a term used primarily in the Boston metropolitan area by working-class Irish-Americans to disparage upper-middle class Irish-Americans who have "strayed from their roots" in their attempt to better themselves.
The majority of the characters have the non-
rhotic Boston accent. The
Massachusetts State House is also featured in the film as a symbol of Colin Sullivan's ambition.
Boston Red Sox apparel is seen and worn, including the appearance of a now-out-of-print
"Reverse The Curse" bumper sticker on the wall at SIU headquarters. Also, in a bar scene the logo of the
Harpoon Brewery, which has locations in
Boston and
Windsor, Vermont, is clearly seen. Costello and his gang drive over the
Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge in one scene. The building off which Queenan is thrown (and where Billy and Colin later meet) is in the
Fort Point section of South Boston with the downtown skyline as backdrop (the fictitious "344 Wash" is actually an alley between Farnsworth Street and Thomson Place). The
John Hancock Tower is referenced by Costello, who also makes an obscure but, according to urban legend, accurate reference to "the Fens"--a section of the Fenway—as a popular spot for gay cruising. Boston's
Chinatown is also portrayed in a crucial scene which is somewhat inaccurate, as the neighborhood is no longer home to pornographic movie theaters. Characters are shown working in the striking,
Brutalist Government Service Center downtown. The film includes the song "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" by the
Dropkick Murphys, an Irish-American
punk rock band formed in
Quincy, Massachusetts.
Other references include state locations such as
Route 128, regions such as the North Shore, there is a shot of the
Park Street and
South Station MBTA Red Line stops, local cities such as
Worcester,
Brockton,
Gloucester, and
Somerville while having turf wars with crew from nearby
Providence, a
cameo by the
Lynn police, mention of the Dedham Mall (located in
Dedham just southwest of Boston), and state slang like "Staties," a local nickname for
Massachusetts State Police troopers. Also,
Deerfield Academy, a boarding school in
Deerfield, Massachusetts, is referenced when Dignam points out that Billy was expelled from the school after assaulting the gym teacher (though in reality Deerfield, like most
Independent Schools, has no gym class). Additionally, the label on Billy's prescription bottle shows a
Beverly Street address in Boston. The University of Massachusetts, or UMass, is also referenced in several scenes.
The character
Frank Costello was largely based on
James "Whitey" Bulger, a real life Irish-American
mobster in Boston who was secretly an
FBI informant for over three decades. The revelation that the FBI had long protected Bulger and his gang from prosecution caused a major scandal in Boston law enforcement. Bulger was believed to have been seen coming out of a theater showing the film in
San Diego in November 2006.
[3] [4] Matt Damon's character is based on
John Connolly, the
FBI agent who tipped off Bulger for years, allowing him to evade arrest. In real life, Bulger went into hiding and is still presumed to be at large, currently occupying a spot on the
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list; Connolly is currently imprisoned for his role in Bulger's criminal activities.
[5] Billy's undercover role as a former State trooper who joins the Irish mob parallels the story of Richard Marinick, a former State trooper who later joined Whitey Bulger's crime syndicate. Billy also lives in Somerville, where Bulger's
Winter Hill Gang began. Thomas Duffy, the film's technical advisor (he also plays the Governor at the State Police Academy graduation ceremony), is a former MSP major who was assigned to investigate the Irish mob upon making detective.
Reception
The Departed
was highly anticipated when it was released on October 6, 2006 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. The film is currently one of the highest-rated wide release films of 2006 on
Rotten Tomatoes at 92%.
[6]
Popular critic
James Berardinelli awarded the film four stars out of four, praising it as "an American epic tragedy." He went on to compare the film favorably to the onslaught of banality offered by American studios in recent years. "The movies have been in the doldrums lately.
The Departed
is a much needed tonic," he wrote. He also went on to claim that the film deserves to be ranked alongside Scorsese's past successes, including
Taxi Driver
,
Raging Bull
and
Goodfellas
.
[7]
Andrew Lau, 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. [Scorsese] made 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."
[8] Lau pointed out that the remake featured some of the "golden quotes" of the original but did have much more swearing. He ultimately rated
The Departed
8/10 and said that the Hollywood remake is worth a view, though "the effect of combining the two female characters in the [later film] into one isn't as good as in the original," according to Lau's spokeswoman Alice Tam.
[9]
The film also evoked some controversy in Boston.
Michael Patrick MacDonald, author of the Southie memoirs
All Souls
and
Easter Rising
, wrote an op-ed piece for
The Boston Globe
[10] praising the film's ability to recreate the "strangulating" culture created by Boston gangsters, politicians, and law enforcement officials at all levels of local, state, and federal government - a culture of violent death and silence that led to years of young suicides and an epidemic of painkilling through heroin and
OxyContin, the latter even shown in the film. The op-ed piece caused a stir in Boston, eliciting a missive from a South Boston state senator as well as letters from South Boston real estate agents concerned about the "negative" depiction of the "trendy" neighborhood of South Boston.
The film grossed $26,887,467 in its opening weekend, becoming the third Scorsese film to debut at #1. The film saw small declines in later weeks, remaining in the list of top ten films for seven weeks. The film grossed $132,384,315 domestically and $289,835,021 worldwide. Budgeted at $90 million, the film is believed to be the most commercially successful of Scorsese's features and is his highest-grossing film to date, easily beating
The Aviator
s previous record of $102.6 million.
Awards
The film won four
Academy Awards at the
79th Academy Awards for
Best Picture,
Best Director (
Martin Scorsese),
Best Film Editing (
Thelma Schoonmaker), and
Best Adapted Screenplay (
William Monahan).
Mark Wahlberg was also nominated for the
Best Supporting Actor award for his performance, which he lost to
Alan Arkin for
Little Miss Sunshine
. Notably, the film marked the first time Scorsese ever won an Oscar; many felt that he deserved it years earlier for prior efforts such as
Taxi Driver
,
Raging Bull
, and
GoodFellas
[11]. Some cynically referred to it as his Lifetime Achievement Award, and Scorsese himself quipped that he won because: "This is the first movie I've done with a plot."
[12]
Top ten lists
The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2006.
[13]
- 1st - James Berardinelli, ReelViews
- 1st - Richard Roeper, Ebert and Roeper
- 1st - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
- 1st - Rene Rodriguez, The Miami Herald
- 1st - Scott Tobias, The A.V. Club
- 1st - Charlie Lyons, The Purcellville Gazette
- 1st - Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
- 2nd - Chris Kaltenbach, The Baltimore Sun
- 2nd - Keith Phipps, The A.V. Club
- 2nd - Kyle Smith, New York Post
- 2nd - Mike Russell, The Oregonian
- 2nd - Richard James Havis, The Hollywood Reporter
- 2nd - Richard Schickel, TIME
magazine
- 3rd - Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
- 4th - Glenn Kenny, Premiere
- 4th - Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle
- 4th - Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
- 4th - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
- 5th - Empire Magazine
- 5th - David Ansen, Newsweek
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- 5th - Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times
- 5th - Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
- 5th - Stephen Hunter, The Washington Post
- 6th - Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post
- 6th - Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
- 6th - Nathan Rabin, The A.V. Club
- 6th - Ty Burr, The Boston Globe
- 7th - Nathan Lee, The Village Voice
- 7th - Noel Murray, The A.V. Club
- 7th - Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle
- 8th - Michael Sragow, The Baltimore Sun
- 9th - Claudia Puig, USA Today
- 9th - Desson Thomson, The Washington Post
- 9th - Lou Lumenick, New York Post
- 9th - Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter
|
Carrie Rickey of
The Philadelphia Inquirer
, Joe Morgenstern of
The Wall Street Journal
, Ruthe Stein of the
San Francisco Chronicle
, and Steven Rea of
The Philadelphia Inquirer
named it one of the top ten best films of 2006.
[ Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times
named it the best film of 2006.
]
Awards and nominations
Award
| Category
| Winner/Nominee
| Won
|
Academy Awards
| Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Best Editing
| Thelma Schoonmaker
|
Best Picture
| Graham King
|
Best Screenplay - Adapted
| William Monahan
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Mark Wahlberg
| No
|
African-American Film Critics
| Top Ten Films of the Year
| 3rd
|
American Cinema Editors (ACE)
| Best Edited Feature Film - Dramatic
| Thelma Schoonmaker
| Yes
|
Art Directors Guild (ADG)
| Excellence in Production Design - Contemporary Film
| No
|
Austin Film Critics
| Best Actor
| Leonardo DiCaprio
| Yes
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Jack Nicholson
|
Boston Film Critics
| Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Best Film
|
Best Screenplay
| William Monahan
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Mark Wahlberg
|
Best Cast
| 2nd
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Martin Sheen
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Alec Baldwin
|
BAFTA Film Awards
| Best Actor
| Leonardo DiCaprio
| No
|
Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
|
Best Editing
| Thelma Schoonmaker
|
Best Film
|
Best Screenplay - Adapted
| William Monahan
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Jack Nicholson
|
Broadcast Film Critics
| Top 10 Films of the Year (#3)
|
Best Actor
| Leonardo Dicaprio
| No
|
Best Cast
|
Best Composer
| Howard Shore
|
Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Best Film
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Jack Nicholson
| No
|
Best Writer
| William Monahan
|
Central Ohio Film Critics
| Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Best Actor
| Leonardo DiCaprio
|
Best Ensemble
|
Best Screenplay - Adapted
| William Monahan
|
Best Picture
| 2nd
|
Actor of the Year
| Leonardo DiCaprio
|
Chicago Film Critics
| Best Actor
| Leonardo DiCaprio
| No
|
Best Cinematography
| Michael Ballhaus
|
Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Best Film
|
Best Screenplay - Adapted
| William Monahan
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Jack Nicholson
| No
|
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics
| Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Best Picture
| 2nd
|
Best Actor
| Leonardo DiCaprio
|
Top 10 Films of the Year
|
Directors Guild of America (DGA)
| Outstanding Directorial Achievement
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Florida Film Critics
| Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Best Film
|
Best Screenplay
| William Monahan
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Jack Nicholson
|
Golden Globe Awards
[14]
| Best Actor - Drama
| Leonardo DiCaprio
| No
|
Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Best Film - Drama
| No
|
Best Screenplay
| William Monahan
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Jack Nicholson
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Mark Wahlberg
|
International Cinephile Society
| Best Picture
| 2nd
|
Best Actor
| Leonardo DiCaprio
| Yes
|
Best Cast
|
Best Adapted Screenplay
| William Monahan
|
Iowa Film Critics
| Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Irish Film Awards
| Best International Film -
|
| No
|
Best International Actor People's Choice
| Leonardo DiCaprio
| Yes
|
Kansas City Film Critics
| Best Screenplay - Adapted
| William Monahan
| Yes
|
Las Vegas Film Critics
| Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Best Editing
| Thelma Schoonmaker
|
Best Film
|
London Film Critics Circle
| Director of the year
| Martin Scorsese
| No
|
British Producer of the Year
| Graham King
|
Film of the Year
|
MTV Movie Awards
| Best Villain
| Jack Nicholson
| Yes
|
National Board of Review
| Top 10 Films of the Year (#4)
|
Best Cast
| Yes
|
Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
|
New York Film Critics
| Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Best Film
| No
|
Best Screenplay
| William Monahan
|
National Society of Film Critics
| Best Supporting Actor
| Mark Wahlberg
| Yes
|
Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| 2nd
|
Online Film Critics
| Best Actor
| Leonardo DiCaprio
| No
|
Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Best Editing
| Thelma Schoonmaker
| No
|
Best Film
|
Best Screenplay - Adapted
| William Monahan
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Jack Nicholson
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Mark Wahlberg
|
Producers Guild of America (PGA)
| Motion Picture Producer of the Year
| Graham King
| No
|
Phoenix Film Critics
| Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Best Editing
| Thelma Schoonmaker
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Jack Nicholson
|
Best Screenplay - Adapted
| William Monahan
|
Satellite Awards
| Best Cast
| Yes
|
Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| No
|
Best Film - Drama
| Yes
|
Best Screenplay - Adapted
| William Monahan
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Leonardo DiCaprio
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Jack Nicholson
| No
|
Saturn Awards
| Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film
| No
|
Screen Actors Guild (SAG)
| Best Cast
| No
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Leonardo DiCaprio
|
Southeastern Film Critics
| Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Best Film
|
Best Screenplay - Adapted
| William Monahan
|
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics
| Best Film
| Yes
|
Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
|
Best Actor
| Leonardo DiCaprio
| No
|
Best Supporting Actor
| Jack Nicholson
|
Best Cinematography
| Michael Ballhaus
|
Toronto Film Critics Association
| Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| No
|
Best Picture
|
Best Supporting Male Performance
| Mark Wahlberg
|
Best Screenplay
| William Monahan
|
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics
| Best Director
| Martin Scorsese
| Yes
|
Writers Guild of America (WGA)
| Best Screenplay - Adapted
| William Monahan
| Yes
|
Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards:
- Won
: Best Gangstertainment
Soundtrack music
There were two albums released for The Departed
, one presenting the original score composed for the movie by Howard Shore, and the other featuring earlier recordings, mostly pop/rock songs, which were used on the soundtrack.
Music from the Motion Picture
album
The film opens with "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones and prominently plays "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" by Dropkick Murphys with lyrics written by Woody Guthrie, which gained the band some popularity. "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" was also used in the CBS News radio brief the morning following the Oscars, with the intro of "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" playing in the background as the awards were announced. Similarly, in an episode of The Simpsons
("The Debarted"), the song was used multiple times. The film also features a live version of "Comfortably Numb" by Roger Waters, Van Morrison, and The Band from the 1990 Berlin Wall Concert which was originally by Pink Floyd.
Although "Gimme Shelter" is featured in the film, the song does not appear on the album soundtrack. Also heard in the movie but not featured on the soundtrack is "Thief's Theme" by Nas, "Well Well Well" by John Lennon, "Bang Bang" by Joe Cuba and the Act II Sextet from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
.
The movie closes with a cover of Don Gibson's "Sweet Dreams," interpreted by Roy Buchanan.
Track Listing
# "Comfortably Numb" (Roger Waters Feat. Van Morrison and The Band, version from The Wall Concert in Berlin) – 7:59
# "Sail On, Sailor" (Beach Boys) – 3:18
# "Let It Loose" (Rolling Stones) – 5:18
# "Sweet Dreams" (Roy Buchanan) – 3:32
# "One Way Out" (Allman Brothers Band) – 4:57
# "Baby Blue" (Badfinger) – 3:36
# "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" (Dropkick Murphys) – 2:34
# "Nobody But Me" (Human Beinz) – 2:18
# "Tweedle Dee" (LaVern Baker) – 3:10
# "Sweet Dreams (Of You)" (Patsy Cline) – 2:34
# "The Departed Tango" (Howard Shore, Marc Ribot) – 3:32
# "Beacon Hill" (Howard Shore, Sharon Isbin) – 2:33
Original Score
album
The film score for The Departed
was written by Howard Shore and performed by guitarists Sharon Isbin, G.E. Smith, Larry Saltzman and Marc Ribot. The score was recorded in Shore's own studio in New York State.
Track Listing
# "Cops or Criminals" – 2:01
# "344 Wash" – 2:03
# "Beacon Hill" – 2:36
# "The Faithful Departed" – 3:01
# "Colin" – 2:09
# "Madolyn" – 2:14
# "Billy's Theme" – 6:58
# "Command" – 3:15
# "Chinatown" – 3:16
# "Boston Common" – 2:53
# "Miss Thing" – 1:45
# "The Baby" – 2:48
# "The Last Rites" – 3:05
# "The Departed Tango" – 3:38
DVD releases
The Departed
was released by Warner Brothers on DVD on February 13, 2007 in Region 1 format and on February 19, 2007 in Region 2 format, and has also been released on March 14, 2007 in Region 4 format. 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 of this film predominately contains features that concerned the crimes that influenced Scorsese with deleted scenes being the only feature that are actually film related. The Region 1 version has three available audio tracks: English, Spanish, and French (all of which are in Dolby Digital 5.1), and also three subtitle tracks (English, Spanish, French). The film was also released on HD DVD and Blu-ray at the same time as the standard-definition DVD. The 2-Disc Special Edition was also packaged in a Limited Edition Steelbook. It also marked the first time that an Oscar winning Best Picture was released to the home video market only in the DVD format, as VHS was totally phased out by the start of 2006; the 2005 Best Picture, Crash
, was the last Oscar winner to be issued in the VHS format.
Homages
- After Colin leaves the porn theater, the chase through Chinatown is a tribute to Orson Welles's The Lady from Shanghai
, with the shot of the glass mobile recalling the famous house-of-mirrors scene. [15]
- The funeral scene, where Madolyn walks away from Colin without speaking to him, pays homage to The Third Man
, directed by Carol Reed, where Anna walks away from Holly Martins.
- When Madolyn opens the package sent from Billy to Colin containing the incriminating CD recording of Colin and Costello conversing, the CD case cover is that of Exile on Main St.
, by The Rolling Stones.
Potential follow-up
In February 2007, Mark Wahlberg had an interview with Empire Magazine
about The Departed 2
. Although the film hasn't been greenlit yet, Wahlberg stated that there might be a sequel focusing on his character, Dignam, and they're considering bringing in Robert De Niro to play a corrupted senator or a congressman. Scorsese regular Harvey Keitel is also mentioned. He also stated that William Monahan is busy penning the script and that shooting could begin sometime in "the beginning of [2008] or end of [2007]." [16]
However, the film is said to be on hold, due to producer Brad Grey's involvement since he's now the head of Paramount Pictures and the film is a Warner Bros. project. [17] A prequel has also been mooted several times.
See also
- List of American films of 2006
- Infernal Affairs
- Infernal Affairs II
- Infernal Affairs III
- Irish American
- Irish Mob
- 79th Academy Awards
- Plan B Entertainment
- The Debarted
- Triad (underground societies)
Notes
- Kauffmann, Stanley. (Oct 30, 2006). Themes and Schemes. ''New Republic''. Vol. 235, Issue 18.
- 'The Departed'
- Was that Whitey departing the departed? California cop believes he saw Bulger flee flick
- http://www.kfmb.com/features/crimefighters/story.php?id=70214 Mob Boss James “Whitey” Bulger Spotted
- FBI - Most Wanted - The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
- The Departed - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes
- Review: Departed, The
- Andy Lau comments on The Departed (Chinese)
- Andy Lau Gives 'Departed' an 8 Out of 10
- Revisiting Southie's culture of death - The Boston Globe
- http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b54326_martin_scorsese_wins_something.html
- http://www.monstersandcritics.com/movies/news/article_1255397.php/Scorsese_takes_top_DGA_honors
- Metacritic: 2006 Film Critic Top Ten Lists
- HFPA - Nominations and Winners
- Departed to the Judgement
- Exclusive: News On Departed 2... And 3!
- No Departed 2 Just Yet