The Departed (2006)

An undercover state cop who infiltrated a Mafia clan and a mole in the police force working for the same mob race to track down and identify each other before being exposed to the enemy, after both sides realize their outfit has a rat.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

William Monahan (screenplay), Alan Mak,

Stars:

Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson

Top 250 #51 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 62 wins & 62 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Billy
Matt Damon	...	Colin Sullivan
Jack Nicholson	...	Frank Costello
Mark Wahlberg	...	Dignam
Martin Sheen	...	Queenan
Ray Winstone	...	Mr. French
Vera Farmiga	...	Madolyn
Anthony Anderson	...	Trooper Brown
Alec Baldwin	...	Ellerby
Kevin Corrigan	...	Cousin Sean
James Badge Dale	...	Trooper Barrigan
David O'Hara	...	Fitzy (as David Patrick O'Hara)
Mark Rolston	...	Delahunt
Robert Wahlberg	...	Lazio - FBI
Kristen Dalton	...	Gwen

Storyline

In South Boston, the state police force is waging war on Irish-American organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Frank Costello. While Billy quickly gains Costello's confidence, Colin Sullivan, a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the state police as an informer for the syndicate, is rising to a position of power in the Special Investigation Unit. Each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operations he has penetrated. But when it becomes clear to both the mob and the police that there's a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin are suddenly in danger of being caught and exposed to the enemy-and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself. But is either willing to turn on the friends and comrades they've made during their long stints undercover?

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Plot Keywords:

police | undercover | state police | criminal | informer | 

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Taglines:

Cops or Criminals. When you're facing a loaded gun what's the difference?

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some strong sexual content and drug material

Details

Official Sites:

TFM Distribution [fr] Warner Bros. [us]

Country:

USA Hong Kong

Language:

English Cantonese

Release Date:

6 October 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los infiltrados

Filming Locations:

12 Farnsworth Street, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$121,183 (Chile) (17 November 2006)

Gross:

$132,373,442 (USA) (16 March 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Plan B Entertainment, Initial Entertainment Group (IEG)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

151 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vera Farmiga's character is actually a composite of two from the Hong Kong original.

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Goofs

When Sullivan is checking the street surveillance camera, the envelope is propped up on his coat, which shows tan and blue fabric underneath it. When the angle changes to show just the envelope (and when he picks it up at the end of the scene), it is laying flat and only the tan material of the jacket surrounds it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Frank Costello: I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me. Years ago we had the church. That was only a way of saying - we had each other. The Knights of Columbus were real head-breakers; true guineas. They took over their piece of the city. Twenty years after an Irishman couldn't get a fucking job, we had the presidency. May he rest in peace. That's what the niggers don't realize. If I got one thing against the black chappies, it's this - no one ...

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Crazy Credits

The title doesn't appear on screen until nearly 20 minutes into the movie.

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Connections

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Sail On, Sailor"
(1973)
Written by Tandyn Almer, Ray Kennedy (as Raymond Kennedy), Van Dyke Parks, Jack Rieley (as John Rieley) and Brian Wilson
Performed by The Beach Boys
Courtesy of Brother Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

A gripping and unique crime drama about the duality of undercover work

I got to see a sneak preview of it, and I must say: the BEST film of the year so far. Scorcese is at his best and truly deserves his anticipated first Oscar for this film. Also notable are the performances of Matt Damon (such a great "bad-guy;" he really must do stuff like this more often), Leo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson (as always), and Mark Wahlberg (best since Rockstar). However, some in the theater with me who had seen Infernal Affairs did say that Departed did not live up to the original. I have yet to see Affairs, but I honestly believe that Departed was pulled off well enough to really bring in some respectable awards in the upcoming season.