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THE DEPARTED

With Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Corrigan, Kristen Dalton

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Set in Boston, Massachusetts, this convoluted tale of cops, criminals, betrayal and loyalty focuses on two characters at opposite ends of the law. Each infiltrates the other’s territory and the race is on to find the mole. The events pivot around a mob boss, played wonderfully by Nicholson. The fantastic characters are brilliantly executed under Scorsese, each scene always engaging, with moments of violence also baring his distinctive realistic stamp. As expected, the movie is not a mere 90 minutes - but to tell a tale like this, you can’t hold back on detail.
The Departed is based on the Hong Kong action-thriller Infernal Affairs (Mou Gaan Dou, written by Siu Fai Mak), and became Scorsese’s first Oscar™ nod. Some of us believe his Taxi Driver, Raging Bull or Goodfellas are more deserving of the accolade – but it doesn’t matter, as I see it as an acknowledgement of his great body of work.
The double DVD set includes 9 additional scenes, a documentary on the Boston mob, a look at how the Little Italy crime structure influenced Scorsese’s work. And alas, as with my Goodfellas, Casino and Last Temptation Of Christ DVDs, again no Scorsese commentary!

5 / B
- PB


1 2 3 4 5 6
A - B - C



6 - Volcanic
5 - Blistering
4 - Hot
3 - Smolder
2 - Room Temp.
1 - Fizzled
0 - Extinguished

A: Multiple Viewing Potential
B: Deserves Another Look
C: Once Should Suffice

© 2007 - Flamedrop Productions