the departed

[nairb49]

so, who's seen this movie?


Halfway through, i realized that I had seen it before, and can't believe I didn't clue into the fact that I even knew that Brad Pitt had bought the script and was producing it.

So, I don't want to give it away, but if you're chinese you've probably already seen it. PM me if you want to know what movie it is.

[Fade to Black]

I've seen both versions, and I think the American is vastly superior...Scorsese's directing is the top form he was in during Goodfellas/Casino, and of course Andy Lau/Tony Leung/Eric Tsang can't hold a candle to Leo/Matt/Jack. I think Leo's practically solidified his spot as the De Niro of this generation with this performance.

Jack Nicholson gave one of my favorite performances ever...that shit was electrifying. The cast was practically perfect with no weak links. Also love the soundtrack (Gimme Shelter, Thiefs Theme, Comfortably Numb).

[nairb49]

totally agree man, Leo totally blew me out of the water on this one, wasn't expecting it at all. and scorsese is defintiely killing it, though I suppose he had the script to work with.

personally, i thought Alec Baldwin stole the show. what a joker


edit: have you seen the sequels?

[Fade to Black]

edit: have you seen the sequels?

yeah...i thought Part 2 stood on itself as a modern asian cinematic masterpiece, the story was a lot more rich and so was the character development...i liked it better than the first to be honest. Kinda like how Godfather 2 was better than 1 (that's IMO before y'all stone me), to make a somewhat loose analogy.

The third was just a feeble attempt at cashing in on the trilogy concept...it was a waste.

[tweeds]

but andy lau/tony leung have double the presence of dicaprio/damon don't they?
i've not watched the movie, i'm just saying

[Fade to Black]

but andy lau/tony leung have double the presence of dicaprio/damon don't they?
i've not watched the movie, i'm just saying

hmm you can make a case for Tony Leung i guess, to me Andy Lau is a hard worker and not much more, even though it was one of his better roles. But Leo is just on a whole nother level and Damon was in top form, i agree with one review i read about how this is somewhat of a continuation of his Syriana role, playing a conflicted character kinda balancing the tightrope.

I dunno, to me a lot of better American movies strike me as so much more developed in every aspect...even though IA could be said to be a landmark HK film it still doesn't really have the scope and longevity that I think the departed will have even a decade from now. Then again the HK movie industry is a completely different structure...movies from there don't really seem built to last.

[nairb49]

but andy lau/tony leung have double the presence of dicaprio/damon don't they?
i've not watched the movie, i'm just saying

funny, at first I thought so too, but then after the movie I really think leo/matt stole it

ftb-the third was absolute crap, agreed. i don't know if i agree about the second being better than the first, i'll have to watch it again it's been awhile

did you remember beforehand that it was based on infernal affairs?

[Fade to Black]

did you remember beforehand that it was based on infernal affairs?

yeah man, i've been anticipating this movie for years since i first heard hollywood was doin a remake and brad pitt was behind it...IA 1 and 2 are my fav. hong kong movies in years.

[nairb49]

I dunno, to me a lot of better American movies strike me as so much more developed in every aspect...even though IA could be said to be a landmark HK film it still doesn't really have the scope and longevity that I think the departed will have even a decade from now. Then again the HK movie industry is a completely different structure...movies from there don't really seem built to last.


Its true, especially considering they churn out about 10 times the amount of movies per year. funny, my mom's aunt used to be Andy Lau's manager, I just remember when I was young going to a concert front row and having him wink/wave at me for some reason..

[xcoldricex]

i've been hearing infernal affairs was better.

[nairb49]

I definitely thought that when I first realized it halfway through, and then while I was boasting to my friends about having seen it already.

and in some sense, obviosuly credit goes to the original, but I feel like scorsese packaged it up better

[vee]

i never seen IA, but after seeing the departed, it makes me wanna check it out. i kinda liked mark wahlberg's character. i saw it saturday night & been telling everyone i know to go see it for themselves. i really liked the ending. is there a part 2 & 3??? i gotta pm you guys for some questions i have about the ending...

[quid pro quo]

it was easily the best movie ive seen in theaters in some time.
leo completely blew me away. the man is a genius.
collectively, the movie is a gem.
i hope it gets the proper acclaim from the academy.
give scorcese his fucking oscar already!

[beast]

so, who's seen this movie?


Halfway through, i realized that I had seen it before, and can't believe I didn't clue into the fact that I even knew that Brad Pitt had bought the script and was producing it.

So, I don't want to give it away, but if you're chinese you've probably already seen it. PM me if you want to know what movie it is.

I am really surprised you did not read or hear the reviews or promo material saying its a IA remake.

Anyway, were you worried when Andy waved or winked at you? For some time, given the fact that he is not married or attached, there are questions on his sexuality.

[beast]

hmm you can make a case for Tony Leung i guess, to me Andy Lau is a hard worker and not much more, even though it was one of his better roles. But Leo is just on a whole nother level and Damon was in top form, i agree with one review i read about how this is somewhat of a continuation of his Syriana role, playing a conflicted character kinda balancing the tightrope.

I dunno, to me a lot of better American movies strike me as so much more developed in every aspect...even though IA could be said to be a landmark HK film it still doesn't really have the scope and longevity that I think the departed will have even a decade from now. Then again the HK movie industry is a completely different structure...movies from there don't really seem built to last.

Well, at least in print & on screen, both Andy Lau, Tony Leung & Anthony Wong got their look down pat. Tony got the anguished, torture look & Andy got the suave look.

In comparison, Matt & Leo look like children. Leo's angry look in Streets of NY looks like he is mad because someone killed his dog.

Matt and Ben Affleck look hopeless and can't act to save their lives. Matt looks useless
in the Bourne identity. A resourceful superspy, he is not.

Based on the rave reviews you guys are giving it, can't wait to catch the Departed next week.

[beast]

Big fan of IA, and plan on checking out departed soon. Tony Leung is one of my favorite actors in HK. He's incredible in so many movies, In the mood for love was one of his best subtle performances. Andy Lau can be hit or miss for me.

Yup. He is pretty good. Too bad he cant' transcend Chinese cinema and go to Hollywood. His performance in Hero, which was targetted to the West wasnt a cant miss role. Heck, if even Chow Yun Fatt cant make it, Tony Leung cant' make it either.
And Tony aint' good in martial arts like Jet Li and Jackie Chan or Bolo Yeung.

[supercrap]

ive seen IA 12&3 .. i agree 3 was a feeble attempt to cash in on the trilogy .. 1 and 2 on the other hand were very good. The departed is a very good movie .. but it has the feel of being a condensed version of IA 1 & 2 . The cast was phenomenal .. best nicholson ive seen in recent years. As good as Di Caprio was in the movie i still think he didnt match Tony Leung's performance.

[damnIam]

Ok, saw this movie and I must say it was good. The plot was thin but I guess this movie was all about the characters as many Scorsese movies are. Was it the best Scorsese movie? Not by a long shot. I will agree DiCaprio was stunning and has become more handsome with age. What can you say about Jack, always tries to outdo everyone and usually does. I agree Baldwin was supurb. It seemed to me that every character was almost overdone but I think that can be attributed to the "cameo" phenomen where everyone gets a small part and tries to steal the show. I give it an 8 out of 10 against other Scorsese movies and prob a 9 overall.

[nairb49]

I think I was a bit biased concerening Leung, only problem is that I primarily associate him with comedy. That said though, he was really outstanding, and "in the mood for love" was really just great cinema.

[1995chardx]

well worth the 9 bucks that i paid. Such a great cast! I was lmao at the elevator scene with the 3 straight head shots and when Marky Mark put on his beanie as he exit.

[herpsky]

i saw infernal affairs over the weekend
edison chen's in it. ha

[tweeds]

fuck me, it's GOOD. the departed is a masterclass in black comedy + mafiadom. jack nicholsen is simply classic (he sings in every movie he's in i swear...) and leo is so good a craftsman nowadays. matt damon i thought was the weakest, although his part fitted his own appearance. seemingly trustworthy and dependable and boyish...

i loved every moment of it. i found it hugely funny. the rest of the cinema didn't seem to think so though...i actually laughed out loud at the way matt damon offers to clean the gun and blams the guy point blank...how daft is that?!

i think this movie's on the scale of apocalypse now. with more overt humour but equal amounts of farce and ridiculously black comedy

[xcoldricex]

going to see it tonight

[tweeds]

have fun coldrice. careful not to choke on the popcorn kernels...

[Fade to Black]

fuck me, it's GOOD. the departed is a masterclass in black comedy + mafiadom. jack nicholsen is simply classic (he sings in every movie he's in i swear...) and leo is so good a craftsman nowadays. matt damon i thought was the weakest, although his part fitted his own appearance. seemingly trustworthy and dependable and boyish...

i loved every moment of it. i found it hugely funny. the rest of the cinema didn't seem to think so though...i actually laughed out loud at the way matt damon offers to clean the gun and blams the guy point blank...how daft is that?!

i think this movie's on the scale of apocalypse now. with more overt humour but equal amounts of farce and ridiculously black comedy

see i told you! =P

Nicholson really is in a league of his own...as good as Leo, Matt and the rest of the cast were, Jack shows that he was head and shoulders above everyone else. He's pretty much got the Oscar locked IMHO.

The ending was reminiscent of Reservoir Dogs in its over the top absurd violence...at first I thought Anthony Anderson was the other Costello protege, I'm glad that wasn't the case lol

[poly800rock]

just came back from it, it was really good

[nairb49]

nicholson just steals the show, his onscreen presence is totally dominant over anyone.

anthony anderson just bugs me, ever since Romeo Must Die, I can't stand that guy.

[PAND]

For me Nicholson was, dare i say it, little bit panto for my liking.

I was suprised about the number of ppl laughing at the "headshots", was it supposed to be humourous?

Christopher Doyle makes IA look so sweet, the guy's an awesome cinematographer.

What i loathe about hte Departed is the silly Hollywood ending, and Wahlberg's character - it was like he was pasted in as an after thought. Can't really go into too much detail without bringing up spoilers, but i do feel that IA was better.

[Swych]

I too agree that IA was better. *spoiler for IA and departed below*



Scorcese and Dicaprio were both very good, and as a Mafia film, I can see why the Departed is better. However, I thought the most enjoyable parts of IA came in the more human characters, and the decisions they make. The brotherhood and the bonds that are likely to form within the Triads (Tony Leung and that stupid guy who crashed the car) and the way Andy Lau ends up TRYING to be good again were the key moments of drama for me. I'm not saying that the Departed is worse in that way (because Scorcese'sinterpretation of the script and characters were completely different), but the characters were too black and white for me. Matt Damon is bad, Dicrapio is good. done deal etc.

I also enjoyed the the random details in IA, like the connection to the Hi Fi shop and how they first met, also the lil obsession over the phrase ' I'm a cop'. The bond between Tony Leung and his superior was also very touching. maybe i'm just a soft sorta guy :/ but those details made it for me

[tweeds]

I was suprised about the number of ppl laughing at the "headshots", was it supposed to be humourous?
i think it's really well-done black comedy. honest. it's the blackest thing i've seen in awhile...

case in point - after dicaprio gets shot in the head, he slumps to the ground like a sack, and the lift door, just watch the lift door, it closes, nudges his corpse, opens, closes, nudges, opens, closes...there's such a streak of farce running through the whole scene i found it hugely humourous. as a qualification, it's not the har-har-har type of humour, but the insidious sort of chuckle one might produce after a vicious prank.

i will watch IA (both one and two), and return presently...

Swych, i see your subconscious mind peeking through - "Dicrapio"? ;)

[DaBestSpoona]

I wish hollywood would attempt something silly and make it work, like 2 white guys in hk, one infiltrating the triad, and the other in the hkpd in makeup to look chinese. It would be like White Chicks but serious.

[snugglepony]

Also love the soundtrack (Gimme Shelter, Thiefs Theme, Comfortably Numb).

scorsese has a history of making spectacular calls on soundtracks, imo reaching his peak in selecting nilsson's jump into the fire for the cracked-out helicopter scene at the end of goodfellas. absolutely perfect.

in the departed, all the musical choices are on point, especially the dropkick murphys' shipping up to boston for the title sequence and then twice more throughout the film. for the record, i fucking hate the dropkick murphys, but this song is used to amazing effect (plus, it's a woody guthrie lyric pulled from the archives a la the mermaid avenue project...). i get chills.

[xcoldricex]

dammit now i have to watch IA again. the building scenes were much cooler with the hong kong skyline, that's all i really remember.

what was with that chinese guy's cantonese. i could even tell it was horrible and i can't even speak cantonese. they should've had a cameo appearance of tony leung or andy lau or something, that'd been funny.

[Swych]

Swych, i see your subconscious mind peeking through - "Dicrapio"? ;)

ach blunders. hes actually one of my favourite actors (even in the Beach...) but good eyes tweedle. You should check my essays for me.

[PAND]

case in point - after dicaprio gets shot in the head, he slumps to the ground like a sack, and the lift door, just watch the lift door, it closes, nudges his corpse, opens, closes, nudges, opens, closes...there's such a streak of farce running through the whole scene i found it hugely humourous. as a qualification, it's not the har-har-har type of humour, but the insidious sort of chuckle one might produce after a vicious prank.



I saw IA in the cinema, and when the same thing happens to Leung, i don't recall such LOL.

[tweeds]

I saw IA in the cinema, and when the same thing happens to Leung, i don't recall such LOL.
like i said, i will get down to watching Infernal Affairs... :) i really like tony leung though, i think he's really talented and hardworking as an actor.

Swych - twenty bucks an essay guarantees you zero errors. i'll see you in supermarket.

[samsikle]

question about the movie:

what was in the yellow envelope?? when leonardo went back to the girl and said blah blah keep this if anything happens to me.. was it like proof or w/e?

[beast]

question about the movie:

what was in the yellow envelope?? when leonardo went back to the girl and said blah blah keep this if anything happens to me.. was it like proof or w/e?

In the original IA movie, the girl eventually produced evidence to exonerate leonardo's character to be a cop. There was no yellow envelope in the original IA movie.

I guess he gave her some information to exonerate him as a cop in case he croaks.

[beast]

After watching the movie lately, my review & spoilers are as follows:

1. Overall, an average show if you did catch Infernal Affairs. The original was fresher and more exciting with the twists if you caught it the first time.

2. The second half of the movie is odd. It was literally ripped off from IA, down to the casual banter from the characters ie on how to spot a cop. The differences besides from the settings were:

a. The dying gangster who told Leo he gave him the wrong address but yet Leo managed to find it. He died before he can squeal on Leo.

In IA, Leo's character fingered a dead gangster as the 'rat' and managed to con Jack's character to go to the secret lair where the goods were kept because the 'rat' knew where was the secret lair.

b. No first cop being killed, ie the black cop in IA.

c. No similar Mark Wahlberg character in IA.

d. No Jack's wife in IA but there was one in IA 2.

e. In Departed, Matt was gunned down execution style as 'punishment'. In IA, Matt's character was someone who wanted to be 'good' but ended up not being 'good' but got away with the perfect crime and is tormented and suffers knowing that and he wants to be in Leo's character's shoes.

3. Like IA, there were some continuity problems. In Departed, why did Leo SMS Matt to tell him they were going to the Sheffield warehouses out of the blue, when in their only cnoversation, Leo did not trust him at all?

4. Other interesting touches include both Matt & Leo sleeping with the same girl but neither knew about it. Not in IA.

In IA, the characters used Audiospace, a Hong Kong made mainly tube hifi product.
In Departed, they used McIntosh, an old name American made mainly tube hifi product. When Matt was killed, I thought I saw a CD player on the floor. Not a McIntosh. Possibly Audiospace?

[tweeds]

actually i picked up a mag today, and without pouring too closely over it i read something about the departed being "inspired", but not "based on" IA. quoted scorsese's words.

interesting little backtrack by the filmmaker?

[bluespring]

for some reason i always like the originals! whats next? a bitter sweet life?

[nairb49]

actually i picked up a mag today, and without pouring too closely over it i read something about the departed being "inspired", but not "based on" IA. quoted scorsese's words.

interesting little backtrack by the filmmaker?


That's a load of crap if you ask me. I'd say this is a borderline reproduction, nevermind a new movie "based on" an old one.

[asuzano]

infernal affairs was much better...

[beast]

actually i picked up a mag today, and without pouring too closely over it i read something about the departed being "inspired", but not "based on" IA. quoted scorsese's words.

interesting little backtrack by the filmmaker?

Thats clearly untrue.

"Inspired" would be like the movie Troy where it is loosely based on Homer's Illiad, and many details stated by Homer have been changed to fit into the movie.

For "The Departed", the second half is a carbon copy of IA. It is not "inspired".

[tweeds]

yeah...

i just borrowed IA from a friend and watched it...it's good but i think i liked the departed more. the editing was far slicker than the HK one, and in terms of style i think the departed scores higher. scorsese makes excellent use of the lens, with really poignant closeups and camera angles. even though the second parts of both films were almost identical, scorsese's editing really comes to the fore. in the lift door scene, which happened in both films, he brought the camera really close to dicaprio's body and let the door slide in and out of view very pointedly, as opposed to IA's take where the camera simply sat back and observed.

also the comedic element was played up alot more, and personally i'm a fan of films that don't take themselves too seriously, but stay focused and intelligent (ie. not cheap slapstick). IA was much more developed plotwise i thought, but my vote still sticks with scorsese.

that said, both films are great. i'm going to find a way to grab the second instalment of IA.

[xcoldricex]

infernal affairs was much better...

i agree. tenchars.

[beast]

yeah...

i just borrowed IA from a friend and watched it...it's good but i think i liked the departed more. the editing was far slicker than the HK one, and in terms of style i think the departed scores higher. scorsese makes excellent use of the lens, with really poignant closeups and camera angles. even though the second parts of both films were almost identical, scorsese's editing really comes to the fore. in the lift door scene, which happened in both films, he brought the camera really close to dicaprio's body and let the door slide in and out of view very pointedly, as opposed to IA's take where the camera simply sat back and observed.

also the comedic element was played up alot more, and personally i'm a fan of films that don't take themselves too seriously, but stay focused and intelligent (ie. not cheap slapstick). IA was much more developed plotwise i thought, but my vote still sticks with scorsese.

that said, both films are great. i'm going to find a way to grab the second instalment of IA.

Well, naturally Hollywood million dollar productions would look better than lower budget foreign flicks.

I bet Jack, Leo, Marty and Matt's pay alone would surpass the entire budget for IA. Just look at the number of crew involved in both productions.

I only watched the latter half of IA 2 but I thought the critics' assessment was that it was not great in terms of acting and plot ie the motivation for Matt's character to become bad.

[masuerte]

I felt really freakin numbed by the ending of the movie... just point and shoot ... point and shoot... point and shoot.

whereas in Infernal Affairs, I was on my knees screaming NOOOO!!! And Matt's character seemed better explored and was less of a bad guy in INfernal Affairs.

[Kasper]

saw it yesterday and i felt Infernal Affairs was so much better. i feel they have tried to do too much in a single movie and it made the movie full of plotholes (especially for someone who hasn't seen Infernal Affairs). the way the movie is made, it's so obvious that Leo is the rat and the fact that they didn't show dates like in IA makes the beggining difficult to place in context (there's suppose to be something like 10 years between the time they graduate from police academy and the main story, but it's not easy to see in the Departed). and even though IA probably like a tenth of the budget of the Departed, it pretty hard to tell. i though the editing was nice and that they have much better managed to use Hong Kong (although the Hong Kong skyline is like 100 times better than Boston's).

[beast]

and the fact that they didn't show dates like in IA makes the beggining difficult to place in context (there's suppose to be something like 10 years between the time they graduate from police academy and the main story, but it's not easy to see in the Departed). and even though IA probably like a tenth of the budget of the Departed, it pretty hard to tell. i though the editing was nice and that they have much better managed to use Hong Kong (although the Hong Kong skyline is like 100 times better than Boston's).

Hi!

In IA, the time difference was like 10 years & they even used different actors in the Academy & when they were working.
In Departed, it was only a few months.

[Kasper]

Hi!

In IA, the time difference was like 10 years & they even used different actors in the Academy & when they were working.
In Departed, it was only a few months.

really, i though the departed used the same timeline as IA. they should have, cause the fact that there's only a few months between police academy and the main story just makes the story much less plausible...

[beast]

really, i though the departed used the same timeline as IA. they should have, cause the fact that there's only a few months between police academy and the main story just makes the story much less plausible...

Hi!

I recall it was mentioned throughout the show, during the psychiatric sessions etc etc by Leo it was a few months. That includes his serving of time for some assault misdemeanour, his coming out & hooking up with his cousin to sell dope & meeting Jack's crew.

In IA, Leo's character was booted out of the academy in his youth (maybe in Hong Kong you can be a cadet only in your youth) and in IA, he was already a seasoned gangster. In IA 2, we learnt he served under a few underworld bosses before the final one. Presumably he snitched on them as well.

[viv1984viv]

for those in the UK infernal affairs is on tonight on c4, yay!
Definately a multi-view movie!