• Sep 2017 which was probably the 10th time I’ve seen it
  • There really aren’t that many films in history that are both this high in quality, and have so many big actors doing such superior work. Usually a film with this large of a top-tier ensemble (How the West Was Won, some of Preminger’s work in the 60’s) suffers for it and can’t find room for everyone or the quality of the film can’t match the firepower. I guess I’d compare it to the Ocean/s films, The Man  Who Shot Liberty Valance,, Heat and a very few select others who can balance that
  • 7-8 massive star performances- DiCaprio, Damon, Nicholson, Winstone, Baldwin, Wahlberg, (who may come out on top only behind DiCaprio), Farminga, Kevin Corrigan (amazing in his scenes), Martin Sheen (not so good)
  • Another Heat-like meeting of DiCaprio and Damon- though not on that level. Also clearly every scene with Nicholson and DiCaprio is now part of film history with those two towering heavyweights together (DiCaprio fares better here with jack than he does with say Daniel Day Lewis in Gangs of New York)
  • “Gimme Shelter” Rolling Stones opening shot—it does feel a little bit like Scorsese on tour paying his greatest hits– We actually get it not once but twice. I have a problem here
  • The narrative is so good- there may not be a breezier 2 ½ hours in cinema history (a trait it shares with like 4-5 other Scorsese films from Aviator to Goodfellas)—it only slows in one or two scenes and usually with Nicholson riffing a little too much maybe- thinking about the rat scene with Leo but overall it is such an engrossing narrative
  • Machismo- and god I love it- chest thumping in almost every scene. It’s different than like Refn’s brutality or the fatalism in a Peckinpah film. It fits these actors.
  • Wonderful homage and framing in the shot at the funeral- it’s The Third Man from Carol Reed and that iconic final shot
Wonderful homage and framing in the shot at the funeral- it’s The Third Man from Carol Reed and that iconic final sho
  • Leo’s performance is both showy and genuine- such a wonderfully edgy performance—exposed and complexity for a genre film that is essentially a narrative vehicle
  • Editing Oscar win and one for screenplay
  • 18 minutes in we get the infamous title sequence- I absolutely love it—it’s bold. A tracking right montage through prison (crosscutting with Damon living the good life on Beacon Hill) with the dropkick murphy’s pouring over the sound. It’s genius.
  • The performances mirror the screenplay- its total free swinging. I never say this with Scorsese but I wish the camerawork was a little more playful
  • For all the comparisons this is not Heat or Goodfellas.  It’s unfair to compare it two those films but when you’re at that level you have to make evaluative comparisons
  • Simply a hilarious film- like Goodfellas I laughed more than with 99% of comedies
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is the-departed-ladkjfa-334-234-23-aldfjkla-4234.jpg
Simply a hilarious film- like Goodfellas I laughed more than with 99% of comedies — Baldwin and Wahlberg are incredible
  • Another comparison is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with the winning narrative and massive stars (just two in the case of Butch)- Big Sleep has some similar bravado with big performances/stars
  • Not a perfect narrative- it’s not tight- but we’re nitpicking here– – the relationship with Sheen and DiCaprio is not fully realized enough to earn some of the scenes
  • Performances are often dictated by the writing (or the ability to improvise)- Wahlberg is so well written and Sheen, often, is not
  • Again I also get tired of Nicholson’s endless mannerisms. I think you can justify it because his character is losing his sanity (if he ever had it) but I think Jack is going for what he did in Tim burton’s batman as the joker and it doesn’t work here
  • The roof scene, now iconic, is wonderful—as is the final scene with Wahlberg
  • A large, engaging, sprawling (how fitting is this blog entry? ha) work

  • Viewing probably 11 October 2019
  • I’ve realized that you really can’t overwatch great films. I saw 2001 twice in one week last year. I’ve seen this film so often and I’m still picking up stuff. If it doesn’t hold up, it isn’t that good
  • The reoccurring “X’s” in the film’s mise-en-scene is a real achievement. Scorsese is an admirer of Howard Hawks’ 1932 Scarface and in that film they use the “X” to indicate a murder. It’s ingeniously done here.
The reoccurring “X’s” in the film’s mise-en-scene is a real achievement.
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is the-departed-ladjfkla-423-1024x427.jpg
Scorsese is an admirer of Howard Hawks’ 1932 Scarface and in that film they use the “X” to indicate a murder.
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is the-departed-ladfjaj-423.jpg
Rolling Stones, the visual elements introduced (via “X”), a tracking shot on an all-time great actor– one hell of an opening here
  • You have the praise the black comedy throughout the film
  • Duality – pleasure vs. sin as in almost all of Scorsese’s films. He could have been a Priest or a gangster (think of Keitel’s Charlie in Mean Streets)- cops or criminals here and the parallel editing of the two
  • It’s a machine of engaging narrative and performances- there are 50 memorable scenes
  • Gorgeous shots throughout like the X with Damon overlooking the golden dome or DiCaprio at the airport
Gorgeous shots throughout like the X with Damon overlooking the golden dome or DiCaprio at the airport — this is wall-art museum photography and the “X’s”- the formal visual themes
  • A really nice split diopter of Damon and Farminga
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is the-departed-lasdfjkja-423.jpg
A really nice split diopter of Damon and Farminga
  • Varda’s triple edit (Scorsese lifts it from Cleo From 5 to 7 in almost all of his films) while DiCaprio is chasing Damon
  • Nicholson as Satan at the opera in a sea of red
Nicholson as Satan at the opera in a sea of red — both a beautiful stand alone shot and consistent with Scorsese’s use of color as theme in the hell vs. eden throughout his oeuvre
  • Must-See/Masterpiece level– leaning MP