The Departed...A Remake?

When I first saw The Departed, I had no idea it was a remake of a 2002 Hong Kong film, entitled, Infernal Affairs.  Directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, Infernal Affairs is a movie with a fun play-on-words title.  The literal Chinese meaning of Infernal Affairs is actually "Unceasing Path."  Director of The Departed, Martin Scorsese, along with the help of re-writer William Monahan, made the Chinese classic into an American classic.  I felt that this tied in perfectly with our foreign film sections in our text.  I've never seen Infernal Affairs, but The Departed is one of my favorite films of all time.  I was surprised to learn that the film was a remake, but Scorsese had a great idea to make this movie.  The Departed stands as one of the best adaptations/remakes in recent history.

Hollywood in Massachusetts

I've been excited about movie studios coming to Massachusetts for a while now.  My hopes were dashed when the creation of the film studios in Plymouth were put on hold, but now I've heard that it may be happening again.  I'm not sure on the exact current status of the studios being built here, but I think it's been long enough.  Also there were talks about a studio at Southfield in Weymouth.  Of course, traffic is going to one of the more annoying aspects of having movie studios here.  With all of the movies being filmed here recently, such as Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Here Comes the Boom, as well as, movies The Departed and The Town, I think it makes sense to have some movies studios here in MA.  What do you guys think?

The Departed

As a tie in to chapter 7 in Movie History: A Survey, I wanted to talk about the film The Departed.  I re-watched this movie on TV the other day and own the DVD and Blu-ray of this great film and I thought of it immediately when reading chapter 7.  "The Gangster Film" section of chapter 7 may not refer to this type of film exactly, but I often relate them to each other.  Of course, The Departed is a newer film and is a remake of the 2002 Japanese film, Infernal Affairs, but I find similarities between this movie and the movies of the past decades.  The plots are similar and most of the mobsters die at the end.  There are differences though, including the more brutal language and scenes in this movie.  I found it to be one of the most abrasive films I've ever seen, with excessive amount of swears.  All of the swears and violence do add a level of realism to the film which I really liked.  Anyone else feel the same way?