Gangster movie hailed ‘best of all time’ lands on Netflix | Films | Entertainment

An American gangster movie that has been described as an “absolute must-see” and the “best of its genre” will be added to Netflix in August.

The Departed is directed by Martin Scorsese and features a star-studded cast of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg.

Other actors in the movie include Ray Winstone, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga, Alec Baldwin, and Anthony Anderson.

The 2006 film tells the story of an undercover cop and a mole in the police who attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.

So highly was the film rated that it won four Academy Awards – for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay Writing – and a Golden Globe.

The Departed is actually an English-language remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, and is based on the real-life Boston Winter Hill Gang. The character of Frank Costello, played by Jack Nicholson, is based on the Irish-American gangster Whitey Bulger.

While the film was received to wide praise, Martin Scorsese later opened up about his struggles during the process of making The Departed. In an interview with The Telegraph in 2016 he said: “Moral Ground Zero, I call it.

“All the characters killed at the end, basically everyone, and there was no place to go, after that.” He went on to explain that he liked the film but found the process of making it, particularly in post-production, “highly unpleasant” and said: “I felt it was maddening.”

Martin added: “I said, I don’t care how much I’m being paid, it’ll kill me. I’ll die.

“Very simply.” The Departed has a 91% Tomatometre score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 94% on the Popcornmetre.

One of the reviews dubbed it a “must-see movie”, adding: “Great movie I have literally lost count of how many times I’ve watched it now.” Another called it “Martin Scorsese’s best” and pointed out the “absolutely stacked cast of amazing talent”.

Another fan wrote: “Insanely good movie. The cast is next level and the storyline plays out so well.

“Damon, Dicaprio, Nicholson, Baldwin, Sheen and Wahlberg just to name a few in the killer ensemble.” One reviewer commented: “One of the greatest police vs mob movies of all time…

“Also one of the highest starpower ensembles ever assembled that never distracts.” It turns out that one of the fans’ favourite moments in the movie was improvised by Jack Nicholson, who came onto the set during filming with a trick up his sleeve.

He told Variety: “There’s a scene in a bar where I’m scaring the s*** out of Leo’s character with a gun. There wasn’t any gun in the script …

“I wanted to come up with something different, so I asked the prop master to hide a gun on the set, and to bring a fire extinguisher as well. The look on his face when I asked for that fire extinguisher was priceless.”

However, the actor – who received a Golden Globe nomination for his role – actually almost turned the film down at first, but he was talking into accepting the part by Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese. He told Variety: “I guess you can say I was attracted to the company.”

The Departed is available to watch on Amazon Prime and will be added to Netflix on August 8.