I thought it was better than average for a gangster movie. This despite my dislike for Damon as an actor. Nicholson is one of my favorites.

The tragic ending was sooo satisfying. Too often I get down to the end of a movie and feel like they took a left turn off the cliff of meaning.

Well worth a rental, or a reserve at the library.
 

Ya man........... this is one cool movie........ firstly it had nicholson who is an ultimate actor.... added u have decaprio who is i beleive is picking up as an matured actor......... n dammon did ustice to his play........ in total its one fucking cool gang bang...........
 

Did you see the Hong Kong movie "The Departed" was based on (Infernal Affairs)?
 

Sorry to hear you are sick...as a lurker usually on your blog, it is the easiest way to keep up with you, mi hermano. I hope the meds are working.

As for The Departed, I also enjoyed it. But I think that the supporting cast greatly enhanced the movie. Alec Baldwin who seems now to be taking a lot of comedic roles these days (30 Rock) was refreshing to watch as well as a nice contrast to some of the other characters. And Mark Wahlberg who had a strong performance was nominated for an Oscar (but Alan Arkin deserved to win it...he was great in Little Miss Sunshine). As for the leads, Nicholson is always enjoyable to watch and Damon gave a decent performance but definitely not his best or the strongest in the movie.
I dislike DiCaprio as an actor but I have to give him credit where it's due. He made me forget how much he annoys me by the time the movie ended. His performance was solid.

Thanks for the diversion of your normal discussion. It's nice to know that you do engage in other pasttimes. I know that Mrs. ZenPundit must get annoyed by your singularly focused activities:)
 

I too found the end satisfying though I am not familiar with the Hong Kong version.

Dona Julia,

I always get some interesting commenters when I diverge. ;o)

Damon is not quite an empty suit actor but he's better at screenplays than he is acting.
 

I've seen the Hong Kong films that inspired "The Departed" but haven't seen it yet. I guess I'll check it out now. By the way, bought "The Proposition" today at Best Buy (remembered it from your post a while back) and its one hell of a Western. Didn't realize they still could make them like that.
 

Mark,

The original is in many ways superior to Scorsese's version--it is much more morally complex and unsettling.

Eddie,

Where did you see the other "Infernal Affairs" films? I've only seen the first one. I've been looking for the rest.
 

A.E.,
While visiting my fiance in Hong Kong last fall, we watched the 3 on a DVD set one day when she was sick.

This is a link to the trilogy on DVD:

http://www.fye.com/viewfdsearch.htm?moreHitsFromSite=&category=&similarTo=&similarType=find&breadCrumb=&oldQuery=&begin=&page=&sortBy=movies&path=&searchBy=Title&seeAll=&profile=Movies&query=infernal+affairs
 

omCongratulations, eddie, on the engagement! I should have noted that change in your social status earlier. My apologies.

I don't think hollywood sees the market for Westerns the way they once did ( GenX and GenY didn't have "Bonanza" and High Noon as cultural icons, the Boomers did). There may be also some traces of PC guilt regarding " Cowboys and Indians" inhibiting them presenting the Native Americans in anything except as Neo-Druids of the Plains.

This is unfortunate because most good Westerns are morality plays - High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Magnificent Seven (derived from Kurosawa's Seven Samurai in turn derived from The 47 Ronin), Unforgiven - focus on choice and values that undergird the drama and action.

There was a little of that quality in The Departed - which may be why Dona Julia up above could overlook DiCaprio.

Question: India has become quite a movie powerhouse in recent years - do they have an equivalent genre to our " Westerns" ( "Northerns" perhaps ?)
 

Thank you Mark!

Agreed about the PC guilt complex that probably infects most thinking about a "Western" in Hollywood.

I will inquire about Indian "westerns" with two friends, perhaps not any Bollywood films but another regional film industry has a few releases.

I've noticed a few good period pieces coming out lately, including "The Rising", about the 1857 Mutiny.
 

My favorite Westerns were the Italian spaghetti westerns--John Ford meets Machiavelli, pretty much--although I think Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" is probably the best Western of all time.

I agree with everyone else on the PC thing. It's very patronizing to the Indians themselves if you think about it. They're still portrayed in the films as an exotic "other," but this time they're dressed up in Hollywood New Age bullshit that doesn't accurately portray their own traditions.