The Iconic Gangster Crime Thriller With A Guinness World Record
Leave it to Martin Scorsese to nab the title of “Highest Grossing Gangster Movie” in the Guinness Book of World Records. To be fair, there’s not really anyone else we could expect to see in the position other than perhaps one Mr. Francis Ford Coppola.
Still, seeing as how Scorsese has made his bread and butter bringing audiences gritty crime dramas, often centered around mafia Dons and their Captains, it’s understandable why The Departed clocks in at the number one spot.
The Departed Record
According to the book of records, which includes other categories like “Most Tricks Performed By a Pig” and “Heaviest Train Pulled With a Beard,” The Departed managed to gross a whopping $290 million worldwide between its arrival date in October 2006 and March 2007.
While the site alerts readers that things can shift on a daily basis, with new challengers uprooting former record holders, the gangster film has been holding on tightly to the bragging rights for nearly two decades.
The Departed Is A Race For Survival
The Departed is a must-see feature for anyone interested in a good crime-centered thriller or just fans of a storyline packed with twists and turns.
Based in the Boston area, the film sees an undercover cop and an undercover mob member trying to uncover the other person’s identity in a race for survival.
To pull the tale together, Scorsese tapped into the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs and mixed it with the true story of the Boston Winter Hill Gang.
All-Star Cast
Throughout the years, Martin Scorsese has not only been known for his incredible eye for directing but also for his penchant for bringing on top-tier talent production after production with The Departed being no different.
The all-star cast consists of Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Vera Farmiga, and Alec Baldwin, just to name a few.
The Departed Was A Hit
As can be expected from the film’s gross earnings, The Departed was one of the biggest box office hits for the year and garnered massive amounts of praise from critics.
The film would take home a slew of nominations and wins from prestigious events including the Golden Globe Awards, Academy Awards, the BAFTAs, and even the Grammys.
Martin Scorsese A Master
The Departed only further proved Martin Scorsese to be the new king of gangster flicks, a title that Francis Ford Coppola, the man behind The Godfather series, previously held.
Of course, this wasn’t Scorsese’s first rodeo having previously drawn in audiences with other similar tales told in titles like Gangs of New York and Goodfellas.
Aside from these gritty crime thrillers, the director is known for his breakout film, Taxi Driver, and others such as Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, Casino, The Aviator, and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Latest Is Killers of the Flower Moon
This year, The Departed director returned to filmmaking for his first project since 2019’s mobster movie, The Irishman, with Killers of the Flower Moon.
Reteaming with two of his favorite collaborators, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, Scorsese set out to helm a drama based on a true story in 1920s Oklahoma.
As for The Departed, if you have yet to catch the Guinness Book of World Records-holding film, you can rent it on Amazon Prime Video as it isn’t available for streaming at this time.
Source: Guinness World Records
