What are the best quotes from The Departed movie?
It's a sin not to watch The Departed if you are a crime thriller-addict. Not only does it have some of the most popular movie quotes in movie history, it's also packed with many action sequences from high-caliber actors.
Directed by Martin Scorsese, The Departed is about an undercover state trooper Billy (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) infiltrating the Irish Mob, and the career criminal named Sullivan (played by Matt Damon) who infiltrates the Massachusetts State Police.
Although a remake, the movie has Scorsese's stylistic camerawork and great twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Film critic Roger Ebert lauded the movie's symbolic representation and the overall gritty themes.
Interestingly, some of the movie characters are loosely based on real-life persons. For example, the character Sullivan is based on a corrupt FBI agent, while Jack Nicholson's character is based on the infamous Irish-American gangster Whitey Bulger.
What makes The Departed a stand-out movie?
One of the main ingredients of great movies is top notch performances from its actors. And The Departed cast surely excelled in that. Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Vera Farmiga, and Alec Baldwin, all of them give some of the best performances in their acting career in this movie.
I'll run out of clichès if I have to explain why The Departed is such a good movie. Directing? Martin Scorsese won an Oscar for it. Editing? Best Film Editing awards at the 79th Academy Awards.
Additionally, Leonardo DiCaprio won the "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" award at the 11th Satellite Awards. He described his character as being in a "constant, 24-hour panic attack."
25 Best Quotes from The Departed
The Departed is also damn quotable. One of my favorite movie lines of all time is delivered by Frank Costello. He says, "I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me." For more such quotes you can check out my reddit thread or read this article.
So without further ado, here are the best quotes from The Departed.
Note: This article is full of spoilers. If you haven't watched the movie yet, I'd recommend you to bookmark this page and come back later. You can watch it on the best streaming services like Amazon Prime video, Max, or Netflix.
1. "One of us had to die. With me, it tends to be the other guy." — Frank Costello
2. "[John] Lennon said, 'I'm an artist. You give me a f**king tuba, I'll get you something out of it'." — Frank Costello
3. "A man could look at anything, and make something out of it. For instance, I look at you and I think "what could I use you for?" — Frank Costello
4. "Is there something that you just wanna go ahead and ask me? 'Cause I'll give you the f**kin' answer, all right? Frank, look at me. Look at me. I'm not the f**kin' rat. Okay? I'm not the f**kin' rat." — Billy Costigan
5. "The only one that can do what I do is me. Lot of people had to die for me to be me. You wanna be me?" — Frank Costello
6. "I probably could be you, yeah. Yeah, I know that much. But I don't wanna be you, Frank. I don't wanna be you." — Billy Costigan
7. "Now whenever you make a call ask for Mikey, MIKEY! You ask for a Mikey 'cause there is no Mikey." — Frank Costello
8. "With everybody looking up their own a**, and you looking for yourself, I'd put my money on nobody finds nothing." — Frank Costello
9. "Well, I'm the guy that tells you there are guys you can hit and there's guys you can't." — Mr. French
10. "There is no need to remind you that if you don't find that cheese eating rat bastard in your department... it won't be me who suffers for it." — Frank Costello
11. "I just said he had a f**king problem. There's a man who could have been anything." — Frank Costello
12. "You sit there with a mass murderer. A mass murderer. Your heart rate is jacked, and your hand… steady. That's one thing I figured out about myself in prison. My hand does not shake. Ever." — Billy Costigan
13. "Church wants you on your place. Kneel, stand, kneel, stand. If you go for that sort of thing, I don't know what to do for you." — Frank Costello
14. "A man makes his own way. No one gives it to you. You have to take it. Non serviam." — Frank Costello
15. "I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me." — Frank Costello
16. "I'm the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy." — Dignam
17. "My theory on Feds is that they're like mushrooms, feed 'em sh*t and keep 'em in the dark. You girls have a good day." — Dignam
18. "Don't laugh! This ain't Reality TV!" — Frank Costello
19. "We have a question: Do you want to be a cop, or do you want to appear to be a cop? It's an honest question. A lot of guys just want to appear to be cops. Gun, badge, pretend they're on TV." — Oliver Queenan
20. "If your father were alive, and saw you here sitting with me, let's say he would have a word with me about this. In fact, he'd kill seven guys just to cut my throat, and he could do it.That's maybe something you don't know about William Costigan, Sr." — Frank Costello
21. "He kept his own counsel. He never wanted money. You can't do anything with a man like that." — Frank Costello
22. "We deal in deception here. What we do not deal with is self-deception." — Oliver Queenan
23. "When I was your age they would say we can become cops, or criminals. Today, what I'm saying to you is this: when you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?" — Frank Costello
24. "Five years from now you could be anything else in the world. But you will not be a Massachusetts state trooper." — Oliver Queenan
25. "Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe f**k yourself." — Dignam
Bottom Line
The Departed was a box-office success and won multiple accolades. The co-director of Infernal Affairs, on which the movie is based, said that "the Hollywood version is pretty good" and "more attuned to American culture."
With that said, hope you enjoyed reading these quotes from The Departed.
What's your favorite quote from The Departed? Let me know in the comments.
P.S. — If you're a fellow blogger, and want to use a quote in your blog, then please cite this article with a “do follow” link. It helps me a lot. Thank you.