In Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, what 2002 Hong Kong film inspired its story?

Martin Scorsese’s The Departed was inspired by the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The original film, directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, follows a police officer secretly working for a triad and a triad mole embedded in the police force. The two men try to identify each other while serving opposing organizations.

The Departed relocates the basic premise from Hong Kong to Boston. Its central characters are played by Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson, with the story expanded through Irish-American organized crime and Massachusetts policing. Scorsese’s version won the Academy Award for Best Picture, while Scorsese won Best Director.

Infernal Affairs was successful enough to receive two sequels, forming a trilogy. The English title is sometimes confused with the unrelated 1990 action film Internal Affairs, but Infernal Affairs is the specific Hong Kong source for The Departed. The connection is especially notable because it links a major Hollywood crime drama to a modern East Asian crime-film classic.