iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 22h

To unsettle audiences in LES DIABOLIQUES, director Henri-Georges Clouzot begged them in the credits not to reveal the ending, and refused latecomers entry to the cinema so no one missed the twist. Follow us for more from cinema history.

0315

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 23h

HOW 25 ICONIC FILMS WERE MADE, IN ONE BOOK Five genres. 25 films. An exclusive interview for every one, from Jan de Bont on Speed to Michael Rapaport on True Romance. Our book is out now. geni.us/AllTheRightMovies

geni.us

All The Right Movies: The Stories and Secrets Behind the Making of 25 of Hollywood's Greatest Films

Available Now!

0125

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 11/10/2026

THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI opened on this day in 1957. The bridge built for the film was real, fully functional, and destroyed in a single take with cameras rolling from multiple angles. A great read awaits on the ATRM site: alltherightmovies.com/feature/40-i...

alltherightmovies.com

Interesting Facts About The Bridge on the River Kwai - Behind the Scenes | All The Right Movies

David Lean's epic is a classic of 1950s cinema. We tell the behind the scenes story with 40 huge facts about The Bridge on the River Kwai.

25310

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 10/10/2026

From our podcast on HIGHLANDER, the team talk about the thousand Glasgow University students hired as extras, and the medical team that had to be kept on standby after their liquid lunches.

0273

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 10/10/2026

To make the aged, decaying look of the twins in DEAD RINGERS, David Cronenberg had Jeremy Irons play both brothers, using motion-control cameras to place the two performances in the same shot seamlessly. Follow us for more.

1265

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 09/10/2026

THE ATRM NEWSLETTER Once a month, straight to your inbox: our latest episodes, a first look at what’s coming next, a hidden gem worth tracking down, and a few film things we think you’ll love. It’s free, and it’s the best way to keep up with ATRM. alltherightmovies.beehiiv.com

alltherightmovies.beehiiv.com

Home | All The Right Movies

Monthly film insights, hidden gem reviews, and exclusive updates from the team behind All The Right Movies podcast.

091

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 09/10/2026

For A QUIET PLACE, the filmmakers stripped the soundtrack almost bare, so a dropped object or a sharp breath booms. Much of the film was shot to be understood with barely any dialogue, the cast performing in near silence. Follow All The Right Movies for more.

0292

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 09/10/2026

HIGHLANDER | EPISODE OUT NOW There can be only one. We tell the story of Russell Mulcahy’s immortal cult classic, from the Scottish Highlands to 80s Manhattan, with big laughs and bigger opinions. On all podcast platforms. www.alltherightmovies.com/podcast/high...

alltherightmovies.com

Highlander (1986) - All The Right Movies

The story behind Highlander with ATRM, how Mulcahy, Lambert, Connery and Queen turned a box office flop into an immortal cult classic.

13812

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 08/10/2026

Jordan Peele shot NOPE with a special large-format camera system usually reserved for blockbusters, filming real skies and desert at night, so his tale of a thing hiding in the clouds would feel vast and cinematic. Follow us for more.

0456

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 07/10/2026

25 FILMS, OVER 1,250 STORIES FROM BEHIND THE CAMERA Our book goes inside the making of Alien, Die Hard, The Godfather and more, with exclusive interviews from the cast and crew who were there. Out now in the UK, US and Canada. geni.us/AllTheRightM...

geni.us

All The Right Movies: The Stories and Secrets Behind the Making of 25 of Hollywood's Greatest Films

Available Now!

0133

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 07/10/2026

CARNIVAL OF SOULS was the only feature Herk Harvey made, otherwise a director of industrial films. He shot it for almost nothing in real abandoned locations, including a derelict lakeside pavilion, giving the ghost story a haunting feel way beyond its budget. Follow us for more from cinema history.

1232

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

BLADE RUNNER 2049 was released on this day in 2017. Denis Villeneuve's sequel to Ridley Scott's sci-fi classic is one of the most visually stunning films ever made. This is the outrageous story of how it came together. alltherightmovies.com/feature/50-i...

alltherightmovies.com

50 Interesting Facts About Blade Runner 2049 - Behind the Scenes | All The Right Movies

Blade Runner 2049 is a modern sci-fi masterpiece. We tell the behind the scenes story with 50 huge facts about Denis Villeneuve's film.

25310

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Here's the trailer for our book. All The Right Movies: The Stories and Secrets Behind the Making of 25 Iconic Films goes inside Star Wars, The Shawshank Redemption, The Thing and 22 more, with exclusive interviews from the people who made them. Out now: geni.us/AllTheRightMovies

083

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Our podcast tells the story of Hollywood one film at a time. Full of big laughs and opinions, it’s available wherever you get your podcasts alltherightmovies.com/feature/list...

alltherightmovies.com

Listen to All The Right Movies - All The Right Movies

Listen to All The Right Movies podcast. 2.5-hour dives into classic films with real research, insights and laughs. Start with any episode.

010

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

If you liked our making of story of THE DEPARTED, please share the opening post bsky.app/profile/allt...

111

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Finally… not everyone was a fan. Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau prefers his own film to Scorsese’s, and said: “I think the version I made is better, but the Hollywood version is pretty good too. Scorsese made a version more attuned to American culture.” 35/35

141

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

William Monahan had a sequel idea where Dignam was the main character . He said “I’d love to bring back Dignam, and I know how the picture would open. With The Departed Tango and snow falling on the Boston Common. It would focus on political corruption.” 34/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

The film won two other Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Fil Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker). And on a budget of $90m (half of which went on the cast’s salaries), the film grossed $291.5m at the box office, so was a hit. 33/35

130

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Scorsese had been nominated for 7 Oscars without winning. The Departed won Best Picture, the first foreign film remake to do so. It also won Best Director, which was presented by three of Scorsese’s old pals: Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Francis Ford Coppola. 32/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

In the final shot of the film we see a rat scurrying along the balcony of Sullivan’s apartment. Some fans thought the shot ‘too obvious’ and an online funding campaign was set up with the intention of digitally removing the rat from the shot. (It never happened). 31/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Madolyn finds out the truth when she listens to Costigan’s CD while Sullivan is in the shower. We see three quick shots where Sullivan turns on the shower. All three are taken from the famous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. 30/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Scorsese also took a visual element from Hawks in foreshadowing main character deaths. At some point in the film, before they’re killed, the characters are seen next to a prominent ‘X’ in the frame. Scarface does the same thing. 29/35

140

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Scorsese makes a nod to Howard Hawks’ 1932 gangster classic, Scarface. In that film, whenever Tony Camonte kills somebody, he whistles music from opera Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti. This is the same opera that Costello goes to watch in The Departed. 28/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

LDC and Scorsese loved working with Nicholson, but Ray Winstone (Frenchy) said: “Me and Jack did not get on too well. Maybe he was going through a funny time … Everyone else loves him to death — I just wanted him to be a great guy. … We just did not click.” 27/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

We see Costello wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap. It was supposed to be a Boston Red Sox cap as that was a signature look of Whitey Bulger. However, Nicholson refused to wear it because, he says, he doesn’t like the Boston Red Sox. 26/35

140

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Not the whole film was shot in Boston. The view from Sullivan’s apartment of the Massachusetts State House was not taken through that window but from the roof of Suffolk University. And then visual effects did the rest. 25/35

110

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

The “I got this rat” moment when Costello points a gun in Costigan’s face was improvised too. DiCaprio wasn’t expecting it and called shooting the scene, “one of the most memorable moments of my life.” 24/35

140

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

We also see some Jack Nicholson improvisation in the scene in Costello’s apartment, where he’s surrounded by prostitutes. Costello throws a handful of cocaine on the bed came, which was an idea that came from Nicholson. 23/35

110

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Scorsese said the production of The Departed was one of the most arduous he worked on: “I hardly did any press as I was tired. I like the picture but the process of making it was highly unpleasant. I don’t care how much I’m being paid, it’ll kill me and I’ll die.” 22/35

110

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

The film is scored by classic pop songs and an original score written by Howard Shore. It was performed by 4 classical guitarists, and Scorsese called it "a dangerous and lethal tango" inspired by noir classics Murder by Contract and The Third Man. 21/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

The Director of Photography was Michael Ballhaus, working on his 7th Scorsese production. It would be the last time the two men would work together before Ballhaus’ passing in 2017. 20/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

The film has roots in reality. Costello is based on notorious Boston gangster Whitey Bulger and his Winter Hill Gang. And Scorsese hired former police officer Tom Duffy as a consultant. He had been the chief investigator into Bulger. 19/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Wahlberg’s brother, Robert, also shows up as FBI Special Agent Frank Lazio. FBI Captain George Ellerby was reportedly offered to Mel Gibson. He was busy directing Apocalypto, so the part was offered to Alec Baldwin. 18/35

110

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Wahlberg later said he and Scorsese didn’t have a great relationship, saying “I had problems with Marty. He was pushing me in different ways.” It didn’t turn out too badly, though. Wahlberg was the only cast member nominated for an Oscar, his first ever nomination. 17/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Queenan’s deputy is Staff Sergeant Sean Dignam. Scorsese discussed the part with Ray Liotta, but he was unavailable. Denis Leary and Ethan Hawke were also reportedly considered before Mark Wahlberg was cast. 16/35

110

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Casting Boston cop Captain Oliver Queenan, Scorsese considered Robert De Niro but he was busy with The Good Shepherd. Gerard McSorley was also reportedly up for the part but there were scheduling conflicts. Instead, Scorsese turned to experienced head Martin Sheen. 15/35

210

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

To prepare for the part, Farmiga talked to a psychiatrist who worked for the LAPD. After the psychiatrist read the script, her first note was that basically everything Madalyn did in the movie was unprofessional and wrong. 14/35

130

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Instead, Scorsese offered the part to Vera Farmiga. She later said she was nervous about meeting Scorsese and LDC: “You expect there to be a chasm between you and them, but there wasn’t. They’re just really, really lovely people.” 13/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

The main female character in the movie is Dr Madolyn Madden, who has relationships with Sullivan and Costigan. Scorsese reportedly had a shortlist that included 4 big names: Kate Winslet, Emily Blunt, Hilary Swank and Jennifer Aniston. 12/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Nicholson told Scorsese he wanted to work with him, but the part was too small. Scorsese then spoke to DiCaprio and the pair decided to rewrite the pat of Costello to be bigger. On reading the new raft, Nicholson signed on too. 11/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

The main antagonist in the movie is mob boss Frank Costello. Scorsese reportedly wanted to cast Al Pacino in the role, but was turned down. Instead, Scorsese went to another Hollywood legend in Jack Nicholson. 10/35

110

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

With the film set in Boston, Kenneth Lonergan (Gangs of New York co-writer) suggested to Scorsese that he cast Boston native Matt Damon. Scorsese wanted Sullivan to have “a cocky bravado” that he thought Damon could pull off, and he was cast. 9/35

130

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

The yin to Costigan’s yang is Colin Sullivan, the mob mole in the Boston PD. Brad Pitt had considered playing the role himself, but decided he just Wanted to produce. Again, when Scorsese read the script, he had somebody in mind for the part. 8/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

DiCaprio was signed up to star in the Robert e Niro-directed spy thriller The Good Shepherd at the time. He was very impressed with the script for The Departed though, saying “it was ready to go” and signed up to play Costigan. 7/35

140

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Scorsese had just worked with Leonardo DiCaprio on The Aviator, and sent the script to him. Marty later said “We said we’d read it and talk in a week. Next day, Leo called and said ‘if you’re in, I’m in’ and I said ‘I was going to call you and the say the same thing.’” 6/35

130

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Warners also had a specific name in mind to play undercover cop, Billy Costigan. It was somebody Scorsese had worked with before – Tom Cruise. Scorsese himself had another name in mind, though. 5/35

110

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

Warner Bros only had one person in mind to direct – Martin Scorsese. He loved the script, saying it reminded him of 1949 film noir classic White Heat. Scorsese said “the world screenwriter William Monahan created is very different from the Hong Kong film.” 4/35

120

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

In 2003, Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B approached Warner Bros with the idea of acquiring the rights to Infernal Affairs and adapting it for Hollywood. Novelist-turned-screenwriter William Monahan was hired to write the script. 3/35

110

All The Right Movies @alltherightmovies.com · 06/10/2026

In 2002, Hong Kong action thriller Infernal Affairs was released. Directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, it is the story of two police officers – one a triad spy, the other undercover in the triads. It was a huge hit and spawned two sequels a year later. 2/35

141