Campaign to Remove 'Stupid Rat' From Scorsese's 'The Departed' Has Plagued the Internet

Pick up any Martin Scorsese flick and you're in for a ride. However, a movie fan has found a glaring problem in the last scene of Scorsese's classic The Departed and he is determined to fix it.

The 2006 American crime thriller, which was a remake of the 2002's Infernal Affairs, won the celebrated director four Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director.

So far so good? Apparently not, says freelance director Adam Sacks.

As Sacks puts it, the movie follows:

A Boston gang member and a Massachusetts police officer who both go undercover to undermine the other's organization, and things get complicated when both groups realize they have a rat in their midst.

Wow, we already have 10 backers! It's humbling to receive so much support. We're now only $3,756 away from getting rid of this little guy. pic.twitter.com/ozErkRhR8d

— Erase the rat in The Departed (@RatErase) February 19, 2019

Metaphors are appreciated best when they are subtle but Scorsese's decision to end the movie with a "painfully on-the-nose metaphor" of an actual rat crawling across the screen didn't go down too well with the freelance director.

Soon enough, a kickstarter project was launched on Tuesday by Sacks to digitally remove the rodent for good from The Departed.

"It's always bothered me that a movie as good as The Departed has such a cheesy ending, and I recently realized it could be fixed by digitally erasing the rat from the last shot," explained Sacks in his unique project.

How will he achieve it?

Sacks lists step-by-step as to why he needs $4000 dollars to do the job.

"Digital effects are not cheap, which is why I'm here on Kickstarter trying to raise $4,000 dollars. $4,000 dollars may sound like a lot of money, so let me break down the costs for each of the nine steps in this process."

From buying Blu ray disc to a Blu ray player, he informs that it is important to support the filmmakers so he has decided to go the legal route and break no laws in his noble endeavour.



Some movie buffs and critics weren't in agreement with Sacks' take.

THE DEPARTED is great and the rat is fine. That is this evening’s bulletin.

— Guy Lodge (@GuyLodge) February 20, 2019

if you don't like the rat at the end of the departed i'm so sorry but you are legally required to unfollow me

— hunter harris (@hunteryharris) February 19, 2019

the rat at the end of The Departed is good. thanks

— David Sims (@davidlsims) February 19, 2019

My response to the Departed rat debate. pic.twitter.com/LGU4UE61sY

— Rgirvan (@RobGirvan) February 20, 2019

There was a time when this kind of benignly ambitious and slightly dumb endeavor was pretty much what the internet was for, and sometimes I miss that internet.https://t.co/ExQDxp2yFF

— Chris Remo (@chrisremo) February 20, 2019

Y’all: Get rid of the rat from the end of The Departed
Me: pic.twitter.com/0vUWH8wOWT

— the departed rat 🐀 (@croftdrake) February 20, 2019

this isn’t sarcastic. i truly truly love that rat at the end of the departed. in the theater i had to resist cheering. hit me as a really audacious way to end a movie that no other filmmaker would dare do. scorsese knows better than all of us thank god!

— Paul Rust (@paulrust) February 19, 2019

Sure some backed him and even found the project funny and innovative.

i agree that the shot of the rat at the end of 'the departed' really undermines the movie's carefully cultivated subtlety

— Max Read (@max_read) February 20, 2019

The "Digitally Erase the Rat from the End of The Departed" Kickstarter is really funny and you should read it. https://t.co/xqDmRndWqE pic.twitter.com/5xYCf0TNxj

— Scott Tobias (@scott_tobias) February 20, 2019

This is so important https://t.co/BcvmeSWNX6

— j.r. hennessy (@jrhennessy) February 19, 2019

The thing about the rat in THE DEPARTED is that it ruins what was otherwise a subtle, subdued, passive film. Nothing on-the-nose about it at all until the rat shows up.

— Daniel Tucker (@dtuck318) February 21, 2019

Kickstarter to digitally erase the rat from the end of The Departed. A noble cause. https://t.co/nKg5ozGXBH pic.twitter.com/W99UMvpYLv

— Andrew Ba Tran (@abtran) February 19, 2019

Guess what? It was a happy ending for Sacks after the Internet came to his rescue and his project's goal was achieved under a couple of days.

We did it! We hit $4,000 dollars! I'm so thankful to everyone who believed in this dream to digitally erase the rat from the end of The Departed. Also there's still 10 Blu-ray discs available if you want a copy. https://t.co/ppNQBXmR28

— Erase the rat in The Departed (@RatErase) February 20, 2019

Here's the scene that has "plagued" the Internet: