The Departed runs 151 minutes — 2 hours and 31 minutes — in every version currently in circulation, from the 2006 theatrical release to the 2024 4K Ultra HD disc. There is no extended cut, no director's cut, and no alternate ending; the deleted scenes exist only as separate bonus features. Martin Scorsese's Boston crime drama, adapted from the Hong Kong thriller *Infernal Affairs*, is rated R in the United States. The one runtime figure that differs from 151 is a UK classification measurement, which is a technical artifact rather than a shorter film.
Table of Contents
- The 151-minute figure, and why the BBFC lists 145
- What actually plays over the end credits
- Available versions, including the 2024 4K disc
- Where to watch it before 31 October 2026
- How the 151-minute cut came together
- Release and box office context
- Frequently Asked Questions
The 151-minute figure, and why the BBFC lists 145
Box Office Mojo's entry for the film gives the Warner Bros. release as 151 minutes, and the AFI Catalog independently records the same 151 mins. That is the number to plan around: with trailers, a cinema booking would have run close to three hours, and a home viewing is two and a half. The BBFC's classification record is the one place a shorter figure appears.
The board classified the cinema version 18 on 26 September 2006 for Entertainment Film Distributors, logging an approximate running time of 145 minutes. BBFC timings are taken from the print submitted for classification and exclude some material, which accounts for the six-minute gap. A second BBFC entry dated 12 February 2007 covers the later video release. Nothing about that difference means UK audiences saw a trimmed film. In the US the film carries an R rating, cited for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some strong sexual content and drug material — as listed in the rating summary — so no version in general circulation was cut to reach a softer certificate.
What actually plays over the end credits
The final sequence is frequently misremembered. After Sullivan's death, Roy Buchanan's instrumental "Sweet Dreams" plays as the camera pans from his body to a rat crossing the windowsill — the film's last image before the credits roll, according to Screen Rant's breakdown of the soundtrack. The Dropkick Murphys' "I'm Shipping Up to Boston," the track most people associate with the ending, is not the credits song at all. It scores Costigan's earlier jail sequence.
The song's permanent association with the film comes from its placement in trailers and its own subsequent life as a Boston sports anthem. Practically, this matters if you are deciding whether to sit through the credits. There is no post-credits scene and no additional footage after the rat shot. The last narrative beat of the film is that image.
Available versions, including the 2024 4K disc
Warner Bros. released the 4K Ultra HD edition on 23 April 2024. It runs the same 151 minutes, presented in 2160p HDR with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and no Dolby Atmos remix — per High-Def Digest's release listing.
The upgrade is a picture restoration, not a longer or re-edited film. Here is what separates the editions in practical terms: The 4K edition added a 15-minute retrospective, "Guilt and Betrayal: Looking Into The Departed," and carried forward the older extras — the 21-minute "Stranger Than Fiction: The True Story of Whitey Bulger, Southie and The Departed," the 24-minute "Crossing Criminal Cultures," and nine deleted scenes introduced by Scorsese, as detailed in Screen Connections' release breakdown. Those deleted scenes are the entire body of unused footage available to the public, and they have never been assembled into an extended cut.
- **Runtime:** identical at 151 minutes across theatrical, Blu-ray and 4K UHD.
- **Picture:** 4K UHD adds 2160p resolution and HDR; the 2007 Blu-ray does not have either.
- **Audio:** DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 on the 4K disc, with no object-based Atmos track added.
- **Extras:** one new feature plus everything carried over from the Blu-ray.
Where to watch it before 31 October 2026
As of 20 October 2026 the film streams on HBO Max, but JustWatch lists it as leaving the service on 31 October 2026. That gives subscribers a narrow window before it moves behind a transactional paywall. Digital rentals start at $3.99 and purchases at $14.99 on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Google Play and YouTube, with prices updated 8 October 2026.
If you expect to rewatch the film more than three or four times, the purchase price pays for itself against repeat rentals — and unlike the streaming listing, it does not expire. The limit worth noting: digital purchases depend on a storefront continuing to license the title. A physical disc is the only copy that cannot be removed from your library, which is the case for the 4K edition if you own the hardware for it.
How the 151-minute cut came together
Thelma Schoonmaker won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for this cut, one of four Oscars the film took at the 79th Academy Awards on 25 February 2007 — alongside Best Picture, Best Director for Scorsese, and Best Adapted Screenplay for William Monahan, from five nominations, per the published list of accolades. That award is directly relevant to the runtime question. The 151-minute version is not a studio compromise waiting for a restored director's edition; it is the cut that won its editor the industry's top prize, with Scorsese approving the removal of the nine scenes now sitting in the bonus menu.
Release and box office context
The film premiered at New York's Ziegfeld Theatre on 26 September 2006 and opened wide in the US on 6 October 2006 through Warner Bros. Pictures, taking $26,887,467 in its first weekend at number one.
It went on to gross $132,384,315 domestically and $289,660,619 worldwide against a $90 million budget, according to The Numbers' financial record. A wide theatrical release at that scale is also why the 151-minute version is so firmly fixed: thousands of prints shipped at that length, and every home-video edition since has matched it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there an extended or director's cut of The Departed?
No. The nine deleted scenes released on disc are presented individually with Scorsese introductions, never assembled into a longer version of the film.
Does the 4K Ultra HD release have a longer runtime?
No. The 23 April 2024 4K UHD edition runs the same 151 minutes, with 2160p HDR picture and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 rather than any new footage.
Is there a post-credits scene?
No. The rat on the windowsill, scored to Roy Buchanan's "Sweet Dreams," is the film's final image, and nothing follows the credits.