One of the most famous crime stories in recent history is coming to a close: James J. "Whitey" Bulger has been caught after 16 years on the run.
As movie trivia junkies already know, Whitey was the inspiration behind the villain of Martin Scorsese's "cOne of the most famous crime stories in recent history is coming to a close: James J. "Whitey" Bulger has been caught after 16 years on the run.
As movie trivia junkies already know, Whitey was the inspiration behind the villain of Martin Scorsese's "The Departed." The freshly caught gangster's history laid the groundwork for an Oscar-nominated turn from Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello, mirroring Whitey's days as the head of a South Boston crime ring with all the terror and ruthlessness that Hollywood bad guys typically bring to the table.
It's not a surprise that the two look pretty similar on the surface, but once you start looking at the details, it's no contest: when compared to Frank Costello, Whitey Bulger was the more terrifying dude by miles. Get all the evidence you need to back that statement past the jump!
Frank Was Bad, Whitey Was Worse
In "The Departed," we get but a taste of Frank's villainous ways, snorting some cocaine, killing some Providence mafia members on occasion, showing off severed hands to instill fear in his people... you know, the usual stuff. But the depth of his control of the Boston crime rings was coated with a nice Hollywood sheen, and wasn't nearly as terrifying as Whitey's actual reign. We're talking extortion, loansharking, truck hijacking, arms trafficking, being the main distributor of cocaine and marijuana in the state of Massachusetts and, lest we forget, the occasional murder here and there. And he did this uninhibited for 20 years.
They Both Were Informants
Whitey Bulger was considered to be one of the FBI's top informants, which is supposedly how he was able to run hog wild for two decades. He used the cover to get rid of his enemies and strengthen his influence in Boston. It's unclear how long Frank was supposed to have been an informant at the FBI, but it certainly wasn't as overt as Whitey's relationship was. Plus, it was a movie. With Whitey, it actually happened.
But Whitey Wasn't Even A Good Informant
The impression we get from "The Departed" is that Costello was actually a fairly useful FBI informant, providing enough usable intelligence to keep himself on the playing field. Whitey, on the other hand, wasn't especially useful at all. By most accounts, Whitey didn't actually give up any information that the FBI didn't already know. In fairness, that keeps his criminal credibility a lot more intact than Frank's.
Southie Loved Them
There's no doubting that both Whitey's real criminal underworld and Frank's fictional one were complete menaces to society, but that's not to say that certain members in the Southie community didn't love them -- or, at least, feared them. White would be said to go and give away free turkeys on Thanksgiving, free groceries to the less fortunate, and so on. He acted as a Robin Hood of sorts -- except trafficking a lot more drugs and killing a lot more people, naturally.
Whitey Got Caught, Frank Got Killed
The biggest difference, of course, is the ending. Frank was killed fairly easily after he was outed as an FBI informant at the end of "The Departed." Whitey, on the other hand, was on the lamb for sixteen years before getting caught. Sure, there had been sightings and alleged captures here and there, but until yesterday in Santa Monica, Whitey had been on America's Most Wanted list for almost two decades. That's a much more impressive ending than Frank's, if we do say -- though we'd also say we're very, very glad that he's been caught.." The freshly caught gangster's history laid the groundwork for an Oscar-nominated turn from Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello, mirroring Whitey's days as the head of a South Boston crime ring with all the terror and ruthlessness that Hollywood bad guys typically bring to the table.
It's not a surprise that the two look pretty similar on the surface, but once you start looking at the details, it's no contest: when compared to Frank Costello, Whitey Bulger was the more terrifying dude by miles. Get all the evidence you need to back that statement past the jump!
Frank Was Bad, Whitey Was Worse
In "The Departed," we get but a taste of Frank's villainous ways, snorting some cocaine, killing some Providence mafia members on occasion, showing off severed hands to instill fear in his people... you know, the usual stuff. But the depth of his control of the Boston crime rings was coated with a nice Hollywood sheen, and wasn't nearly as terrifying as Whitey's actual reign. We're talking extortion, loansharking, truck hijacking, arms trafficking, being the main distributor of cocaine and marijuana in the state of Massachusetts and, lest we forget, the occasional murder here and there. And he did this uninhibited for 20 years.
They Both Were Informants
Whitey Bulger was considered to be one of the FBI's top informants, which is supposedly how he was able to run hog wild for two decades. He used the cover to get rid of his enemies and strengthen his influence in Boston. It's unclear how long Frank was supposed to have been an informant at the FBI, but it certainly wasn't as overt as Whitey's relationship was. Plus, it was a movie. With Whitey, it actually happened.
But Whitey Wasn't Even A Good Informant
The impression we get from "The Departed" is that Costello was actually a fairly useful FBI informant, providing enough usable intelligence to keep himself on the playing field. Whitey, on the other hand, wasn't especially useful at all. By most accounts, Whitey didn't actually give up any information that the FBI didn't already know. In fairness, that keeps his criminal credibility a lot more intact than Frank's.
Southie Loved Them
There's no doubting that both Whitey's real criminal underworld and Frank's fictional one were complete menaces to society, but that's not to say that certain members in the Southie community didn't love them -- or, at least, feared them. White would be said to go and give away free turkeys on Thanksgiving, free groceries to the less fortunate, and so on. He acted as a Robin Hood of sorts -- except trafficking a lot more drugs and killing a lot more people, naturally.
Whitey Got Caught, Frank Got Killed
The biggest difference, of course, is the ending. Frank was killed fairly easily after he was outed as an FBI informant at the end of "The Departed." Whitey, on the other hand, was on the lamb for sixteen years before getting caught. Sure, there had been sightings and alleged captures here and there, but until yesterday in Santa Monica, Whitey had been on America's Most Wanted list for almost two decades. That's a much more impressive ending than Frank's, if we do say -- though we'd also say we're very, very glad that he's been caught.
As movie trivia junkies already know, Whitey was the inspiration behind the villain of Martin Scorsese's "cOne of the most famous crime stories in recent history is coming to a close: James J. "Whitey" Bulger has been caught after 16 years on the run.
As movie trivia junkies already know, Whitey was the inspiration behind the villain of Martin Scorsese's "The Departed." The freshly caught gangster's history laid the groundwork for an Oscar-nominated turn from Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello, mirroring Whitey's days as the head of a South Boston crime ring with all the terror and ruthlessness that Hollywood bad guys typically bring to the table.
It's not a surprise that the two look pretty similar on the surface, but once you start looking at the details, it's no contest: when compared to Frank Costello, Whitey Bulger was the more terrifying dude by miles. Get all the evidence you need to back that statement past the jump!
Frank Was Bad, Whitey Was Worse
In "The Departed," we get but a taste of Frank's villainous ways, snorting some cocaine, killing some Providence mafia members on occasion, showing off severed hands to instill fear in his people... you know, the usual stuff. But the depth of his control of the Boston crime rings was coated with a nice Hollywood sheen, and wasn't nearly as terrifying as Whitey's actual reign. We're talking extortion, loansharking, truck hijacking, arms trafficking, being the main distributor of cocaine and marijuana in the state of Massachusetts and, lest we forget, the occasional murder here and there. And he did this uninhibited for 20 years.
They Both Were Informants
Whitey Bulger was considered to be one of the FBI's top informants, which is supposedly how he was able to run hog wild for two decades. He used the cover to get rid of his enemies and strengthen his influence in Boston. It's unclear how long Frank was supposed to have been an informant at the FBI, but it certainly wasn't as overt as Whitey's relationship was. Plus, it was a movie. With Whitey, it actually happened.
But Whitey Wasn't Even A Good Informant
The impression we get from "The Departed" is that Costello was actually a fairly useful FBI informant, providing enough usable intelligence to keep himself on the playing field. Whitey, on the other hand, wasn't especially useful at all. By most accounts, Whitey didn't actually give up any information that the FBI didn't already know. In fairness, that keeps his criminal credibility a lot more intact than Frank's.
Southie Loved Them
There's no doubting that both Whitey's real criminal underworld and Frank's fictional one were complete menaces to society, but that's not to say that certain members in the Southie community didn't love them -- or, at least, feared them. White would be said to go and give away free turkeys on Thanksgiving, free groceries to the less fortunate, and so on. He acted as a Robin Hood of sorts -- except trafficking a lot more drugs and killing a lot more people, naturally.
Whitey Got Caught, Frank Got Killed
The biggest difference, of course, is the ending. Frank was killed fairly easily after he was outed as an FBI informant at the end of "The Departed." Whitey, on the other hand, was on the lamb for sixteen years before getting caught. Sure, there had been sightings and alleged captures here and there, but until yesterday in Santa Monica, Whitey had been on America's Most Wanted list for almost two decades. That's a much more impressive ending than Frank's, if we do say -- though we'd also say we're very, very glad that he's been caught.." The freshly caught gangster's history laid the groundwork for an Oscar-nominated turn from Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello, mirroring Whitey's days as the head of a South Boston crime ring with all the terror and ruthlessness that Hollywood bad guys typically bring to the table.
It's not a surprise that the two look pretty similar on the surface, but once you start looking at the details, it's no contest: when compared to Frank Costello, Whitey Bulger was the more terrifying dude by miles. Get all the evidence you need to back that statement past the jump!
Frank Was Bad, Whitey Was Worse
In "The Departed," we get but a taste of Frank's villainous ways, snorting some cocaine, killing some Providence mafia members on occasion, showing off severed hands to instill fear in his people... you know, the usual stuff. But the depth of his control of the Boston crime rings was coated with a nice Hollywood sheen, and wasn't nearly as terrifying as Whitey's actual reign. We're talking extortion, loansharking, truck hijacking, arms trafficking, being the main distributor of cocaine and marijuana in the state of Massachusetts and, lest we forget, the occasional murder here and there. And he did this uninhibited for 20 years.
They Both Were Informants
Whitey Bulger was considered to be one of the FBI's top informants, which is supposedly how he was able to run hog wild for two decades. He used the cover to get rid of his enemies and strengthen his influence in Boston. It's unclear how long Frank was supposed to have been an informant at the FBI, but it certainly wasn't as overt as Whitey's relationship was. Plus, it was a movie. With Whitey, it actually happened.
But Whitey Wasn't Even A Good Informant
The impression we get from "The Departed" is that Costello was actually a fairly useful FBI informant, providing enough usable intelligence to keep himself on the playing field. Whitey, on the other hand, wasn't especially useful at all. By most accounts, Whitey didn't actually give up any information that the FBI didn't already know. In fairness, that keeps his criminal credibility a lot more intact than Frank's.
Southie Loved Them
There's no doubting that both Whitey's real criminal underworld and Frank's fictional one were complete menaces to society, but that's not to say that certain members in the Southie community didn't love them -- or, at least, feared them. White would be said to go and give away free turkeys on Thanksgiving, free groceries to the less fortunate, and so on. He acted as a Robin Hood of sorts -- except trafficking a lot more drugs and killing a lot more people, naturally.
Whitey Got Caught, Frank Got Killed
The biggest difference, of course, is the ending. Frank was killed fairly easily after he was outed as an FBI informant at the end of "The Departed." Whitey, on the other hand, was on the lamb for sixteen years before getting caught. Sure, there had been sightings and alleged captures here and there, but until yesterday in Santa Monica, Whitey had been on America's Most Wanted list for almost two decades. That's a much more impressive ending than Frank's, if we do say -- though we'd also say we're very, very glad that he's been caught.
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