DVD Reviews

The Departed HD-DVD

So I’m sure you heard about The Departed by now.  It is an Americanized remake of the Hong Kong flick Internal Affairs that became this year’s Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards.  It is also Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece that finally earned him a directing Oscar, his highest grossing film ever at the box-office, and a DVD juggernaut that broke sales and rental records thanks to those accolades.  If for some “act of god” reason you haven’t seen the film yet, then you would be wise to do so immediately, especially if you can do it in High Definition.

 The Departed is a cops and criminals epic that takes place in South Boston.  A detective unit in the State Police recruits an undercover agent (Leonardo DiCaprio) to infiltrate the organization of a dreaded mob boss named Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson).  At the same time, Costello has also placed his own undercover informant (Matt Damon) within the Special Investigations Unit of the same precinct.  As the mob, and the cops realize they each have moles within their respective groups, both undercover men make efforts to expose one another while trying to prevent their true allegiances from surfacing.  Even though they don’t know or meet each other until near film’s end, they share many connections throughout, including the love of the same woman.

The film is a brilliant cat-and-mouse tale, with Scorsese’s special touch of gangster drama and visceral violence fuelling the visuals.  It is also backed up by some serious top notch acting performances (especially DiCaprio’s morally and psychologically conflicted character Billy Costigan, a role in which should have been nominated for Best Actor).  With a brilliant supporting cast of Oscar nominee Mark Whalberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and Ray Winstone, you get so many well-developed characters and with the cutting dialogue by Oscar winning scribe William Monohan, the film just keeps you entranced as it plays on.

In High Definition, the movie looks absolutely gorgeous in its vibrancy, colors, and detail.  From the blues and intricate weaves of the State Police uniforms, to the graphic detail in blood spatter, there’s no question that this is a perfect film to experience in HD.  And that goes double for the sound.  Just wait until the film reaches its final act and you hear the bullets fly in TrueHD.  Every small sound nuance is so precise, you’ll want to play it back over again just to make sure you caught it all.  The Digital Plus option is also good, but TrueHD is where the treasure is.  The edition is also an HD DVD and DVD Combo format (i.e. dual-layered), so you have the option of using it on a regular DVD player if the need arises, by flipping the disc over.  It’s a handy feature, say if you’re planning on getting HD DVD in the future, but need the standard format to get you by until then

The one complaint I have about the DVD release in general, is its lack of engaging extra material.  Essentially the two featurettes are interesting, but they don’t give a sharp behind-the-scenes look into the making of the movie.  They instead discuss the film’s true story influences in “The Story Of The Boston Mob” (like Costello being based on actual crime boss Whitey Bulger), and looking back on Scorsese’s past career of gangster flicks in “Crossing Criminal Cultures”.  A commentary track by Scorsese, screenwriter William Monohan, or any of the actors involved would have been great stuff, but there’s none to be found.  The fact that Scorsese chimes in on the Deleted Scenes doesn’t help much with his over-all input, because the cut scenes provide very little significance.  The theatrical trailer is thankfully present to revisit.

Still, when the smoke clears and The Departed is experienced, you will feel as if you watched The Godfather for the new millennium.  It is an exceptional piece of moviemaking made by a master who was finally recognized for what could arguably be his best work ever.  In High Definition, the film is even more engrossing than ever.

Review By Ryan Young