The Departed, 2006.
Directed by Martin Scorsese.
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, and Alec Baldwin.
SYNOPSIS:
Martin Scorsese’s 2006 film The Departed makes its 4K Ultra HD debut in both standard and SteelBook editions, with a new 4K transfer supervised by the director’s long-time editor, Thelma Schoonmaker. Warner Bros. ported over the previously available bonus features and created a new featurette too. A code for a digital copy is also included.
Director Martin Scorsese is well-known for his gangster films, despite, of course, owning a more wide-ranging filmography, but when I take a step back and look at his entire oeuvre, one theme pops out time and time again: the many ways that people give in to their baser instincts.
In the case of The Departed, we have an interesting triangle of characters: Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a newly minted state trooper who first encountered mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) as a boy and now operates as a mole for him, while Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) seems to have washed out of the police academy but is actually an undercover officer tasked with infiltrating Costello’s gang.
Adding to the personality clashes are a pair of police captains, played by Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin, who oversee Billy and Colin’s activities, respectively, and who quickly become angry when the other intrudes on their perceived turf. Mark Wahlberg plays a more minor role as Sheen’s character’s second-in-command, who has an intense dislike for Colin.
In addition, Vera Farmiga is part of the mix as a psychiatrist who primarily treats police officers. Colin enters into a romantic relationship with her while Billy is ordered to see her after being released from prison — he was sent away on a fake charge to help build his credibility with Costello. She ends up taking a liking to Billy, too.
The Departed probably has the most combustible relationships of any of Scorsese’s mob movies, thanks to so many characters owning key priorities that create multiple life-or-death situations. Will Colin, the rising star police officer, get caught selling out his co-workers? Will Billy end up on the wrong side of a gun if he stumbles and raises Costello’s suspicion? And what are the other primary and secondary characters’ secrets?
Thanks to its stellar cast and taut storytelling, The Departed, which is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, feels a bit like an onscreen novel. I’m not aware of a novelization of the film, but it wouldn’t be hard for a fiction writer to flesh out William Monahan’s script into a piece of prose.
My only real quibble with the film is the inconsistency in the Boston accents. Nicholson and Baldwin’s accents seem to come and go, although Damon and Wahlberg are, unsurprisingly, pretty spot-on with theirs.
This is The Departed’s first time on 4K Ultra HD. It’s been released in both standard and SteelBook editions with cover artwork that’s been criticized for its lack of Wahlberg, although his character is a minor one. Yes, you could argue that Wahlberg should be there by virtue of what he does at the end of the film, along with his Academy Award nomination for the role, but the real tension lies among the three main leads.
In addition to commissioning a new 4K transfer supervised by editor Thelma Schoonmaker (her contributions to Scorsese’s films is a key part of their success, and I doubt he would disagree with me), Warner Bros. created a new 15-minute featurette for this edition, which is just two years shy of the movie’s 20th anniversary.
Titled Guilt and Betrayal: Looking Into The Departed, this new 15-minute extra features Scorsese looking back on the film from its earliest days through its production, release, and beyond. He’s the kind of director who’s always happy to talk about his influences and analyze his characters, and he doesn’t disappoint here.
The rest of the extras were ported over from previous editions dating back to the DVD days. Stranger Than Fiction: The True Story of Whitey Bulger, Southie and The Departed is a 21-minute look at notorious real life mob boss Whitey Bulger, who ruled Boston’s underworld for more than 30 years before becoming a fugitive for 16 years. He was finally arrested in 2011 and died while serving his prison sentence.
The cast and crew interviewed for that featurette also show up in Crossing Criminal Cultures, which runs 24 minutes and compares and contrasts The Departed to other well-known Scorsese crime films, including GoodFellas, Mean Streets, and Casino. While it’s easy to think of The Departed as just more of the same from Scorsese, this piece demonstrates the specific spin the director put on the material.
Finally, we have 19 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, each of which is introduced by Scorsese. I don’t think I could ever tire of hearing him talk about his work, so I appreciate learning why he felt the movie would be better without that footage.
You also get a code for a digital copy of the film and its bonus features.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
