by Joshua Nuances
“I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me. Years ago we had the church. That was only a way of saying – we had each other. The Knights of Columbus were real head-breakers; true guineas. They took over their piece of the city. Twenty years after an Irishman couldn’t get a f$#@&% job, we had the presidency. May he rest in peace. If I got one thing against the black chappies, it’s this – no one gives it to you. You have to take it.”
The Departed, a basic remake of the Hong Kong film Internal Affairs, tells the story of Boston mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) and his ruling ways of the streets. An early scene in the film shows Costello recruiting a young boy inside a convenience store (where he naturally picks up his commission promising to keep his men out of the neighborhood). The film soon flashes forward to a semi-present day where we meet a man named Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon). Turns out that this is the child Frank recruited in the previous scene. Luckily for Costello, Sullivan has just joined the prestigious Massachusetts State Police. His ultimate role is to make sure the cops never get to Costello. Now we know why the Department thinks Costello is so “clever” and can “always anticipate their every move”.
We soon meet another character named Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), a man who wants nothing more than to be a cop. Costigan is interviewed by two detectives named Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) and Oliver Queenan (Martin Sheen), who ultimately decide that Costigan has to go undercover as a mole joining the ranks of Costello’s mob group. Costigan’s ultimate goal is to find out which man Costello has working as a mole in the state police. The rest of the film follows convincing sequence after sequence as each group tries to undercover each other’s mole, all while trying to keep their act up.
“I’m the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy.”
While The Departed may not be Scorsese’s finest film to date (I still assure you that film is either Goodfellas or Taxi Driver), the film is nothing short of a masterpiece. Scorsese has a unique gift when it comes to telling a story. Even though the basic premise, as mentioned above, is not original Scorsese, I can say that the man has done an admirable job telling the famous Hong Kong story. Each sequence is shot with utter finesse and skill. As we learn more and more about the state Ppolice and the Irish mob, Scorsese shows the pain and suffering characters like Costello, Sullivan, Costigan, Queenan, and Dignam go through. Scorsese has also brought together possibly one of the finest casts in years with the likes of DiCaprio, Damon, Nicholson, Sheen, and Wahlberg.
“Well, I’m the guy that tells you there are guys you can hit and there’s guys you can’t. Now, that’s not quite a guy you can’t hit, but it’s almost a guy you can’t hit.”
As I just mentioned, the casting in this film is absolutely top-notch. For myself (in the pre-Titanic days with films like The Basketball Diaries), DiCaprio has always been one of those actors that I simply continue to remark, “One day this man is going to win an Oscar.” DiCaprio is perfect in the role of Costigan, showcasing the pain of living each day wondering if he’ll be caught. Not much can really be said about actors like Jack Nicholson or Matt Damon. Each has never really ever acted poorly in either their long or somewhat short career. Sheen is also a joy here in the somewhat subtle role as Queenan. Wahlberg, as the academy may recognize, is absolutely perfect in this film. It amazes me that this man was once referred to “Marky-Mark”. The man is an interesting actor, adding much needed humor to this otherwise darker film (for pure evidence, check out about 23 minutes in – simply priceless).
For Scorsese, The Departed is a cinematic achievement. Almost every critic across the country has labeled this as one of his best, which I can’t disagree with. Hopefully the Academy shares a similar sentiment and finally awards this man the Oscar he has been snubbed for time and time again. Simply put if you’re a fan of Scorsese, this is a must-see. Come to think of it, even if you’re NOT a fan of Scorsese, this is still a must-see. The Departed reassures us that fantastic films can still be made.
Video
The Departed is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The ultra-high-definition image presentation is arrived at with an HEVC codec at an average of 60 mbps. The film was shot on 35mm, so is native 4K. There has also been extensive restoration here, and it shows. Detail was excellent, with each area of Boston shining in a crisp manner. I particularly liked how cinematographer Michael Ballhaus (who also worked with Scorsese on 2002’s Gangs of New York) was able to fully capture every little detail of the Boston streets. Color usage was also impressive with bright whites and blues. I had wondered if some of the blacks (around the first “set-up” sequence) would result in a bit of grain. Such isn’t the case here. In fact items like video noise and grain were kept to a bare minimum, rarely showing for more than a few seconds (I only really noticed a bit of grain when Costigan is trailing Sullivan outside of the theater). No real evidence of pixilation or distortion in the print. The HDR allows the colors to maintain the natural look that was intended when the film was released. An earlier release gave the film an unnatural sheen and used a lot of DNR to “clean” the print almost to obsession. Black levels are deep here, with contrast giving you nice shadow definition.
Audio
The DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio presentation delivers, for the most part. The sub levels I found a little bit of a disappointment, taking away some of the depth that I have come to expect, particularly from Warner’s work in the UHD release field. Unlike the video presentation I think you’ll find the audio here isn’t any real jump in quality from anything that came before. Scorsese was said to be personally involved in the restoration and transfer for this release, but I wonder just how much of his personal attention was spent on the audio track. I would have expected him to opt for a more dynamic Atmos run here with plenty of depth and range. It’s serviceable, and the dialog cuts through mostly fine, but it doesn’t do the UHD release true justice.
Special Features
There isn’t a Blu-ray copy included with this release, so all of the extras are included on the UHD disc, taking some bandwidth that might have better served the transfer … certainly in the audio design. The bonus features pretty much overlap the earlier Blu-ray and even earlier HD-DVD release. The film was one of the first films released to the HD format by Warner Brothers.
Guilt And Betrayal – Looking Into The Departed: (15:05) Martin Scorsese talks about how the film came to him and how his level of interest grew as he considered the material. He’s quite candid here and provides some nice insight as he takes us pretty much on his own personal journey into the world of the film.
Stranger Than Fiction – The True Story Of Whitey Bulger, Southie, And The Departed: (21:07) This feature is a bit of an odd mixture of elements. There is a ton of documentary-style footage on Bulger, who “unofficially” inspired the character of Frank in the film. We hear from Boston folks who were living in Southie and encountered Bulger as well as Boston reporters who covered the man. There are also parts where we meet average Joes from that time and place in South Boston, known as Southie. Finally, there’s a bit of behind-the-scenes elements for the movie itself. Certainly an interesting 20 minutes.
Crossing Criminal Cultures: (24:04) This feature works as a comparison piece. Scorsese’s other films, including Goodfellas, are looked at in a cross companion method.
Deleted Scenes: (19:25) Here we get nine different deleted scenes with an introduction by Martin Scorsese. Most of the scenes are definitely worth the watch once through, but after the first glance, none of the scenes really felt like they would have added much to the final film. There is a handy play-all option.
Final Thoughts:
Scorsese proved with The Departed that the man still had the ability to create an all-around engrossing film. (Did we ever think he didn’t have it in him?) Warner has provided a fine disc with an impressive transfer and an equally impressive audio presentation. The only slight disappointment here is that Warner neglected to include the Scorsese on Scorsese feature that is on the old DVD release. Apart from that, whichever format you support, definitely pick this one simply for the film. Of course, Mart has been on another run with The Irishman and Flowers Of The Killer Moon. Now he’s getting his money from the streamer Netflix and has limited runs at the box office. It’s a strategy that works … if you happen to subscribe to Netflix. I’m not on that , so I guess it’s true what they say: “What we generally do – in this country … is one guy brings the items and the other guy pays him. No tickee, no laundry!”
Parts of this review were written by Gino Sassani
