The Departed: Combined Blu-ray Disc And HD DVD Review

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Title: The Departed: Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD& DVD Combo Format Combined Media Review

DVD Region: One

HD DVD Region: N/A

Blu-ray Disc Region: A

Genre: Crime Drama

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, and Alec Baldwin

Writer: William Monahan

Inspired By The Film: Infernal Affairs Written By: Siu Fai Mak and Felix Chong

Director: Martin Scorsese

Feature length: 151 minutes

Extras: Additional Scenes With Introduction By Director Martin Scorsese, The Story Of The Boston Mob: The Real-Life Gangster Behind Jack Nicholson’s Character, Crossing Criminal Cultures: How Little Italy’s Crime And Violence Influence Scorsese’s Work, Theatrical Trailer

HD DVD Languages: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Sound, English, French (Dubbed In Quebec), and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus Surround Sound

DVD Languages: English, French (Dubbed In Quebec), and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Blu-ray Disc Languages: English PCM Uncompressed 5.1 Surround Sound, English, French, (Dubbed In Quebec) and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

HD DVD/Blu-ray Disc Subtitles: For The Deaf And Hearing Impaired and English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles

DVD Subtitles: English Closed Captions and English, French and Spanish Language Subtitles

HD DVD Packaging: Elite Red HD Case

Blu-ray Disc Packaging: Elite Blue BD Case

Chapter Stops: 37

HD DVD Sound: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus Surround Sound

DVD Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Blu-ray Disc Sound: PCM 5.1 Uncompressed Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 2006/HD DVD & DVD Combo Format Release: 2007/Blu-ray Disc Release: 2007

Theatrical Distributor: Warner Brothers Pictures

Home Video Distributor: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: R

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

Please Note That Aspects Of This Review Are Reprinted From My Original DVD Review. Where Applicable I Will Place A Red Or Blue Headline Above The Sections Where The Two High Definition Formats Are Discussed, Reviewed, And Compared.

There’s line early on in The Departed where Jack Nicholson’s Irish crime boss character Frank Costello tells an impressionable, but smart young Irish boy that he grooms to be one of his moles within the Massachusetts State Police Department “When I was your age they used to say you could become cops or criminals. What I'm saying to you is this... When you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?” that carries a haunting ring of truth to it in the sense that whether they are criminals or cops, a bullet is indiscriminate on who it enters once the gun is pointed and fired. If I were to state the most obvious element that The Departed thematically pointed out to me is that essentially the films is about rats as is the term used to describe when someone betrays an oath that compromises an organization regardless if it is law enforcement or organized crime. A rat will do anything to survive and there is no mistake in Scorsese’s final shot of a luxury terrace with a view of the Massachusetts State Building and there’s a rat slowly moving across the top rail of the terrace. This film has so many characters with conflicting allegiances on both sides of the spectrum whether it is inferred or not that it is amazing that the film is so easy to follow and ultimately shocking and poetic too. The Departed therefore echoes Nicholson’s above quoted line in that there are honorable cops and loyal crime figures as much as there are dishonest cops and turncoat criminals. By the end of the movie one is forced to ask his or herself, do the means justify the end and does it really matter?

I have been a bit down on a lot of American actors because regardless of their talent, they tend to become typecast while British actors like those of the Royal Shakespeare Company and their alumni effortlessly move from one genre to the next on both the big and small screen and seem more talented as a result because of the variety of roles they take on. Well, after watching The Departed I am convinced now that the right filmmaker can get the best out of any actor regardless if they are Hollywood stars or not. Jack Nicholson seems to have been in a wide range of dramedies since his third Oscar® win for As Good As It Gets and I honestly had written him off as being more of a typecast Hollywood star than an actor, but Nicholson is perfect as Frank Costello, who is distinctly different from other organized crime figures portrayed in Scorsese’s films. There are a few moments when I think Nicholson was improvising, but overall he shows a lot more restraint here than he has in other films where he plays the perceived villain. I use the word perceived because I think Nicholson brings a lot of complexity to his character’s performance. Sometimes I find the character strangely engaging and seductive and other times I pity Costello since it is very clear as the film progresses that the character is starting to buckle under the pressure and yet the way it is demonstrated is more subtle than one might expect. Ultimately Costello is not a nice guy, but neither are any of the characters. They simply are human. Leonardo DiCaprio gives a great manic performance that contrasts well with Matt Damon’s cool and collective persona in the film. Mark Wahlberg is a standout in the film, which I think features his best character role and onscreen acting since his star-making role in Boogie Nights. Ray Winstone also stands out in the film as Costello’s second in command type of fellow. One wonders if Costello ever appreciates that Winstone’s character is probably the most loyal member of his organization in the entire film. Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin both give good supporting performances. Watching the characters actions as they contrast between the members of Costello’s crime organization and the State Police investigators is one of the reasons I suggest this film is worthy of multiple viewings because Scorsese along with screenwriter William Monahan add a lot of subtle layers to the story that gives the actors plenty to work with and develop on screen. The Departed was produced by Brad Pitt’s production company and was inspired by the Japanese film Infernal Affairs though the action has obviously transplanted to Boston with some real life inspiration added to give the film texture. Now I can also happily state that it earned Martin Scorsese the Best Director Oscar® and the film won the Best Picture of 2006 Oscar® at the 79^th Annual Academy Awards, which aired this past Sunday, February 25, 2007.

Warner Home Video is releasing The Departed on DVD in both a single disc and a two-disc special edition and The Departed is also being released day and date on HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc too. The two-disc special edition DVD set presents The Departed in a fine anamorphic widescreen (2.4:1) aspect ratio that preserves that manner in which the film was exhibited theatrically as close as possible for home video viewers. A striking English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is also encoded along with French (dubbed in Quebec) and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtracks as well as English Closed Captions for the Hearing Impaired and English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles encoded as options on the first disc. The second disc features optional French Language Subtitles too. As great as the film looks and sounds on DVD, I can’t help but imagine it must look and sound a whole lot better on HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The Blu-ray Disc will include Warner Home Video’s first uncompressed PCM 5.1 Surround Soundtrack too. Previously the only other Warner Home Video related Blu-ray Disc titles to feature uncompressed surround Sound is HBO Video’s The Sopranos: Season 6, Part 1 and I can imagine the film being referenced by David Chase for one of the characters to mention or be watching from that hit series, which will conclude on HBO with the final episodes premiering beginning in April of 2007.

The HD DVD/DVD Combo Disc

The DVD side is identical to the first disc within the Two-Disc Special Edition and I imagine the single disc widescreen edition too so the discussion of the DVD above applies to the DVD side of this hybrid disc. The HD DVD presents the film in a widescreen (2.4:1) aspect ratio and sports an English Dolby TrueHD Soundtrack in addition to the English, French, and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus Surround Soundtracks. Unless you are using a direct HDMI connection to a home theater receiver equipped with an HDMI input or the 5.1 PCM Composite Audio outputs into the receiver, I found the Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus Surround Soundtracks sounded identical. However, the lossless Dolby TrueHD Soundtrack is a vast improvement over the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack found on the standard definition DVD. The Dolby Digital 5.1 Plus Surround Soundtrack regardless of the connection used also sounded superior to the DVD. English Subtitles For The Deaf And Hearing Impaired as well as English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles are encoded onto the HD DVD side as options too. The picture quality is very sharp, but a little dark at times. Results may very according to one’s television as well as the resolution available. The Toshiba HD-XA1 has a maximum resolution output of 1080i, but the disc has the potential to present the film in full 1080p high definition where available. Currently on the Toshiba HD-XA2 through HDMI and Microsoft Xbox 360 with HD DVD Drive add on and using VGA output can render HD DVD discs in full native 1080p resolution out of the box while all Blu-ray Disc players support 1080p output through HDMI out of the box.

The Blu-ray Disc Edition With HD DVD Comparison

The Blu-ray Disc edition shares the same subtitle options as the HD DVD and features English, French, and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtracks that are on par with the standard definition DVD. What makes the Blu-ray Disc standout is that it features Warner Home Video’s first ever English Uncompressed PCM 5.1 Surround Soundtrack that is available by connecting the composite audio cables into the 5.1 channel analogue audio inputs or through direct HDMI input. There is a sharp and quite clean difference between the PCM Uncompressed 5.1 Surround Soundtrack that Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus cannot touch, but compared to the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround Soundtrack included on the HD DVD, it really is a matter of personal taste. I think Dolby TrueHD is more refined while PCM is rawer and thus certain films will benefit more depending on the nature of the film. For instance, horror films like Sony’s Silent Hill Blu-ray Disc benefit greatly from the horrific shrieks of the ghastly creatures in PCM Uncompressed Surround, but a film that is not exactly a horror film, but is also not the normal action picture like Universal’s End Of Days clearly benefits immensely from the Dolby TrueHD Soundtrack option. In the end I think both serve the film well, but my preference sound wise for The Departed was the English PCM 5.1 Uncompressed Surround Soundtrack encoded onto the Blu-ray Disc version. The picture quality on the Blu-ray Disc was bright, but more or less comparable to the HD DVD version I watched on the same HDTV. Unfortunately neither the HD DVD nor the Blu-ray Disc features the TCM feature length documentary Scorsese On Scorsese. If you want that on DVD, you will have to buy the standard definition Two-Disc Special Edition DVD set. The interactivity features on the HD DVD are superior to the Blu-ray Disc too. The movable magnifying feature is only present on the HD DVD. Audio and Subtitle changes can also be made directly by pressing the respective buttons on the remote control while the Blu-ray Disc requires seamless menu navigation in order to change subtitle features while the film is in progress. The rest of the extra value features are identical to the DVD version as detailed below.

Standard DVD Features Found On All Three Versions

The theatrical trailer is presented in 16 by 9 enhanced widescreen (2:26). The other extra value features are all presented in a (1.33:1) aspect ratio and these include 9 letterboxed deleted scenes with interesting video introductions in between by Martin Scorsese (19:23) and then there are two featurettes that support the film too. One focuses on Scorsese’s influences based on his formative years growing up in Little Italy (24:62) and the other featurette focuses the real life inspiration for Nicholson’s character with interviews with various individuals in law enforcement about the sociology of the place (21:06). It is interesting to note that for the more than twenty feature films Martin Scorsese has directed over the last three or more decades, only five were actually crime dramas.

Now that The Departed has garnered Oscars® I can’t help but imagine a more deluxe DVD release somewhere down the road though nothing has been formally announced or even hinted at that I am aware of at the time of this writing. The Departed is a great film and while I wish there could have been an audio commentary or something, perhaps multiple commentaries for the film, as is, this is a solid HD DVD And DVD Combo Format release and the Blu-ray Disc is not bad either. Both high definition optical disc releases as well as the standard definition DVD releases are available now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Warner Home Video.

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Buy Either The Blu-ray Disc Or HD DVD And DVD Combo Format Version By Clicking On The Respective Icons Below!