Overview: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg star in Martin Scorsese’s crime drama The Departed. The Departed is set in South Boston where the state police force is waging an all-out war to take down the city’s top organized crime ring. The key is to end the reign of powerful mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson).

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: Warner Bros. Entertainment is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the highly-anticipated The Departed (4K Ultra HD + Digital / Steelbook) in the expansive 4K Ultra HD video format this April 23rd, 2024.

For my money, this The Departed (4K Ultra HD + Digital / Steelbook) sharpness takes a fairly large step forward from others in their 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have is The Departed presented to us as a one-disc pack with a sheet for a Digital HD Copy. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265, Resolution: Upscaled 4K (2160p), HDR: HDR10, Aspect ratio: 2.40:1 and Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHDs, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisp with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what is more is that it is enjoyably noticeable. For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision, we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color, which makes the eyes draw in, for sure.

As for the audio, well we get the choice of: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) and Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1.

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

For me, one of the best cinematic scenes - aside from its overall style, tone and mood - I personally love the way Michael Ballhaus’ camera whips up and down, in and out while Mark Wahlberg profanely insults his co-workers while Thelma Schoonmaker cuts back and forth between three different stories that took place years apart.

Most of The Departed is shot and edited like the 10-minute segment in Goodfellas where Henry Hill is being chased by a helicopter and stirring the pasta and doing a line and almost wrecking his car and cutting the shit. Simply put, it’s fast and relentless!

Anyway, back on track and about 30 minutes into the film, after we’ve met the players, seen some bloodshed, and heard the Stones, crooked State Police Detective Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) bumps into psychiatrist Madolyn Maden (Vera Farmiga) in an elevator, and what quickly develops is one of the finest, most polished come-ons I’ve ever witnessed in a film.

Damon settles into the packed elevator, looks to his right and locks on Farmiga. She looks at him nervously, and in that perfect, trademarked Boston way, he begins playfully insulting her. Now, normally, I’d imagine most confident, career-driven women like Madolyn would tell a cocky guy like Colin to go fuck himself. Who is he to reduce what she does for a living? Thing is, the dude is so goddamn charming that he makes it impossible to turn away from him. Madolyn takes the bait, and the two exchange in a verbal volley of flirtation.

He makes her laugh, flexes his worth as a cop, and she exits the elevator amicably. But Monahan doesn’t let it stop. Instead, Colin props open the elevator door with his hand, and within a matter of seconds – after she’s accidentally insulted him, which he takes in stride – he’s got her locked down for dinner.

It’s difficult to highlight the personal impact I gather from this scene without dictating the script word for word. But, for script and acting reasons (and the exercised restraint of the director), this sequence has always flown off the screen for me.

As for the story to hand, well, The Departed is an American crime-thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas). The film gives us a poignant look at a fictional war on drugs fought by the Boston Police Department against an Irish-rooted mob led by Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), with his protégé, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) helping him from the inside of the police force while Billy Costigan (Leonardo Di Caprio) helps the police department by infiltrating Costello’s mob.

The story takes place in Boston, following the lives of Billy Costigan, an undercover cop of the Boston Police Department, who is at a crossroads in his life, having just lost all close relatives and with no clear direction in his life, as he infiltrates Costello’s mob, and Colin Sullivan, who from a very young age has been the protégé of Costello and who now works for the Boston Police Department, providing Frank with information.

As the story unfolds, we see the consequences the characters have to deal with by leading a double life. We watch them as they blur the lines of what’s right or wrong, and we get to see just how far they are willing to go to protect what they’ve built, and to get what they want.

In typical Scorsese fashion, the director dwells into the moral aspect of their characters, exploring the kind side of the villain and the dark side of the heroes. The cast is on point through-out all the movie, with the performances by Leonardo Di Caprio, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg being particularly fascinating.

One of the strongest points of the film it’s is pace, with the story developing in a fast-pace, leaving no dead-time on screen for the viewer to lose attention. One major critic of the film is that it doesn’t follow the original, Infernal Affairs, too closely. While this may be true to some extent, it could very well be attributed to the fact that the original is a three-part saga; it’s a given that some of the story it’s bound to be lost in the process of condensing three movies into one.

While it released more than twenty years into the career of director Scorsese, The Departed is a solid film, with a story that will keep you at the edge of your seat, that’s going to keep you guessing as of what’s going to happen next. If you’re in the mood for a film with a fast-paced, thrilling story, fleshed-out characters and superb acting, then The Departed is a must-see.

Special Features:
Guilt and Betrayal: Looking into The Departed (new)
Stranger than Fiction: The True Story of Whitey Bulger, Southie, and The Departed
Crossing Criminal Cultures
9 Deleted Scenes with introductions by Martin Scorsese