Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews

The Departed is director Martin Scorsese’s hard-hitting drama that tells the story of undercover South Boston rookie cop Billy Costigan, gangland chief Frank Costello, and Colin Sullivan, Costello’s state police mole. Costigan is assigned to get close to Costello to obtain the evidence necessary to bring down his criminal empire. Sullivan’s job is to keep Costello informed of all police movements and thwart their efforts. It isn’t long before it’s discovered by both sides that there are informers in their midst, which escalates the paranoia and the violence, leaving Billy and Colin to figure out each other’s identities in order to save their own lives.

This unforgettable and powerful crime drama won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. I have seen it countless times and love the evolution of the relationships among the principal characters of Billy, Colin, and Frank. The narrative brims with superbly crafted situations and dialogue that ratchet up the suspense as we begin to suspect that not everyone will survive this high-stakes investigation. William Monahan’s script, Martin Scorsese’s direction and terrific casting make it one of the best films of its generation.

The 4K remaster was completed at Warner Bros. Discovery’s Motion Picture Imaging and the results are excellent, providing a faithful reproduction that is bumped to the next level. The rendering of detail, definition, color delineation, and emboldened contrast increase its thematic impact. The subtle minutia visible in the clothing and facial features among the members of the cast is striking. Grain is rendered with a predominantly even and filmic essence. HDR adds a pleasing visual element that enriches both natural and artificial light while enhancing the purposefully dark, dreary sequences which embolden their blacks and shadow delineation.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is a gratifying surround mix with a high level of detail, superlative clarity, and room-filling sound. Dialogue is reproduced with lucid expression and prioritization. This engaging presentation offers solid bass extension while effectively drawing forth both large and small sounds, allowing their directional correlation with onscreen events to be definable within the room’s acoustic boundaries.

The bonus features include a new featurette, “Guilt and Betrayal: Looking into The Departed,” two previously released documentaries, and nine additional scenes with director introductions. The version we reviewed includes limited-edition steelbook packaging and a Movies Anywhere digital code.

The Departed is a personal favorite that is among the best genre films of its time. This Ultra HD release is another solid Warner catalog reissue.

ULTRA HD 4K BLU-RAY
STUDIO: Warner, 2006
ASPECT RATIO:2.39:1
HDR FORMAT: HDR10
AUDIO FORMAT: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
LENGTH: 151 mins., R
DIRECTOR: Martin Scorsese
STARRING: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Vera Farmiga, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin