The Departed (Two-Disc Special Edition) | 
| Directors: Martin Scorsese, Richard Schickel
Actors: Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorsese, Charles Scorsese
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $34.99
Buy Used: $2.49
You Save: $32.50 (93%)
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Rating:  303 reviews
Sales Rank: 3172
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 151 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: WARD113288D
UPC: 085391132882
EAN: 0085391132882
ASIN: B000M5AJQS
Theatrical Release Date: October 6, 2006
Release Date: February 13, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
TWO MEN FROM OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE LAW ARE UNDERCOVER WITHIN THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE & THE IRISH MAFIA, BUT VIOLENCE & BLOODSHED BOIL WHEN DISCOVERIES ARE MADE & THE MOLES ARE DISPATCHED TO FIND OUT THEIR ENEMY'S IDENTITIES.
Amazon.com
Martin Scorsese makes a welcome return to the mean streets (of Boston, in this case) with The Departed, hailed by many as Scorsese's best film since Casino. Since this crackling crime thriller is essentially a Scorsese-stamped remake of the acclaimed 2002 Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs, the film was intensely scrutinized by devoted critics and cinephiles, and while Scorsese's intense filmmaking and all-star cast deserve ample acclaim, The Departed is also worthy of serious re-assessment, especially with regard to what some attentive viewers described as sloppy craftsmanship (!), notably in terms of mismatched shots and jagged continuity. But no matter where you fall on the Scorsese appreciation scale, there's no denying that The Departed is a signature piece of work from one of America's finest directors, designed for maximum impact with a breathtaking series of twists, turns, and violent surprises. It's an intricate cat-and-mouse game, but this time the cat and mouse are both moles: Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is an ambitious cop on the rise, planted in the Boston police force by criminal kingpin Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a hot-tempered police cadet who's been artificially disgraced and then planted into Costello's crime operation as a seemingly trustworthy soldier. As the multilayered plot unfolds (courtesy of a scorching adaptation by Kingdom of Heaven screenwriter William Monahan), Costigan and Sullivan conduct a volatile search for each other (they're essentially looking for "themselves") while simultaneously wooing the psychiatrist (Vera Farmiga) assigned to treat their crime-driven anxieties. Such convenient coincidences might sink a lesser film, but The Departed is so electrifying that you barely notice the plot-holes. And while Nicholson's profane swagger is too much "Jack" and not enough "Costello," he's still a joy to watch, especially in a film that's additionally energized by memorable (and frequently hilarious) supporting roles for Alec Baldwin, Mark Wahlberg, and a host of other big-name performers. The Departed also makes clever and plot-dependent use of cell-phones, to the extent that it couldn't exist without them. Powered by Scorsese's trademark use of well-chosen soundtrack songs (from vintage rock to Puccini's operas), The Departed may not be perfect, but it's one helluva ride for moviegoers, proving popular enough to become the biggest box-office hit of Scorsese's commercially rocky career. --Jeff Shannon On the DVD
Introduced by director Martin Scorsese, the nine deleted scenes from The Departed are all interesting to watch, though not a significant loss from the picture. The other bonus features are very good as well. "Stranger Than Fiction: The True Story of Whitey Bulger, Southie, and The Departed" is a 21-minute history of the real-life Boston gangster Jack Nicholson's character was based on. Scorsese, screenwriter William Monahan, and a number of journalists are among those interviewed. In "Crossing Criminal Cultures" (24 minutes), Scorsese and the cast discuss gangster pictures and specifically Scorsese's. Consider that a warm-up for Scorsese on Scorsese, an 86-minute documentary from 2004. (It's the only bonus feature not available on the HD DVD or Blu-ray versions.) There's no narrator or interviewer: it's just Scorsese talking about his upbringing and influences. There's a generous use of clips through The Aviator and even his American Express commercial. --David Horiuchi Beyond The Departed 
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| Customer Reviews: Read 298 more reviews...
 Great movie, but save a few bucks and buy the single disk edition. May 18, 2009
Christopher Greffin
The Departed is a great film. It has no less than 6 terrific performance, a gripping story, fantastic editing, and an engaging score. For just pure entertainment value it never dissapoints. It's not quite up there with Scorese's big three masterpieces--Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and Taxi Driver--but I'd put it at the top of the second tier of Scorsese movies just ahead of The Aviator and underapreciated The Last Temptation of Christ.
However on special features the two disk set is lacking. The special features probably could have all fit on one disk with the movie pretty easily. There's some deleted scenes and a few very short featuretts. I got through all the special features in a very short time and nothing was very memorable. I've bought other Scorsese two disk sets like Ragining Bull and The Aviator and was definetly satisified with their special features. Those films even had commentary, which The Departed does not. Such a shame better treatmeant wasn't given to the movie that Scorsese finally won an Oscar for. Save a few bucks, buy the single disk edition.
Awesome Crime/Mob Drama April 19, 2009
B. Kaufman (Los Angeles)
This is a great Crime/Mob Drama. Story is awesome. Acting is great. Directing is top notch. Very enjoyable movie with a lot of WTF moments. A must see.
The Greatest American Film since Pulp Fiction March 19, 2009
Mark J. Fowler (Okinawa, Japan)
Martin Scorsese finally took home his first Academy Award for Best Director for "The Departed". With consummate skill he assembled bewilderingly complex and varied ingredients: performers, story, settings, photography - with the result being a film that grabs your attention in the first few moments and doesn't let up until the credits roll. The film clocks in at a minute less than 2 1/2 hours. With about 10 minutes left the Mrs. and I shared that we both needed a bathroom break after our half-gallon sodas... but neither of us dared leave.
The screenplay, I learn, was adapted by William Monahan from a Hong Kong script by Siu Fai Mak which was translated into English as "Internal Affairs". I also read that Mr. Scorsese didn't see the Chinese film but, rather, worked from an English translation of the "Internal Affairs" script. The story is a compelling narrative. Mr. Monahan has adapted the story to a Boston setting of Irish cops and gangsters. The dialog is full of sharp, witty one-liners, but also with a realistic, gritty ring of truth. The language reflects the setting of South Boston, not Sesame Street, so if your ears burn with the constant use of profanity - you may want to wait for an "edited for TV" version.
The cast is brilliant. Leonardo DiCaprio gives a sizzling performance as a Boston "Southie" who joins the police force at a tender age, but because of his family (his father was a local tough guy and his uncle a low level mobster)and intelligence(we're told he scored 1400 on his SAT - not usual police recruit material) he is recruited by a secret undercover unit to infiltrate the local mafia. We see him put through a grueling interview by his to-be superiors, Martin Sheen, full of paternal wisdom, and Mark Wahlberg, full of suspicions and vulgarities (but with many of the movie's best moments in a role that is no higher than maybe 5th or 6th billing.) At the same time DiCaprio is being recruited to infiltrate the mob, Matt Damon has been sent by the same mob to join the police force where, with his intelligence, etc, he is soon in a parallel secret unit investigating both his boss, Irish Mobster Frank Costello (in yet another defining performance by Jack Nicholson) and the "mole" who it is apparent has infiltrated the police force. (Among the many fine scenes are one where Damon gets to inform Nicholson that he is now leading the investigation to find - himself.)
Jack's performance is a Nicholson special. Frank Costello is a nearly untouchable sociopath. (The reason Costello is "ungettable" by the Massachusetts police force is one of dozens of intricate twists and sub-plots.) Costello is vulgar and menacing and everyone in Boston quakes in his presence, from local priests to the scariest hit men. The Mrs. and I differ in our opinion of whether the film revolves around Costello (her view), since all the other characters revolve around him and, after all, he's played by the great Jack Nicholson, or whether DiCaprio's Billy Costigan is the main character (my opinion), since he has the most screen time and, if this story has a protagonist, Costigan is it. It's enjoyable to discuss such things, but it's quibbling. "The Departed" has so many well-drawn characters breathed to life by stellar actors in brilliant performances that it could easily populate two *good* films!
Vera Farmiga was previously unknown to me, but she delivers in the only major female role as a police psychiatrist who graduated from Harvard, but takes the presumably lower-paying position because she wants to serve her community while she also helps her patients. In one of the trickiest roles of the film she becomes romantically attracted to both "moles", not knowing the "true identity" of either until the climax of the film. Her steely determination after she discovers that Matt Damon is the police department "rat" reminds me of Alida Valli's famous performance in "The Third Man" and her final scene in this movie (walking away from a funeral in a cemetery towards the camera in a single shot, completely ignoring the man who thinks he has romantic possibilities with her) is an obvious homage by Scorsese to Carol Reed's film classic.
Ray Winstone (as Costello's right-hand man, "Frenchie") and Alec Baldwin (as the over-matched police detective who is trying to bring together the various machinations of the Boston detectives and undercover mob infiltrators) lead the next tier of supporting performances. It's just another sign of the overall quality of Mr. Scorsese's picture that actors who would "star" in other films take on roles that in other films would be fleshed out by unknowns.
The plotting and timing are relentless. There are a half dozen scenes with more edge-of-your-seat white-knuckle tension than a hundred chainsaw and machete wielding madmen movies combined. DiCaprio's performance brings home the fear that the character must have constantly been feeling. If discovered, he would certainly be killed by Costello's mobsters in a way that would serve as an example. The film ends, I think, as it must, and it's fair to say it's a Noir ending and not a "Hollywood" ending. Over the weeks leading up to this year's Academy Awards this film will be praised more than the last 25 films nominated for "Best Picture" combined. All the praise and hoopla will make "The Departed" and it's various investors a lot of money. This makes me wonder - if great films like this are profitable, why bother with the other 99% of brainless dreck that shows up at my local cineplex every week? Just wondering.
 I had such consideration... October 8, 2008
philrob (New Zealand)
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
...for Martin Scorcese that I feel very sorry for his precocious senility. I can't think of any other explanation (there is no excuse) for mistaking di Caprio for an actor (which is about as ludicrous as mistaking McDos for restaurants). And, since he's persisting in polluting the screens with something whose only merit is he never will be a "Has Been" (since he never was anything in the first place), from now on I will keep clear from Scorcese's movies.
MARTIN SCORSESE FINALLY WON BEST DIRECTOR!!!! XD August 4, 2008
Marty Kingsley (West Virginia)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
How my ratings work:
5 - I really liked/loved it
4 - I liked it
3 - Could've been better/worth a look
2 - Just didn't live up to the potential
1 - Simply aweful
Was this the movie that Scorsese desearved the best director Oscar for? Some say yes, others say no. Personally I think Raging Bull and Goodfellas are the movies he should've won for. But I'm not gonna complain because the Academy finally recognized Scorsese. After 27 years of being nominated, he finally got the award he desearved. Not that he needed an oscar to prove his worth in the movie world. Scorsese is by far the one of the best directors of any generation. But this movie is still worth a watch. It's a rivetting tale of murder, deceit, and betrayel. Everyone gives it their all. Leonardo Di Caprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Whalberg are all at the top of their game here. I don't really need to go into the plot details, there are plenty of other reviews on here that will do that for you.
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