The Departed (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Since it is an American remake of Hong Kong’s revered Wu Jian Dao trilogy, one might expect The Departed to be a profound disappointment … but not all remakes have Martin Scorsese at the helm. The film—a meditation on identity, loyalty and family, set within the Boston Irish mafia—features superlative performances from an all-star cast, including an Oscar-nominated turn from Mark Wahlberg. The picture looked fine on my trusty old 25-inch CRT, but those of you with larger screens might notice some pretty severe digital noise and compression artifacts; then again, you lucky bastards will probably buy it in hi-def anyway. The highlight of the bonus disc is “Scorsese on Scorsese,” a candid look back on the famed director’s life and career featuring revealing interviews and home movies. There’s also a shorter documentary focusing on Scorsese’s crime films, a documentary on the Boston mob, and nine deleted scenes. In the opening monologue, mob boss Frank Costello opines, “No one gives it to you, you have to take it.” The same could be said for the Oscars—and with The Departed, Scorsese finally took it.