The Departed; HD DVD Review

I just picked up The Departed on HD DVD and thought I'd review it. Being a fan of Scorcese movies, I loved this movie when I saw it in the theater, and would place it along side Goodfellas & Casino. I loved it even more seeing it the second time through my Toshiba HD-A1 & Pioneer plasma screen.

I think it's a great movie, well written (love the dialogue), with excellent acting. All three of the principles, Nicholson, DiCaprio & Matt Damon could have been nominated for Oscars along side Mark Wahlberg.

The video is encoded using 1080p/VC-1 compression, for both the HD DVD & Blu-ray versions. Picture quality is outstanding, with bright popping colors, finely textured dark scenes, impressive close-ups, and excellent detail & depth.

The audio on the HD DVD version features a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack (the Blu-ray version has an uncompressed PCM 5.1 soundtrack). With the exception of a few key scenes, the audio mix is front-heavy for the majority of the movie. Perhaps a somewhat restrained soundtrack, the audio is never the less clear, crisp and well balanced throughout.

In short The Departed is another great Scorsese film that should finally earn him at least a best director Oscar. If your a Scorsese fan, or a fan of mob movies in general then this is a definite must for your collection. If you're still on the fence waiting out the format wars, it's movies like this that make a compelling reason to buy into either format.