Martin Scorsese

Average customer rating:

[Fart noise]
Riveting!
Fantastic!
A few loose ends, but a great flick
"Goodfellas," some "Kill Bill," with a pinch of "Pulp" and a hint of "Bourne"....

The Departed (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio , Matt Damon , Jack Nicholson , Mark Wahlberg , and Martin Sheen
Director: Martin Scorsese , and Richard Schickel
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: B000M5AJQS
Release Date: 2007-02-13

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

<span class="h1"><strong>Beyond The Departed</strong></span> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4"> <tr align="center" valign="top" class="tiny"> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000DI87S.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
More gangster movies</td> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000286RKW.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
Amazon.com's Martin Scorsese Essentials</td> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000LXS6H0.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
The original inspiration: Infernal Affairs</td> </tr> </table>

Description

Rookie cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) grew up in crime. That makes him the perfect mole, the man on the inside of the mob run by boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). It's his job to win Costello's trust and help his detective handlers (Mark Wahlberg and Martin Sheen) bring Costello down. Meanwhile, SIU officer Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) has everyone's trust. No one suspects he's Costello's mole. How these covert lives cross, double-cross and collide is at the ferocious core of the widely acclaimed The Departed. Martin Scorsese directs, guiding a cast for the ages in a visceral tale of crime and consequences. This is searing, can't-look-away filmmaking: like staring into the eyes of a con - or a cop - with a gun.

Customer Reviews:

[Fart noise].......2007-06-23

I have just never responded to Scorsese [okay, I liked Kundun]. I just don't find much meaning in all that macho blustering, and I find his movies very unemotional and cold. I also just don't respond to gangster movies. I don't find them compelling at all. So this may account for my feeling of intense annoyance when walking out of The Departed.

The first 20 minutes are fantastic. Scorsese lays out the histories of Damon as Sullivan, being a good boy and rising up the police ranks while all the time beholden to Nicholson's Boston crime boss Costello. DiCaprio has a more troubled history [during which I was never convinced WHY he wanted to be a cop], but both of their stories are laid out in a very quick and energetic way. The friend I went with was talking about the quick, staccato editing here that "is almost like the intro to a TV show where they tell you what happened last week," but for me it really worked.

So Damon goes on this elite police force and DiCaprio is asked to go undercover with Costello. From there it's all Donnie Brasco, Donnie Brasco, Donnie Brasco [okay, there's one gangster movie I responded to], with the additional wrinkle of that both guys need to discover the identity of the other one. There are lots of near-misses, lots of one-person-relaying-information-while-the-other-is-too, and gallons of macho bluster and OTT mugging from Nicholson [who wasn't quite as bad with that as I expected]. There is funny faux-Mamet patter like Alec Baldwin quickly saying "I'm gonna go outside and get a smoke. You want a smoke? No? What are you, some kind of fitness freak? Go f*** yourself," or a guy, after being shot in the knee. Whining "I thought I was supposed to go into shock. I'm not in shock. It hurts!" that are amusing, but that's when you still believe that this story is going to come to something.

I can't even be bothered to talk about the many twists and turns, because in the end they turn out mostly to be just time-wasters, and as we headed into the last hour I started thinking "Why do we need this scene? This scene could go. And what about that scene before? That was just another version of the many scenes we've seen before" which is not something I think any filmmaker wants the audience to be concerned with while they're watching a film.

And finally, it just doesn't come to much. Maybe it's a case of my expectations; I thought we were building toward a big showdown between Damon and DiCaprio where they would really have at it, and then it's getting to be 30 minutes `til the end [I was definitely waiting], then 15 minutes `til the end.... And that's when I really started to turn against the movie. Which is not even to mention the overall dissatisfaction of the ending. I want to avoid giving anything away, but suffice to say that the thing I wanted to see, we did not see. And we saw a whole lot of something else that, yeah, I guess it's one worldview, but it's not a worldview I find particularly compelling or interesting. And it's kind of a worldview that you don't need two-and-a-half hours to express, and is probably why I was so bitter that I felt this movie wasted so much of my time... for that. But Scorsese seems to be unable to make a movie that is less than two-and-a-half hours, and if he did, well, how would we know that it's an important film?

My friend [who liked it a little more than I did] asked me "well, how is this different from De Palma?" [And I was indeed sitting there wishing De Palma had directed it instead.] My answer was, well, in De Palma there is emotional content that gives me something to get involved with, whereas with Scorsese it's all tough guy blather with a little emotional stuff [here, the psychologist] thrown in for a little color, but the focus is on the guns and the cell phones and the tension and just how very hard these guys are. Wow, they sure are hard, tough guys, Marty. Wow.

Secondly, when De Palma enters into a set-piece, the sense I get from what's on screen [and this is highly subjective, just my feeling] is that he's inviting you, the audience, to play along and he wants you to enjoy it. The sense I get with Scorsese is that he wants you to passively sit back and admire his skill. Add that to how cold I find his films, and the sense I get is of Scorsese casting himself as the tough guy through his show-offy-yet-stand-offish technique, just as his films are filled with tough guys that he is unable to be. Yeah, yeah, Marty, you're the man, okay? Now go be the man over there.

The final shot is a somewhat sledgehammer-subtle message that there will always be corruption in the highest offices of power. Is this a statement? Well, obviously it's a statement, but is it an interesting statement? Did we need a 150 minutes to tell us this? Especially given the current state of Congress?

Everyone else loves this film, so take that as you may. As I said, I just don't respond to gangster movies and I just don't respond to Scorsese movies. The performances here are all very good and it's certainly well made but... take a half hour off and I'd be fine. And change the ending.

Riveting!.......2007-06-21

This is one of those movies that you have to watch two or three times to make sense of all the intense action. It is riveting and you can't take your eyes off the screen!

I have been waiting for Leo Di Caprio to do a truly "manly" and tough role in a believable way, and this is the role. He is convincingly tough and does an incredible job in this movie. In my opinion Leo has been miscast in a number of films as a tough guy, most notably in Gangs of New York. He seems truly grown up in this movie.
Matt Damon is excellent, although as one of my favorite actors I hated to "love to hate" him in this morally degenerate role.
Jack Nicholson annoyed me. He does a great job, but I just found myself thinking that Daniel Day Lewis or Byrne, or someone of that ilk would have been a better choice for the role of Costello.
I did not understand the ending. Maybe after viewing several more times?...

Fantastic!.......2007-06-18

What a great cast--- Leo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Mark Wahlberg, Jack Nicholson....they are all just awesome and give superior performances. It's a thriller, a game of cat and mouse in which a Boston mob moss is trying to use his infiltrator on the police force to find out the identity of the officer who has gone undercover and infiltrated the mafia. It is a thriller that keeps you going till the very end and I did NOT expect the ending.

You must see this movie. I've seen Martin Scorsese's other films but this one triumphs as the best one so far. Thank goodness he won an Oscar for it, it deserved it!!

A few loose ends, but a great flick.......2007-06-15

Like most people, I watched this movie mainly just because of the impressive star power of the cast. (Which, in our celebrity obsessed culture, is probably just as good a reason to watch a movie as any). And it is quite an impressive cast: Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and directed by Martin Scorese....Now is that a cast or what? And I know that usually in movies with too many big names somebody ends up being under-utilized, but I thought all the main actors in this movie were given at least a couple great scenes to chew the screen up.

Some researching on the internet reveals that this movie is an American remake of the Hong Kong flick "Infernal Affairs". (I've not seen "Infernal Affairs", but I've seen the previous at least. It always looked kind of interesting.)

"The Departed" is set in Boston and revolves around the Irish-American culture and the Irish mafia. It doesn't come close to the level of pyscho-analysis that "The Godfather" did for the Italian mafia, but there are various throw away lines referencing the Irish-American experience: "Twenty years after an Irishman could't get a job, we had the presidency. May he rest in peace."

The plot gets a little complicated but basically Jack Nicholson is a Irish Mafia boss. Leonardo DiCaprio is an undercover cop infiltrating the mafia. Matt Damon is an undercover mafia who has infiltrated the police department. As the movie progresses various betrayals and changes of allegiance follow.

I don't want to give away too much to anyone who hasn't seen this movie, but at various points I thought it should have been obvious who the respective moles were. And it seemed like everyone was getting pretty sloppy and getting away with it. But that's Hollywood for you I guess.

Also (and again, I hope I'm not giving too much away here. Spolier alert) the climax of the movie revolves around a taped conversation. You know, it turns out that something one of the characters said was being tape recorded and he didn't know it, and he said a lot of self-implicating things. Like we've seen a million other times in a million other movies and TV shows.

I suppose this is the most obvious way to end a story like this (which is why it's been used so many times before), but perhaps because it is the most obvious it is also the laziest. For my two cents I would liked to have seen a more interesting ending.

But the movie definately held my attention for the time I was watching it.

"Goodfellas," some "Kill Bill," with a pinch of "Pulp" and a hint of "Bourne"...........2007-06-15

Once again, Scorcese proves he is the master of blood spatter, body count, gratuitious volence, and signing big Hollywood stars. But departed didn't seem to offer much of anything new.

The stories of the respective "rats" run absolutely parallel (including the same love interest), so the plot sounded interesting to me.

But not even 1/3 into the movie you find yourself wondering how can the cops AND the bad guys be so unbelievably stupid, and then you begin to associate that sentiment to the movie.

The Special Investigation cops know they have a spy in their midst, but they never suspect the guy who grew up with the crime boss and who always makes a cell phone call to "Dad" just before the raid! The criminals know they have a spy in their midst, but they never suspect the former cop who just recently joined their gang, and who has never really proven his loyalty.

The behavior of most of the characters never seems to make much sense (including the women, who seek out unpredictable, ugly and violent men), thus the touch of the surreal/fantasy akin to "Bill." Then at the end, it turns out that nearly every character is actually a spy for some organization other than the one they're currently with.

And what happened to the envelope, or the girl? Most of the time, particularly during the second half of the movie, everything just seemed silly, a la "Pulp."

Two stars - one for the panty sex scene, and one for the rat (one of only a few mammals to avoid the spray of bullets) that artfully scurries away (did you notice it on the balcony railing?) at the very end.

Average customer rating:

[Fart noise]
Riveting!
Fantastic!
A few loose ends, but a great flick
"Goodfellas," some "Kill Bill," with a pinch of "Pulp" and a hint of "Bourne"....

The Departed (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio , Matt Damon , Jack Nicholson , Mark Wahlberg , and Martin Sheen
Director: Martin Scorsese
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000M341QE
Release Date: 2007-02-13

Amazon.com

Description

Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg star in Martin Scorsese's new 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) from the inside. A young rookie, Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is assigned to infiltrate Costello's mob. While Billy is working to gain Costello's trust, another young cop, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is among a handful of elite officers whose mission is to bring Costello down. But what his superiors don't know is that Colin is working for Costello, keeping the crime boss one step ahead of the police. Each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operation he has penetrated. But when it becomes clear to both the gangsters and the police that they have a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin find themselves in constant danger of being caught-and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself.

Customer Reviews:

[Fart noise].......2007-06-23

Riveting!.......2007-06-21

Fantastic!.......2007-06-18

A few loose ends, but a great flick.......2007-06-15

"Goodfellas," some "Kill Bill," with a pinch of "Pulp" and a hint of "Bourne"...........2007-06-15

Average customer rating:

THE BEST OF THE BEST
Goodmovie.
Perhaps Scorcese's best film
An Outstanding Gangland Epic...
He did it his way

GoodFellas (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Robert De Niro , Ray Liotta , Joe Pesci , Lorraine Bracco , and Paul Sorvino
Director: Martin Scorsese
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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Casino (Widescreen 10th Anniversary Edition)
Scarface (Platinum Edition)
The Godfather DVD Collection
Taxi Driver (Collector's Edition)
Donnie Brasco (Special Edition) [Region 99]

ASIN: B000286RKW
Release Date: 2004-08-17

Amazon.com essential video

Martin Scorsese's 1990 masterpiece GoodFellas immortalizes the hilarious, horrifying life of actual gangster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), from his teen years on the streets of New York to his anonymous exile under the Witness Protection Program. The director's kinetic style is perfect for recounting Hill's ruthless rise to power in the 1950s as well as his drugged-out fall in the late 1970s; in fact, no one has ever rendered the mental dislocation of cocaine better than Scorsese. Scorsese uses period music perfectly, not just to summon a particular time but to set a precise mood. GoodFellas is at least as good as The Godfather without being in the least derivative of it. Joe Pesci's psycho improvisation of Mobster Tommy DeVito ignited Pesci as a star, Lorraine Bracco scores the performance of her life as Hill's love interest, and every supporting role, from Paul Sorvino to Robert De Niro, is a miracle.

Customer Reviews:

THE BEST OF THE BEST.......2007-06-13

LOVE THIS MOVIE! IT IS TRULY THE GREATEST MOB MOVIE EVER MADE. THERE'S ALOT OF GOOD ONES BUT GOODFELLAS IS IN A CLASS OF IT'S OWN. BRILLANT, COMPELLING, AND SUPERLATIVE. IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

Goodmovie........2007-05-27

Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)

I hated Casino when I went to see it back in 1995. I now understand why; Casino was Scorsese's attempt to remake Goodfellas, but like Brian DePalma attempting to remake Curtis Hanson's L. A. Confidential in The Black Dahlia, the later film ended up somehow being both a shadow of the original and, if unintentionally, a parody of the original as well. Everything about Casino that ended up awful was fantastic in Goodfellas.

Based on Nicholas Pileggi's autobiography, Goodfellas follows three guys--Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro), Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), and Henry Hill (Ray Liotta)--who all want to be mobsters. (Granted, as Tommy is the only Italian in the bunch, they don't have much of a chance.) From the outside, we're perfectly aware that they, and their band of assorted outlaws, are mostly comic relief for the actual made men in the area; they're well-meaning, but usually either not forward-looking enough when planning things, or simply inept. But they're exceptionally-drawn, all three of them perfectly-done pictures of what my in-laws are wont to call "bags of neuroses". We, as the viewers, are alternately amused and horrified by their doings. Meanwhile, when they're not out doing flunky jobs for the mob or trying to get ahead with side jobs of their own, their private lives are even more of a mess. It stands to reason that even the most thick-headed flunky will eventually get tired of riding on someone else's coattails and find some way to push the envelope. When it happens, it's pure screen magic. Then comes the denouement, and Scorsese proves himself a master of pace--the denouement is longer than the buildup, and if anything, even more compelling, as the three of them take different directions towards either redemption or self-destruction.

Simply put, an amazing piece of moviemaking. If you haven't seen it, do. **** ½

Perhaps Scorcese's best film.......2007-05-20

Martin Scorcese's epic tale of the rise and fall of small-time Mafioso Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) and his associates is riveting storytelling that is often as densely packed with information about the details and culture of mob life as a documentary. As a boy, Hill aspires to the power and wealth of the wiseguys he sees around the neighborhood. As he rises through the ranks, accumulating money, power, and a beautiful wife (Lorraine Bracco), Scorcese shows us how seductive this lifestyle can be. Yet he never flinches from its basic brutality and the thuggish mindset that money cannot change. In the end, the concept of honor among theives is shown to be a lie, a self-aggrandizing fiction that lasts only as long as it coincides with self-interest. This is perhaps Scorcese's best film and benefits enormously from complex, important supporting performances from long-time Scorcese accomplices Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci.

An Outstanding Gangland Epic..........2007-05-19

In the 1970's director Francis Ford Coppola treated audiences with possibly the most accurate, yet somewhat romanticized, depiction of life in the mafia with his brilliant films "The Godfather" and "The Godfather 2". Ever since those two movies, no other movie has come close to touching the quality that is displayed in these two films for this genre, some have tried and come close ("The Godfather 3" being chief among them), but none have succeeded. That is until director Martin Scorsese released his biopic on the life of mobster Henry Hill with "Goodfellas".

"Goodfellas" follows the life of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), a small-time hood who happens to participate in a robbery with Jimmy Conway (Robert DeNiro), calm and calculating individual, and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), a psycho with an incredibly short fuse. Little did Henry know that this robbery would place him on the path to becoming a 'made man' in the very mafia family that Jimmy Conway eventually becomes head of. As Henry Hill rises through the ranks of 'La Cosa Nostra' he manages to find some peace and stability when he meets a young Italian woman (Lorraine Braco) that he marries and has a few kids with. However, the excesses of mafia life eventually begin to get the better of Henry, as he begins to unravel due to heavy drug use, and making matters worse his one-time friend and Don, Jimmy Conway believes Henry may be a threat to him and plots to 'whack' him. With his life in possible jeopardy, Henry has two choices, one stay true to the family and face possible execution, or two, become a government informant and be placed into Witness Protection, becoming a rat in the eyes of the 'family'.

Director Martin Scorsese's work here is by far some of his best. His gritty, realistic approach to this true story, really shows the audience the great wealth and success (if you can call it that) that mafia life can have, while at the same time showing the pitfalls that can occur in that same life. The cast that Scorsese has managed to bring together for this film is truly excellent, and the performances by Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and Ray Liotta are so powerful, and at times scary, that you can really appreciate the great talent that these actors possess. The supporting cast is equally talented, and just as worthy of praise as the three leads. An interesting note is that for his role of the psychotic Tommy DeVito, Joe Pesci improvised some of the more extreme moments the character has, earning him great critical praise and somewhat typecasting him in this type of role. The story is an excellent cautionary tale on what can happen when your choices lead you on the wrong path, even though it's the only path you ever dreamed of. The movie is probably just as strong as "The Godfather", maybe even stronger due to it's even greater authenticity and lack of romanticizing life in the mafia. For those moviegoers that enjoy mafia themed movies, but have never seen this gangster classic, you must do yourself a huge favor and watch this movie, you will not be disappointed.

"Goodfellas" is rated R for violence, language, and sexuality/brief nudity.

He did it his way.......2007-05-16

What a wonderful inspiring film-making by the only director who could possible make the film, the undisputed classic. The cast is superb, the pace - incredible; 145 minutes simply flew by. My beloved "Sopranos", all six seasons of it could fit perfectly like in a case in these 145 minutes. Ultra-violent, mesmerizing, enthralling, "GoodFellas" is an unforgettable wild ride. I have not seen the film for a while and what a great fun it was to re-watch it again and I know it always will be.

Favorite scene - after Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) and Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) killed Billy Batts, they and Henry Hill stopped at Tommy's mother (Mrs. Scorsese) house. The contrast between earlier horrifying scene at the bar and the nice family dinner is simply breathtaking.

Average customer rating:

its just great
Brilliant
Another Asian Adaptation
Not Best Picture, but great movie none the less.
Another Scorsese Classic, Nicholson Dominates!

The Departed [Blu-ray]
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio , Matt Damon , Jack Nicholson , and Mark Wahlberg
Director: Martin Scorsese
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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Binding: Blu-ray

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ASIN: B000M5AJQI
Release Date: 2007-02-13

Amazon.com

Description

Customer Reviews:

its just great.......2007-05-31

i can only say that,i think im going to sell all my dvds...

Brilliant.......2007-05-29

This is one film where Jack Nicholson makes Al Pacino look elusive to be a Mafia Leader, it's very realistic and diferrent than other mafia films where all the killings take place in the end.

Another Asian Adaptation.......2007-05-17

Adapted from the chinese movie trilogy "Infernal Affairs". This movie is a very good piece of cinematic art. It does not quite measure up to the orignals standards , but with with the new cast and the new writing it is worthy of 4 out of 5 stars.

Not Best Picture, but great movie none the less........2007-05-13

I was completely expecting to be blown away by this movie, based on all the academy hype. "The Departed" has an excellent cast, and they all did an excellent and convincing job acting their roles. The Blu-ray image quality is fantastic, and helps to bring an extra sense of realism to the story.

I highly recommend this film based on it's own merits. Expecting something more, may only leave you disappointed.

Another Scorsese Classic, Nicholson Dominates!.......2007-04-13

"The Departed" will join director Martin Scorsese's other classic crime dramas, arguably on a par with "GoodFellas" in particular. This film easily swept the Academy Awards in 2007, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editor and Best Adapted Screenplay.

This classic film is set in Boston, where two young police cadets( Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio) are pulled into the web of betrayal and murder orchestrated by Irish crime boss Frank Costello (played by the legendary Jack Nicholson). The complex plot is based on the Hong Kong film "Internal Affairs"(2002) of which "The Departed" is a remake. The film is packed with A-list talent; in addition to that mentioned above, the movie also stars Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and Mark Wahlberg.

The screenplay for "The Departed" is among the best ever written for a crime drama, it keeps the action moving at a fast clip and delivers clever dialogue alongside fantastic character development. Martin Scorsese won his first Academy award for Best Director for this picture; a well-deserved and long-delayed honor for one of America's greatest directors. It's easy to see why Scorsese won for this film, it is yet another brilliant expose of his masterful skill as a director.

Jack Nicholson dominates this film. His performance as crime boss Frank Costello is brilliant and seems to come effortlessly to this living legend of the silver screen. The Costello character is ruthless and Machavellian to say the least, he "adopts" the young Colin character (Conor Donovan, played as an adult by Matt Damon) who grows up to join the Massachusetts State Police, thereby giving the crime boss an inside man within law enforcement, and the perfect ally to protect and expand his various rackets. From Nicholson's opening line, he outshines the other actors with screen presence alone, and then eclipses them altogether with his classic line deliveries.

Leonardo DiCaprio has grown to full maturity as a true A-List actor. His third collaboration with Scorsese (following 2002's "Gangs Of New York" and 2004's "Tha Aviator") as police cadet-turned-undercover cop Billy Costigan is perfectly performed, illustrating Scorsese's continued ability to draw out DiCaprio's best interpretations. Matt Damon revisits familiar territory as a South Boston cop, this role recalls his performance in "Good Will Hunting" complete with authentic Boston accent. Damon also works well under Scorsese, portraying the duplicitous, crooked cop Colin; his performance is sharp and well-balanced.

Mark Wahlberg's character Staff Seargent Dingnam is all wit and constant profanity, giving him the majority of the hilarious one-liners and zingers in this film. Martin Sheen provides a perfect counterbalance to Wahlberg's character as Chief Queenan. Providing further evidence of perfect casting is Alec Baldwin, who portrays Lieutenant Ellerby, the most crass and humorous of the veteran officers. Ray Winstone also delivers a superb performance as the menacing, authoritative Mr. French, Costello's most trusted enforcer.

The music of The Rolling Stones constantly drones in and out during the film, providing excellent atmosphere for a crime flick set on the mean streets.

"The Departed" is a instant classic, a great movie for fans of gritty, violent crime dramas ala "The Sopranos". Scorsese continues to exhibit his mastery for this genre of film, his best work to date.

Average customer rating:

[Fart noise]
Riveting!
Fantastic!
A few loose ends, but a great flick
"Goodfellas," some "Kill Bill," with a pinch of "Pulp" and a hint of "Bourne"....

The Departed (Full Screen Edition)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio , Matt Damon , Jack Nicholson , Mark Wahlberg , and Martin Sheen
Director: Martin Scorsese
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

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DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Casino Royale (2-Disc Widescreen Edition) [Region 99]
Babel
Flags of Our Fathers (Widescreen Edition)
Borat - Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Widescreen Edition)
The Prestige

ASIN: B000M341QO
Release Date: 2007-02-13

Amazon.com

Description

Customer Reviews:

[Fart noise].......2007-06-23

Riveting!.......2007-06-21

Fantastic!.......2007-06-18

A few loose ends, but a great flick.......2007-06-15

"Goodfellas," some "Kill Bill," with a pinch of "Pulp" and a hint of "Bourne"...........2007-06-15

Average customer rating:

THE BEST OF THE BEST
Goodmovie.
Perhaps Scorcese's best film
An Outstanding Gangland Epic...
He did it his way

GoodFellas
Starring: Robert De Niro , Ray Liotta , Joe Pesci , Lorraine Bracco , and Paul Sorvino
Director: Martin Scorsese
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Murder & Mayhem | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Casino (Widescreen 10th Anniversary Edition)
Scarface (Platinum Edition)
The Godfather DVD Collection
Taxi Driver (Collector's Edition)
Donnie Brasco (Special Edition) [Region 99]

ASIN: 0790729725
Release Date: 1997-03-26

Amazon.com

Martin Scorsese's 1990 masterpiece GoodFellas immortalizes the hilarious, horrifying life of actual gangster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), from his teen years on the streets of New York to his anonymous exile under the Witness Protection Program. The director's kinetic style is perfect for recounting Hill's ruthless rise to power in the 1950s as well as his drugged-out fall in the late 1970s; in fact, no one has ever rendered the mental dislocation of cocaine better than Scorsese. Scorsese uses period music perfectly, not just to summon a particular time but to set a precise mood. GoodFellas is at least as good as The Godfather without being in the least derivative of it. Joe Pesci's psycho improvisation of Mobster Tommy DeVito ignited Pesci as a star, Lorraine Bracco scores the performance of her life as the love of Hill's life, and every supporting role, from Paul Sorvino to Robert De Niro, is a miracle.

Description

When Martin Scorsese, one of the world's most skillful and respected directors, reunited with two-time Oscar-winner Robert De Niro in GoodFellas, the result was one of the most powerful films of the year. Based on the true-life best seller Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi and backed by a dynamic pop/rock oldies soundtrack, critics and filmgoers alike declared GoodFellas great. It was named 1990's best film by the New York, Los Angeles and National Society of Film Critics. And it earned six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Robert De Niro received wide recognition for his performance as veteran criminal Jimmy "The Gent" Conway. And as the volatile Tommy DeVito, Joe Pesci walked off with the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Academy Award nominee Lorraine Bracco, Ray Liotta and Paul Sorvino also turned in electrifying performances. You have to see it to believe it - then watch it again. GoodFellas explores the criminal life like no other movie.

DVD Features:
Interactive Menus
Production Notes
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer:Two theatrical trailers
</p>

Customer Reviews:

THE BEST OF THE BEST.......2007-06-13

Goodmovie........2007-05-27

Perhaps Scorcese's best film.......2007-05-20

An Outstanding Gangland Epic..........2007-05-19

He did it his way.......2007-05-16

Average customer rating:

Great for what it is
portrait of a mythic young artist and then some....
Dylan's a Riot
Masterful portrait of the man who is mercury...
"Not as represented"

Bob Dylan - No Direction Home
Starring: Bob Dylan , and Martin Scorsese
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

No Direction Home: The Soundtrack (The Bootleg Series Vol. 7)
Prairie Wind
Neil Young - Heart of Gold
Bob Dylan - Don't Look Back (1965 Tour Deluxe Edition)
Cream - Royal Albert Hall - London May 2-3-5-6 2005

ASIN: B000A0GP4K
Release Date: 2005-09-20

Amazon.com

It's virtually impossible to approach No Direction Home without a cluster of fixed ideas. Who doesn't have their own private Dylan? The true excellence of Martin Scorsese's achievement lies in how his documentary shakes us free of our comfortable assumptions. In the process, it plays out on several levels at once, each taking shape as an unfailingly fascinating narrative. There is, of course, the central story of an individual genius staking out his artistic identity. But along with this Bildungsroman come other threads and contexts: most notably, the role of popular culture in postwar America, art's self-reliance versus its social responsibilities, and fans' complicity with the publicity machine in sustaining myths. All of these threads reinforce each other, together weaving the film's intricate texture.

</p>Scorsese's 200-plus-minute focus on Dylan's earliest years allows for a portrayal of unprecedented depth, with multiple angles: a rich composite photo is the result. The main narrative has an epic quality: it moves from Dylan growing up in cold-war Minnesota through Greenwich Village coffeehouses and the Newport Folk Festival, climaxing in the controversial 1966 U.K. tour that crowned a period of unbridled and explosive creativity. In his transition from Robert Allen Zimmerman to Bob Dylan, we observe him concocting his impossible-to-describe, unique combination of the topical with the archaic, like an ancient oracle. Scorsese was able to access previously unseen footage from the Dylan archives, including performances, press conferences, and recording sessions. He also uses interviews with Dylan's friends, ex-friends, and fellow artists, and, intriguingly, with the notoriously reclusive Dylan himself (who looks back to provide glosses on the early years), fusing what could have turned into a tiresome series of digressions and tangents into a powerful whole as enlightening, eccentric, contradictory, and ultimately irreducible as its subject.

</p>Some of the deeply personal bits remain unrevealed, but Dylan's preternatural self-assurance acquires a slightly self-deprecating, even comic edge via some of his reflective comments. Alongside the arrogance, we see touching moments of the young artist's reverence for Woody Guthrie and Johnny Cash. Joan Baez, in a poignant confessional mood, comes off well, and the late Allen Ginsberg is so seraphically charming he almost steals the show a few times. A crucial throughline is Dylan's hunger for recognition and ability to shape perceptions so that would be singled out as not just another dime-a-dozen folk singer. It's illuminating--particularly for those familiar with the artist's latter-day aloofness on stage--to see his reactions to audience booing in the wake of his "betrayal" in this fuller context. No Direction Home also makes clear--in a way that wasn't possible in D.A. Pennebaker's iconic Don't Look Back--how Dylan's ability to manipulate his persona always, at its core, protects the urge for expression: Dylan's ultimate mandate, as an artist, is never to be pinned down. As Scorsese masterfully shows, the myth around Dylan only grows bigger the more we discover about him. --Thomas May

<B>DVD features</B>: This two-disc set of Scorsese's full two-part documentary includes treats such as Dylan working on a song at his hotel during the UK tour as well as performing several songs as in concert or on TV.

<span class="h1"><strong>More for the Dylanologist</strong></span> <table border="0" cellpadding="4" width="100%" cellspacing="4">

<tr class="tiny" align="center" valign="top"> <td> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000A4AWRW.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
No Direction Home: The Soundtrack</td>

<td> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0743244583.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
Chronicles: Volume One (paperback edition)</td>

<td> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0743228286.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
Bob Dylan Scrapbook</td>

<td> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000DG069.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
The Bob Dylan Bootleg Series</td>

<td> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00003CXB1.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
The Last Waltz</td> </tr>

</tr> </table>

Description

The two-part film includes never-seen performance footage and interviews with artists and musicians whose lives intertwined with Dylan's during that time. For the first time on camera, Dylan talks openly and extensively about this critical period in his career.

Customer Reviews:

Great for what it is.......2007-03-20

This documetary was absolutely fascinating and very well executed in every way. That being said, the only thing that was a slight disappointment was that this masterful filmmaker either couldn't or chose not to cover the entire breadth of the career of this truly compelling artist. It covers only the 1960's; granted the time when Dylan was at probably at the peak of his creative powers, but that is only equal to about 1/4 the whole story. At a running time of almost 4 hours, I personally would have liked to see a more complete portrait of the man & his life. That is my only complaint, though. I can still say this film was nothing less than absoluetly riveting and one of the best documetaries I have ever seen and probably ever will see.

portrait of a mythic young artist and then some...........2007-03-16

You don't have to be a Dylanologist or even a generational fellow traveler (though it doesn't hurt) to be completely captivated by Martin Scorcese's 200 min. documentary of the magnetic early career of the legendary artist. With a carefully textured combination of archival footage- some never seen before- and contemporary interviews, including a revealing and engaging running commentary by the notoriously elusive subject himself, Scorsese portrays in fascinating detail the unlikely and uncanny transformation of the small town Bobby Zimmerman into the daemonic lyrical genius whose clairvoyant creative fusion with the nascent Sixties' zeitgeist shaped and catalyzed a momentous cultural tipping point like no other artist of his time. It is a great story told by a master story teller.

For me, however, the ultimate achievement of this film goes beyond its vivid portrait of a mythic young artist. It is the nagging and even haunting question that the film eventually leaves us with; the indecipherable mystery- in plain sight- of Dylan himself.

The genius of Scorcese is what he is able to show us. That there is such a thing as an artistic charismatic; that there are larger than life phantoms who appear seemingly out of nowhere, whose mesmerizing, mercurial incandescence can manifest a preternatural subjectivity so intense and at the same time so permeable they are able, in the swirling ebb and flow of their creativity, to transfigure themselves over and over again at will. In doing so they are able to bring their art to a white hot heat that galvanizes and transfigures the imagination of almost everybody it touches, and, after the fire has subsided, leaves an indelible stamp that even they do not understand.

Dylan's a Riot.......2007-03-14

Classic Dylan quotes:
(1) Dense interviewer: "How many other folk singers have you influenced?"
Dylan: "136"
(2) Interviewer: "Do you think Donovan writes good folk songs?"
Dylan: "No... but he's a nice guy"
(3) Interviewer: "Do you consider yourself primarily a poet or a singer?"
Dylan: "I consider myself primarily a song and dance man"
(4) Interviewer: "Are you for or against the war?"
Dylan: "Yes"
(5) Joan Baez: "How come you don't want to sing on stage with me, Bobby?"
Dylan: "Don't take this the wrong way, but I hate your voice"
(6) Interviewer: "Does electric music hurt your ears?"
Dylan: "What?"
(7) Dylan: "People try to figure out the meaning of my songs. I don't even know what they mean"
(8) Don Rickles at a function, to Dylan: "You'll make it in this business if you'll just stop mumbling."
(9) Interviewer: "Why do you smoke cigarettes?"
Dylan: "What else are you going to do with cigarettes?"
(10) Interviewer: "What's it like being a Jew from Minnesota?"
Dylan: "Not sure, I've never been a Jew from anywhere else."
(11) Interviewer: "What were you trying to say in 'Blowin in the Wind'?"
Dylan: "I don't remember"

Masterful portrait of the man who is mercury..........2007-01-27

...Meaning you can't easily pin him down. Yet between Scorsese's excellent documentary & Dylan's own Chronciles (Vol.1) this is as close a revealing display of 'who'/'what' Dylan is, and how that means different things to everyone interested in him and his art. I think the film brilliantly explores the facts, myths, contrivances, and oh yeah, impact the man's music and the path it cut through American culture and beyond. His impact IS so immense that it's easy to forget that he's just a man with a guitar/piano, a pen/typewriter, scraps of paper and cigarettes who has somehow been able to filter the complexities of humanity - be it love, anger, fear, outrage, compassion, sarcasm, loneliness, hope and humor via deceptively simple music and incredible poetry. He is a mirror, but not always the reflection of that mirror. As he sang in 'The Man in Me' (New Morning) "The man in me will hide sometimes to keep from bein' seen/But that's just because he doesn't want to turn into some machine". Still, Dylan is always an open book to anyone - whether or not you are of his generation, ignored him at the time this film explores, were born after this era (I was born in early 1968 in Rochester - a day's drive from his base at the time) or you have only recently discovered him. That is a hallmark of great art and a great artist - there's always something different you find everytime you tap into it.

Scorsese's research into his subject is excellent - from interviews (starting with Dylan himself) to contemporaries both alive and gone (Ginsberg, Van Ronk), thoughtfully plucked film footage including from 'Eat The Document'(including some outtakes(?)) not surprising since Scorsese as a young man edited both Pennebaker's film of the Monterey Pop Festival of 1967 and the documentary of Woodstock. There are many revealing moments, too numerous to list here and many more questions raised about the relevence of the artist to late-twentieth century, cold-war era culture.

The pace is perfect, the threads many and artfully woven together. And stands up well to repeated viewing as a result. However, I take one star away because a discussion/exploration of the apex of his gradually frenzied pace and output - 'Blonde On Blonde' is *completely* omitted. I'm still scratching my head about that one. The record that best illustrates the genius and contradictions of the end of the era the film look at isn't even given a passing mention! Why? Not particularly interested? Had to cut any segment on it out to make the original TV broadcast time limit? Having said that, this is my sole disappointment with what otherwise is a fruitful and fascinating attempt to nail down the droplet of genius that was/is Robert Allen Zimmerman/Bob Dylan.

"Not as represented".......2007-01-20

"Not as represented" is the phrase used when rating a seller on Amazon.

"No Direction Home" could be validly advertised as concentrating only on the earliest part of Dylan's long career. If it is to be part of a continuing series on the artist, it would be fantastic. But:

The first disk is fascinating. The controversy with the folk purists takes up quite a bit of time.

Unfortunately, the second disk deals with nothing but an old and unimportant controversy. Fewer