Martin Scorsese’s 27 feature films range from beloved gangster films to gritty religious trilogy, popcorn thrillers and dark character portraits. Selecting and ranking the top 10? The list is “wrong” before it even begins (except perhaps for #1, which might be the uncontroversial choice). A lot depends on which version of Scorsese is most valued by the chooser. Do you respect Scorsese’s breakthrough films of the 1970s? His more popular hits of the 21st century? Do you find his religious films moving or dreamy?
Here’s a perspective on this particular list: Scorsese is at his best when his masterful technique is combined with compelling characters. And propulsive storytelling. Some of the director’s titles raised by Catholics (e.g. Silence, Taxi driver and his last, Killers of the Flower Moon) will force moviegoers to endure cinematic punishment that echoes the journey of its tortured protagonists. They spark the eternal debate about what truly makes a film great: its artistry or its ability to entertain. Luckily, many of Scorsese’s films do both successfully, and these films have an advantage.
10. Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Flower Moon it is very well made; a clear Oscar contender that manages to evoke outrage and sympathy by telling the important story of the plight of the persecuted Osage tribe, who were systematically killed for their rights to oil-rich property. It’s also a grueling three and a half hours of watching people suffer and die amid continuous gaslighting and cruelty. Throughout most of the film, each character is presented as either extremely evil or a naive, passive victim (perhaps with an overemphasis on the white characters). Towards the end, Scorsese begins to introduce bits of his most underrated secret weapon – his dark, dry sense of humor – which by then seems tonally inconsistent. It opens this week. It’s powerful, but sure to be divisive.
9. After closing (1985) and King of Comedy (1982) (Tie)
After closing is a Scorsese fan favorite. Essentially a time capsule (and a little dated upon re-watching), this charming comedy follows a down-on-his-luck guy (Griffin Dunne) who experiences one misfortune after another over the course of one surreal night in New York City. IN King of ComedyRobert De Niro plays an obsessed stand-up comedian who kidnaps and tortures his favorite comedian (Jerry Lewis). King of Comedy is one of several early Scorsese paintings that have become more revered over time, and Todd Phillips’ Joker would not exist without him.
8. Cape Fear (1991)
In this remake of the 1962 film, De Niro plays obsessed ex-con Max Cady, who stalks his former lawyer (Nick Nolte) and his family. Cape Fear it’s such a cartoon thriller that it comes as a surprise that it’s from Scorsese, even though he’s more like the Coen brothers channeling Hitchcock on bath salts. There are occasional twists in the film (such as Cady’s attempt to seduce young Juliet Lewis), but Cape Fear is an attraction that is considered one of the director’s most popular films (bonus: Cape Fear inspired a whole The Simpsons episode – everyone’s favorite “Cape Fear” of the fifth season).
7. Age of Innocence (1993)
A wonderful example of Scorsese’s coloring from a different palette. The director earned praise for going far beyond his comfort zone in this romantic drama, based on the Edith Wharton novel and set in early 20th-century New York. The story follows the courtship and marriage of Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) to May Welland (Winona Ryder) amid various difficulties. Luxurious antique item.
6. Taxi driver (1976)
De Niro plays the original incel, Travis Bickle, a lonely and angry Vietnam veteran who, as Scorsese recently noted in an interview, has become an all too common personality type these days. In her breakout role, 12-year-old Jodie Foster plays a prostitute who Bickle tries to protect. The film (written by Paul Schrader) is a raw, raw and bitter portrait of a ticking time bomb that is equal parts destructive and self-destructive. President Ronald Reagan’s would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr. famously said he was inspired by a desire to impress Foster after watching Taxi driver. An important work set in a world you won’t want to return to anytime soon.
5. Casino (1995)
Often underestimated as “Good guysjust not that good Casino This is another fast-paced gangster film based on a true story described in the book by Nicholas Pileggi. De Niro as the controlling casino boss and Joe Pesci as his frustrated gangster gang are as magnetic as you’d expect, but the surprise is Sharon Stone, who arguably gives the best performance of her career as De Niro’s fussy, drug-addled wife. The trio form an unstable triangle for which tragic fates seem inevitable, while Scorsese delights in depicting late 1970s Las Vegas with all its flashing lights, coins and money and holes in the desert.
4. The wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Leonardo DiCaprio stars in Scorsese’s highest-grossing film, based on the loose adaptation of the rise and fall of stockbroker king Jordan Belfort in the 1990s, with Margot Robbie in her acclaimed role as Belfort’s seductive wife. In chronicling the excesses of Wall Street, the film itself is over-the-top, even tedious. The wolf of Wall Street is a three-hour firehose blast of vulgarity, drugs, sex and money (scripted by Soprano the great Terence Winter). It’s a testament to Scorsese’s talent that he manages to make it so fun, outdoing DiCaprio at his wildest. By the way, DiCaprio starred in Scorsese’s top five highest-grossing films (Wolf, Shutter Island, Gone, Pilot And Gangs of New York).
3. Mad bull (1980)
The black-and-white biographical drama (written by Paul Schrader and Mardick Martin) about boxing champion Jake LaMotta stars De Niro in a transformative role and also features his first pairing with Pesci. Scorsese combines sporting action with the underworld, and the film is notable for its stunning cinematography in the ring and an outstanding performance from De Niro. Upon release, it was received modestly and was considered powerful but sometimes difficult to watch. Mad bull went on to be considered one of the best films of all time and earned De Niro an Oscar for Best Actor.
2. Gone (2006)
It’s rare for a movie to be great. despite Jack Nicholson. The Oscar winner’s evil performance is probably the weakest of the film’s star-studded cast. Gone is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film. Hell of a deal and plays like Scorsese’s version of a Shakespearean tragedy (there’s even a deep Hamlet quotas). The film (from a screenplay by William Monahan) combines Scorsese’s most famous storytelling style, which can often feel like a loose, stream-of-consciousness, with a tense and tightly structured plot. Here, DiCaprio and Matt Damon play dueling cops, both living double lives: one working undercover in the underworld, the other secretly working for the mafia. Add in the fatherly Martin Sheen, quick-witted Vera Farmiga, obnoxious Mark Wahlberg and sarcastic Alec Baldwin, and you’ve got a gripping crime drama in which every scene is stolen by someone. For GoneScorsese finally won the Oscar for Best Director and the film for Best Picture.
1. Good guys (1990)
Good guys And Godfather (THAT And II) are often considered contenders for the title of greatest mob drama of all time. Good guys was initially underestimated (the film grossed $47 million worldwide, which is less Color of money, released a couple of years ago). It contains all the tropes of the director’s crime drama: the rise and fall of wiseguys, voice-overs, a vintage rock soundtrack, graphic violence and a large ensemble of colorful characters. But this is in Good guys that Scorsese turned all his familiar components into a symphonic crime masterpiece. It’s such a memorable story, filled with so much drama (written by Pileggi and Scorsese) that it’s hard to believe. Good guys runs less than two and a half hours. Here are De Niro and Pesci again, as well as Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco. Pesci won an Oscar for his performance (though the film lost Dances with Wolves and Kevin Costner for Best Picture and Director, respectively).
Near misses: Silence, The Last Temptation of Christ, Pilot, Alice doesn’t live here anymore.