If Hollywood were to build a Mount Rushmore commemorating the industry's most prolific filmmakers, right next to Steven Spielberg (or maybe even in front of him) would be the great Martin Scorsese. From his sweeping visionary steady-cam cinematography to his gritty introspective character studies and dissections of moral turpitude - Scorsese has developed one of the deepest and most varied catalogs of work over his storied 50+ year career. And while I truly think there's something to take away from all of his films, we've decided to distill his filmography down to his 10 very best:
#10. The Last Temptation of Christ
Scorsese is probably best known for his gangster epics (and with good cause), but one of the other pivotal thematic staples in his work is his examination of faith. Unlike the stuffy and sanctimonious religious films of old Hollywood, Scorsese paints a much more human exploration of what it is to grapple with your beliefs and how they can be tested. Everyone has their doubts, trials and tribulations - and whose faith was tested more than Jesus Christ himself? Although the controversial depiction of Jesus' last days before crucifixion drew ire from religious zealots at the time of it's release, Scorsese's film has endured as a stunning testament to unwavering faith put to the ultimate test, personified brilliantly by Willem Dafoe's breathtaking performance. Just ignore Harvey Keitel's hilariously out of place New York accent...
#9. Casino
In what feels like the spiritual sequel to Goodfellas, Scorsese reunites with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci for even more mafioso madness centered around the rise of a Las Vegas casino owner and the love triangle that nearly cost him everything. Pesci is in even finer form than his Oscar winning turn in Goodfellas and Sharon Stone is an absolute powerhouse as the vindictive divorcee holding her own with (and occasionally even outshining) Robert De Niro. Don Rickles and James Woods round out the exceptional ensemble captured with stunning cinematography and accompanied by an insanely expansive soundtrack. Casino is another showcase for Scorsese's ability to mix graphic gangster violence with dark humor and wrap it in a rise to prominence character arc oozing with personality dripping out of every frame. And even thought it's an extension of the same style that he perfected with Goodfellas, Casino has enough of it's own panache that it doesn't deserve to be completely eclipsed in its' shadow either.
#8. The Wolf of Wall Street
There's somewhat of a divisive perception around this dark comedic social commentary depicting late capitalist greed personified in Jordan Belfort. But even though Scorsese spends an extensive amount of time detailing Belfort's exploits - it's only to paint a more damning portrait of his excessively depraved lifestyle. He has no real skills or likable qualities to speak of, just an ability to convince people to buy shit they don't need. And yet even after you see him make a total ass of himself for 3 hours and piss away the entire empire he built (or stole, in all reality), there's still a hotel conference room full of desperate idiots hanging on his every word at the film's conclusion hoping that they too can follow in his footsteps. Hell, I'm sure you've probably even seen someone un-ironically posting a Jordan Belfort quote on Facebook to perpetuate the delusional hustle-bro culture cultivated by these Wall Street degenerates as if he's unlocked the keys to success by just accumulating other people's money for his own self-interest. But I don't see that as a failure of Scorsese's storytelling, it's more of a reflection of the general audience's own prioritization of the value of financial wealth. Which is kind of the point of the whole fucking movie...
See where it ranks on our list of the Best Films of the 2010s
#7. The Departed
It took Scorsese way too fucking long to win an Oscar. But I guess it's better late than never. And while every self-proclaimed internet "cinephile" will trip all over themselves at every opportunity to point out that it's not even Scorsese's best movie (and I guess by listing it at number 7 we're kind of unwillingly included in that), The Departed is still pretty sensational. The dual depiction of Leonardo DiCaprio working as an undercover agent infiltrating the mob while Matt Damon works as a mole in the Boston police is executed exquisitely. And my god that cast is stacked. Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Jack Nicholson- they're all stellar but surprisingly it's Marky Mark Wahlberg and Vera Farmiga that steal the show. I had all but written Wahlberg off at this point in his career but goddamn he's great here. And Farmiga should have gotten an Oscar herself for her performance. Hopefully with the conclusion of the Conjuring series she'll take on more dramatic roles like this one because she's really underrated as one of the most talented actresses in the industry right now.
#6. The Aviator
I gotta be honest, back when this movie came out in 2004, I wasn't sure how much of an "actor" Leonardo DiCaprio really was. Yeah, he was a charming leading man in Titanic and Catch Me If You Can but he really didn't strike me as someone worthy of being in the conversation as one of our best living actors. I know it sounds idiotic to say that NOW but keep in mind, he hadn't really hit is peak yet and was totally overshadowed by Daniel Day Lewis on his previous collaboration with Martin Scorsese in Gangs of New York. But that all changed with this movie. He's an absolute spectacle in this film as the eccentric Howard Hughes and he should have absolutely won Best Actor for his performance here. And even though you could probably say that about almost all of his Scorsese roles, The Aviator more than any other should have netted him an Oscar. Collaborating with Scorsese on 6 films over the past 20 years no doubt helped to develop him from a teen heartthrob into "The Way of the Future"
#5. The King of Comedy
Considered a flop upon it's initial release, The King of Comedy has developed a cult following in recent years and with good cause. Robert De Niro's depiction of an imbalanced, aspiring comedian looking for fame and notoriety to overcompensate for the shortcomings in his personal life paints a prophetic portrait of America's obsession with fame and the cult of celebrity that's only grown in the years since this film's release. It was way ahead of it's time and seeing the basic outline re-contextualized in 2019's Joker only solidifies how prescient the dark comedy remains to this day. De Niro is exceptional as always in the leading role but it's Jerry Lewis' performance as the all-too-convincing embittered late night show host who's grown to resent his fame that really sells this film for me and also makes me wish we could have seen Lewis take on more dramatic roles like this later in his career.
#4. Bringing Out The Dead
23 years after screenwriter Paul Schrader and Martin Scorsese took you on a drive through the seedy underbelly of New York City on a late night taxi ride, the creative forces re-teamed in a similar setting, this time focusing their narrative around a melancholic paramedic haunting the midnight hours of NYC in search of healing not only his patients but himself. Nicolas Cage delivers one of the finest performances of his career in this pitch black comedy about trying to find peace within yourself while navigating the toxic environmental influences all around you. 1999 was an insane year for movies (some consider it one of the greatest ever) so it's easy to see why this was overlooked at the time but I'd argue it holds up much better than most of the Oscar contenders it was overshadowed by. And the entire supporting cast is top notch, serving as different guides for Cage's journey for clarity. From Patricia Arquette's role as the damaged love interest / drug fiend to Ving Rhames portrayal as the overzealous religious womanizer to the apathetic John Goodman and finally the rage-filled maniac Tom Sizemore. It's a beautiful film and one that deserves to be revisited.
#3. Mean Streets
Scorsese's first gangster epic established a blueprint for what was to come with Goodfellas, in more of a coming-of-age tragedy. It's a little rough around the edges but honestly, that's kind of what I love most about it. It's like seeing the Rolling Stones in a dive bar with 14 people before they exploded into packed stadium tours. But Mean Streets is more than just another gangster movie, as it also grapples with Scorsese's views on morality; applying classical religious themes to the gritty real-world setting of 1970's New York. And with the voice over narration of Harvey Keitel paired with the rare screenwriting credit attributed to Scorsese himself (he's often quoted as saying he doesn't consider himself a writer, unable to create stories out of thin air), this feels like one of his most personal films he's made and gives you a more candid look at the formative philosophies that make up the stylistic voice of one of our most gifted filmmakers. Mean Streets feels like it is to Scorsese what The Fablemans is to Spielberg, but way less saccharine. Oh and I absolutely love the sequence with Harvey Keitel getting hammered as he has a camera strapped to him, it's phenomenal.
#2. Taxi Driver
Robert De Niro may have snagged an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in The Godfather Part II but it was Taxi Driver that established him as the generational talent he later would become. His role here as Travis Bickle is both heartbreakingly lonely and horrifically unhinged, exhibiting the extraordinary range De Niro possesses as a leading man and an ability to draw empathy from the audience in even the most erratic of characters. A hopeless romantic searching the dreamlike New York City streets for a sense of purpose while plotting the demise of an aspiring local politician, Taxi Driver takes you on a wild ride of emotions and explores the psyche of a fascinating character in such a personalized vehicle that it has transcended through the generations. But aside from De Niro, Bernard Herman's ethereal score and Scorsese's surreal vision make this one of the most sensational portrayals of late night New York City you'll find anywhere captured on film. And while it's number 2 on the list, it may in actuality be my favorite film of Scorsese's. But it's splitting hairs. They're two of the ten best movies ever made, which not many other directors can make a claim to...
#1. Goodfellas
...Which leaves us with Goodfellas sitting at the top. Taxi Driver may pack more emotional punches but Goodfellas is one of the most well executed films ever made. The impeccable camera work in the single take shot that follows Ray Liotta from outside the club, through the kitchen, to his seat at the head table. The frantic intensity of Liotta's paranoid last day running drugs, watching the skies for helicopters while almost rear-ending a car in traffic in between picking up his cousin, trying to sell some guns and visiting his mistress to procure some coke. The unhinged insanity that is Joe Pesci. The rise and fall of an underground kingpin who ends up selling out the friends of his youth to save his own ass and live out his latter years as a schmuck in the suburbs. It's damn near perfect. Everything about it is phenomenal. When you set out to make a gangster film, comparisons to some of the best films ever made are sure to follow. And yet with Goodfellas, Scorsese's knack for personality fueled storytelling not only met those Godfather-sized expectations, but surpassed them. Scorsese already had a brilliant career up to this point but when he released Goodfellas, his masterpiece, it cemented his place as one of the greatest of all time and reignited a career many wrote off after a series of lesser outings in the 80s. But, little did they know, he was only getting started.