KING OF COMEDY has to be on the list. I’d definitely rank TAXI DRIVER over THE DEPARTED, which I probably wouldn’t even put in the top five. Scorsese has a lot of great movies that unfortunately very few people have ever seen. His range is much more diverse than most people give him credit for, but commercial concerns have driven him into a bit of a crime-drama box.
1. Goodfellas
2. Taxi Driver
3. King of Comedy
4. Raging Bull
5. Color of Money
and 5th place is a tie among the great but ultimately flawed films: Kundun, Age of Innocence, The Aviator, King of Comedy (sorry Brian), Mean Streets and Casino.
Brian, if I had to pick my favorite of the laundry list, it would be Age of Innocence, which I thought was a visual masterpiece (although it left a lot of audiences cold). I loved Kundun but thought it was weak overall, and similarly thought The Aviator was a noble effort but hampered by a weak script.
Directing the all time greatest acting performance – Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York – ought to at least get that film into the top 5.
Comment by Eric Russell — March 21, 2007 @ 2:30 pm
Sorry, the correct answer is:
1. Taxi Driver
2. Goodfellas
3. Age of Innocence
4. Raging Bull
5. The Last Temptation of Christ
Eric - But “Gangs of New York” was a complete mess. Did you really think it was any good? Personally, I think Day-Lewis is a great actor, but that performance (and much of the movie itself) was so amazingly over-the-top that I’d have a hard time even calling it good.
I saw “The Age of Innocence” on my first date with my wife, so that would have to be my favorite Scorsese film, even though I don’t actually remember that much about it.
I would have had the Departed as my #1 until the last 20 minutes or so when Sorcese said “!*%#@ it”, and ended it the way he did. It left me thinking, well what was the point then? Otherwise though, a great movie. I hadn’t been that entertained by a movie in a while.
I think Goodfellas is a tad overrated. And the fact that it is played constantly on the Lifetime network doesn’t bode well for it.
Gangs of New York was incredibly boring. Huge disappointment.
I liked Taxi Driver but don’t think it’s aged that well. Raging Bull is excellent. Casino wasn’t very good at all.
Looks like I need to see Kundun. I also should probably rewatch the Age of Innocence–it’s been awhile.
Tim, Kundun is visually stunning and a treat for the eyes and ears - but it’s light on plot and dialogue, being basically an hommage to the Dalai Lama. But it’s fun stuff.
I’ll be controversial and give my preferences but not what most will agree with. I haven’t seen the Departed yet so I can’t comment on that one.
1. Age of Innocence
2. Goodfellas
3. Raging Bull (although its been so long I can’t remember it well)
4. After Hours (yes, I know, that’ll be the controversial one)
5. Cape Fear (yeah, not his best, but like others I find Taxi Driver overrated and just can’t put Kundun up there)
BTW - I also like the Color of Money which a lot of people will hate me for. Not on par by any means to his great work let alone The Hustler which it is a sequel to. But I still love it.
“but commercial concerns have driven him into a bit of a crime-drama box.”
I don’t think that’s true. He has done a lot - both Gangs and Casino after Goodfellas. Casino, to me, was largely a repeat of Goodfellas. He should have used different actors (IMO). Fairly unoriginal. Gangs simply had a very bad script that was a mess with too many themes to work. I haven’t seen the Departed so I can’t comment there.
Ditto with The Aviator.
What’s more interesting is how many of his films take up other films. Color of Money, Cape Fear, The Departed even arguably Goodfellas, Age of Innocence and Raging Bull.
There are a lot of parallels between Tarantino and Scorsese in that regard. Although Scorsese has done more outright overt connections between films. And of course Tarantino’s influence is more bad B films rather than classics.
I’m not sure how you’re refuting my point. Scorsese returns to the crime drama because those are the films that make money for him and that studios will finance. In spite of his great critical reputation he’s never been that commercially successful as a filmmaker. THE DEPARTED is the most profitable film he’s ever made. If you checked box office returns I think there’d be a pretty solid correlation between the crime dramas and the amount of the returns. That’s why it’s taken him decades to set up some projects like LAST TEMPTATION and GANGS. He’s publically asserted that he does one film for them (the studios) and one film for himself, and has summed up the history of American cinema as being dominated by the collision between art and commerce–something I think he’s felt acutely in his career.
I’m glad to see The Age of Innocence on a lot of lists. It seems like whenever I hear it mentioned something negative is said about it, which I’ve never understood. I thought it was excellent.
I’m a bit surprised that The Last Temptation of Christ hasn’t been mentioned. Is it any good?
Brian G, I’ve wondered if Scorsese might’ve been disappointed that his Oscar came for The Departed and not one of his labors of love.
1) Raging Bull
2) Goodfellas
3) Taxi Driver
4) Mean Streets
5) The Last Temptation of Christ
I love a lot of Scorsese’s films of the 1990s and 2000s. But these five just dominate. In fact, there are one or two others from the 1970s that probably beat the 2000s films.
1. Raging Bull (possibly the greatest movie made in the 80s)
2. Mean Streets (still resonant)
3. GoodFellas (wonderful, fun and terrifying, simultaneously)
4. Taxi Driver (certainly directed well, with a great score)
5. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (terrific “genre” movie)
Bottom Five
5. The Aviator (pretentious and bloated except for Cate Blanchett and a little bit from Alec Baldwin)
4. Gangs of New York (incoherent mess, poorly designed and written)
3. Casino (anything with Sharon Stone is by definition a mistake)
2. Cape Fear (a remake far worse than the original)
1. New York, New York (sadly, his only “musical,” something he never tried again, for good reason)
By the way, I enjoyed The Departed very much, and I was glad to see it win the Oscar over far weaker things like The Queen and Little Miss Sunshine!
My big problem with The Departed, which was written and directed very expertly, is that I felt then and I feel now that I’ve seen it before, quite a few times.
There was a movie in the 80s called Internal Affairs, with Richard Gere and Andy Garcia, which is quite similar. Also, another movie of the 80s, No Way Out, stars Kevin Costner as a Naval officer who must investigate himself as a possible suspect. Then there’s L.A. Confidential, with that “noir” context, which is really very similar to The Departed. And finally, The Departed is an actual remake of a Hong Kong series called InFernal Affairs.
It just isn’t a very original idea, but well-done for what it was.
I can only rate the ones I’ve seen.
1. Goodfellas
2. Taxi Driver
3. Kundun
4. Cape Fear
5. The Aviator
That’s all I’ve seen by him.
Comment by Dan — March 21, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
KING OF COMEDY has to be on the list. I’d definitely rank TAXI DRIVER over THE DEPARTED, which I probably wouldn’t even put in the top five. Scorsese has a lot of great movies that unfortunately very few people have ever seen. His range is much more diverse than most people give him credit for, but commercial concerns have driven him into a bit of a crime-drama box.
1. Goodfellas
2. Taxi Driver
3. King of Comedy
4. Raging Bull
5. Color of Money
Comment by Brian G — March 21, 2007 @ 1:39 pm
Cape Fear????????
meh
Comment by HP — March 21, 2007 @ 1:45 pm
I’ve seen these ones:
1) Goodfellas
2) The Age of Innocence
3) The King of Comedy
4) The Departed
5) Kundun
6) Taxi Driver
7) The Aviator
Comment by Tom — March 21, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
What HP said — Cape Fear?????
Here’s the real list:
1. Taxi Driver
2. Goodfellas
3. The Departed
4. Raging Bull
and 5th place is a tie among the great but ultimately flawed films: Kundun, Age of Innocence, The Aviator, King of Comedy (sorry Brian), Mean Streets and Casino.
Comment by Supergenius — March 21, 2007 @ 1:59 pm
That was a total copout, SG. A laundry list instead of a 5th place?
I would definitely put THE DEPARTED in the great but flawed category.
Comment by Brian G — March 21, 2007 @ 2:08 pm
And CASINO wasn’t great by any stretch of the imagination. It was like GOODFELLAS leftovers rehashed and served cold.
Comment by Brian G — March 21, 2007 @ 2:09 pm
Brian, if I had to pick my favorite of the laundry list, it would be Age of Innocence, which I thought was a visual masterpiece (although it left a lot of audiences cold). I loved Kundun but thought it was weak overall, and similarly thought The Aviator was a noble effort but hampered by a weak script.
Comment by Supergenius — March 21, 2007 @ 2:11 pm
Directing the all time greatest acting performance – Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York – ought to at least get that film into the top 5.
Comment by Eric Russell — March 21, 2007 @ 2:30 pm
Sorry, the correct answer is:
1. Taxi Driver
2. Goodfellas
3. Age of Innocence
4. Raging Bull
5. The Last Temptation of Christ
Comment by Greg — March 21, 2007 @ 2:36 pm
Eric - But “Gangs of New York” was a complete mess. Did you really think it was any good? Personally, I think Day-Lewis is a great actor, but that performance (and much of the movie itself) was so amazingly over-the-top that I’d have a hard time even calling it good.
I saw “The Age of Innocence” on my first date with my wife, so that would have to be my favorite Scorsese film, even though I don’t actually remember that much about it.
Comment by BTD Greg — March 21, 2007 @ 2:43 pm
I would have had the Departed as my #1 until the last 20 minutes or so when Sorcese said “!*%#@ it”, and ended it the way he did. It left me thinking, well what was the point then? Otherwise though, a great movie. I hadn’t been that entertained by a movie in a while.
I think Goodfellas is a tad overrated. And the fact that it is played constantly on the Lifetime network doesn’t bode well for it.
Gangs of New York was incredibly boring. Huge disappointment.
I liked Taxi Driver but don’t think it’s aged that well. Raging Bull is excellent. Casino wasn’t very good at all.
Looks like I need to see Kundun. I also should probably rewatch the Age of Innocence–it’s been awhile.
Comment by Tim J — March 21, 2007 @ 2:54 pm
Tim, Kundun is visually stunning and a treat for the eyes and ears - but it’s light on plot and dialogue, being basically an hommage to the Dalai Lama. But it’s fun stuff.
Comment by Supergenius — March 21, 2007 @ 2:59 pm
I’ll be controversial and give my preferences but not what most will agree with. I haven’t seen the Departed yet so I can’t comment on that one.
1. Age of Innocence
2. Goodfellas
3. Raging Bull (although its been so long I can’t remember it well)
4. After Hours (yes, I know, that’ll be the controversial one)
5. Cape Fear (yeah, not his best, but like others I find Taxi Driver overrated and just can’t put Kundun up there)
Comment by Clark — March 21, 2007 @ 3:05 pm
BTW - I also like the Color of Money which a lot of people will hate me for. Not on par by any means to his great work let alone The Hustler which it is a sequel to. But I still love it.
Comment by Clark — March 21, 2007 @ 3:06 pm
“but commercial concerns have driven him into a bit of a crime-drama box.”
I don’t think that’s true. He has done a lot - both Gangs and Casino after Goodfellas. Casino, to me, was largely a repeat of Goodfellas. He should have used different actors (IMO). Fairly unoriginal. Gangs simply had a very bad script that was a mess with too many themes to work. I haven’t seen the Departed so I can’t comment there.
Ditto with The Aviator.
What’s more interesting is how many of his films take up other films. Color of Money, Cape Fear, The Departed even arguably Goodfellas, Age of Innocence and Raging Bull.
There are a lot of parallels between Tarantino and Scorsese in that regard. Although Scorsese has done more outright overt connections between films. And of course Tarantino’s influence is more bad B films rather than classics.
Comment by Clark — March 21, 2007 @ 3:16 pm
I forgot about Color of Money. I saw it years ago and remember thinking I liked it–but of course this was before Tom Cruise went crazy.
Comment by Tim J — March 21, 2007 @ 3:24 pm
Am I the only person here who’s seen Mean Streets?
1. Taxi Driver
2. Goodfellas
3. Mean Streets
4. Raging Bull
5. Italianamerican
Keep in mind the first 4 are within micromillimeters of one another and can change at any time.
Comment by Brian V — March 21, 2007 @ 4:04 pm
Clark,
I’m not sure how you’re refuting my point. Scorsese returns to the crime drama because those are the films that make money for him and that studios will finance. In spite of his great critical reputation he’s never been that commercially successful as a filmmaker. THE DEPARTED is the most profitable film he’s ever made. If you checked box office returns I think there’d be a pretty solid correlation between the crime dramas and the amount of the returns. That’s why it’s taken him decades to set up some projects like LAST TEMPTATION and GANGS. He’s publically asserted that he does one film for them (the studios) and one film for himself, and has summed up the history of American cinema as being dominated by the collision between art and commerce–something I think he’s felt acutely in his career.
Comment by Brian G — March 21, 2007 @ 4:14 pm
I’m glad to see The Age of Innocence on a lot of lists. It seems like whenever I hear it mentioned something negative is said about it, which I’ve never understood. I thought it was excellent.
I’m a bit surprised that The Last Temptation of Christ hasn’t been mentioned. Is it any good?
Brian G, I’ve wondered if Scorsese might’ve been disappointed that his Oscar came for The Departed and not one of his labors of love.
Comment by Tom — March 21, 2007 @ 4:29 pm
1) Raging Bull
2) Goodfellas
3) Taxi Driver
4) Mean Streets
5) The Last Temptation of Christ
I love a lot of Scorsese’s films of the 1990s and 2000s. But these five just dominate. In fact, there are one or two others from the 1970s that probably beat the 2000s films.
Comment by RoastedTomatoes — March 21, 2007 @ 5:16 pm
We’re talking movies he directed, right? I’ve only seen a handful. My favorite has always been:
1. After Hours
Used to watch that movie over and over and over again. We still laugh about it today. In fact just the other day my husband said, “Mom, Mom! It’s me!”
Comment by Susan M — March 21, 2007 @ 7:33 pm
Susan, I’m glad I’m not the only one who loved After Hours.
Comment by clark — March 21, 2007 @ 9:21 pm
I like After Hours too. It’s a good film, although I’m not positive it’s top 5.
This is how it really goes:
1. Taxi Driver
2. King of Comedy
3. Mean Streets
4. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
5. Goodfellas
Comment by meems — March 21, 2007 @ 10:01 pm
I like After Hours too, but not enough to put it in the Top 5.
Comment by Brian V — March 22, 2007 @ 4:02 am
The only other Scorsese films I’ve seen are Goodfellas, Kundun, and the Last Temptation of Christ. Don’t remember hardly anything from any of them.
“Who made these knots? Is this guy a sailor?”
Comment by Susan M — March 22, 2007 @ 8:45 am
Top Five
1. Raging Bull (possibly the greatest movie made in the 80s)
2. Mean Streets (still resonant)
3. GoodFellas (wonderful, fun and terrifying, simultaneously)
4. Taxi Driver (certainly directed well, with a great score)
5. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (terrific “genre” movie)
Bottom Five
5. The Aviator (pretentious and bloated except for Cate Blanchett and a little bit from Alec Baldwin)
4. Gangs of New York (incoherent mess, poorly designed and written)
3. Casino (anything with Sharon Stone is by definition a mistake)
2. Cape Fear (a remake far worse than the original)
1. New York, New York (sadly, his only “musical,” something he never tried again, for good reason)
Comment by D. Fletcher — March 26, 2007 @ 1:10 pm
By the way, I enjoyed The Departed very much, and I was glad to see it win the Oscar over far weaker things like The Queen and Little Miss Sunshine!
My big problem with The Departed, which was written and directed very expertly, is that I felt then and I feel now that I’ve seen it before, quite a few times.
There was a movie in the 80s called Internal Affairs, with Richard Gere and Andy Garcia, which is quite similar. Also, another movie of the 80s, No Way Out, stars Kevin Costner as a Naval officer who must investigate himself as a possible suspect. Then there’s L.A. Confidential, with that “noir” context, which is really very similar to The Departed. And finally, The Departed is an actual remake of a Hong Kong series called InFernal Affairs.
It just isn’t a very original idea, but well-done for what it was.
Comment by D. Fletcher — March 26, 2007 @ 1:17 pm
D.: “anything with Sharon Stone is by definition a mistake”
D., surely you can’t mean this to include Catwoman!
Comment by Supergenius — March 26, 2007 @ 1:38 pm