Every Martin Scorsese Movie Ranked Worst To Best

The Last Temptation of the Christ is nothing short of a reckoning, a controversial but undeniably human exploration of faith, desire, love and sacrifice. It might also be Scorsese's most personal feature, taking Jesus (a galvanising, soulful Willem Dafoe) and making him every bit as complicated and doomed as the people he died for.

Methodically constructed to make Jesus a man as well as an unimpeachable symbol of God's virtue, the historical character study is Scorsese's most enrapturing, confrontational assessment of faith, the key theme of his career. It also features his most breathtaking finale, which can never be shaken.

At the core of the story, though, transcending even Scorsese's flawless pacing and imagery, stands Willem Dafoe, in the most demanding and tortured of his roles. Dafoe captures the agony of Jesus's inevitable destiny with heartbreaking humanity, complimenting Scorsese's vision scene-for-gruelling-scene.