Martin Scorsese: Ranking His Movies From Worst To Best

21. Bringing Out The Dead

Martin Scorsese hasn't experienced many bombs at the box office, but his movie Bringing Out The Dead, released on the cusp of the new millennium, performed very poorly in cinemas and consequently is one of his most overlooked films. Starring Nicolas Cage as paramedic Frank Pierce, it is a nocturnal movie in which the constant rushing of ambulances leads the audience to one sordid, bleak scenario after another. Frank is a man teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown, and each of his co-workers throughout the film (played by John Goodman, Ving Rhames and Tom Sizemore) seem to bring out his world-weary feelings of resignation and despair. Cage's performance seen today is another reminder of how good he used to be (notwithstanding his recent semi-return to form, Joe) and Scorsese's direction is exemplary, but there's something missing in Bringing Out The Dead, its bleakness and lack of depth reducing it to one of his lesser works.