Martin Scorsese: Ranking His Movies From Worst To Best

17. The Age Of Innocence

A common thread running through Martin Scorsese's movies is his meticulous attention to period detail - we've already seen strong evidence for this with Kundun, and with The Age of Innocence he turned his hand to New York in the early 20th century. The sumptuous visuals in The Age of Innocence certainly match the opulent lifestyles of its central protagonists, including Newland Archer (Daniel Day Lewis), his respectable bride-to-be May Welland (Winona Ryder) and the fated lover Countess Ellen Olenska (played by Michelle Pfeiffer). This is a side to New York opposite to the grimy underworld and mean streets Scorsese usually mines for his intriguing explorations of violence; these are characters hemmed in and constrained by an entirely different set of circumstances. More poignant than most of his films, Scorsese would later return to an earlier era in New York and again collaborate with the always excellent Daniel Day Lewis for Gangs of New York.