Martin Scorsese’s earliest work as a director dates back to the 1960s, but it was the 1970s when he started to make a name for himself as far as feature films went. Since then, he’s been prolific in every decade, not to mention surprisingly consistent. Though he entered the 21st century at almost 60 years old, he nevertheless showed age was not slowing him down, and made some ofhis best films after the year 2000.
But to go back a little from there, the 1990s was also a fruitful decade for the famed director, and one where, yes, there were some crime films, but also a romance movie, historical films, a couple of dark thrillers, and some documentaries, too.The following eight movies comprise all the feature-length films and documentaries of his that were released between 1990 and 1999, and are ranked below, starting with the good and ending with the great.
8’Kundun' (1997)
Stars: Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, Tencho Gyalpo, Tsewang Migyur Khangsar
A somewhat overlooked film withinMartin Scorsese’s extensive body of work,Kundunsees the filmmaker at his most spiritual, albeit not crafting something quite as interesting as, say,The Last Temptation of ChristorSilence. It’s a film about Buddhism and the 14th Dalai Lama, covering a couple of decades in his life around the mid-point of the 20th century.
Kundunis an example of Scorsesetaking on a biographical storyand doing a decent enough job of bringing it to life on screen. It’s a movie that feels static and not consistently involving, but the craft on offer is enough to make it worthwhile.It’s a well-presented, well-shot, and pretty well-acted film, for the most part, but it’s just lacking that extra something to push it outside the realm of decent and further toward an area that could be considered great.
Buy on Amazon
7’My Voyage to Italy' (1999)
Hosted by: Martin Scorsese
My Voyage to Italyis one of two feature-length documentaries about cinema that Martin Scorsese made during the 1990s, although both are double the length of most films, coming in at about four hours each. Ordinarily, the idea of hearing someone talk about movies for four hours might sound exhausting at best and super boring at worst, but Scorsese is no ordinary film enthusiast.
The guy undeniably knows his stuff, and the way hegoes over the history of Italian cinema within this documentary, adding personal anecdotes, analysis, and factual information… it’s all rather riveting. You might need a passing interest in old Italian movies to find it riveting, admittedly, but anyone even mildly curious ought to checkMy Voyage to Italyout. It doesn’t have to be watched in one sitting, but it’s a valuable and informative watch, andone of Scorsese’s best documentaries to date.
6’Cape Fear' (1991)
Stars: Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange
Frequent Scorsese collaboratorRobert De Nirois great at playing villains, and he gets to play a tremendously monstrous one inCape Fear. It’s a remake of theGregory Peckfilm of the same name(he shows up here briefly, too), following the terrifying experience a family goes through after a man is released from prison, and begins tormenting them, blaming the patriarch of the family for his sentence.
It keeps the tension high throughout, and even if it doesn’t have a ton to chew on beyond the thrills it offers, at least those thrills are frequent, and the film is overall undeniably visceral.Both Scorsese and De Niro are being showy as director and actor, respectively, but they make it work, and their efforts ensureCape Fearcan stand tall as another very good Scorsese movie… but several other films the director did in the 1990s are arguably even better.
Rent on Apple TV
5’Casino' (1995)
Stars: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci
A gangster epic thatstars two of Martin Scorsese’s favorite collaborators,Casinosees Scorsese operating in somewhat familiar territory, but doing so with such style and intensity that it’s hard to get too angry. The story here takes place during the 1970s and 1980s, and takes a look at how the mob, through owning various casinos, essentially ran Las Vegas for a number of years.
With that reign came a great deal of criminal activity, threats, and violence, of course, withCasinopulling no punches in showing the viciousness of being involved in a life of crime (or getting wrapped up with gangsters).It’s bleak stuff, much of the time, and also sustains that bleakness for an extensive runtime of almost three hours. It’s not the easiest of watches, but it achieves what it set out to do, and undoubtedly succeeds at leaving a mark.
Watch on Starz
4’A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies' (1995)
Directors: Martin Scorsese, Michael Henry Wilson
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Moviesis exactly what you’d expect it to be from that helpfully comprehensive title. It does for old American films whatMy Voyage to Italydid for Italian cinema, and has a comparable runtime and style to that documentary (though it should be noted, this one has a co-director alongside Scorsese:Michael Henry Wilson).
For close to four hours,A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movieshas Scorsese narrating an overview of cinema across decades, starting with silent films and ending around the 1970s (when, as mentioned before, Scorsese started gaining true recognition as a director). It might well be there’s even more to cover here, compared toMy Voyage to Italy,whichensures it’s even better a documentary, though both are ultimately essential for fans of classic movies.
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman
Nicolas Cagecan do just about anything, and hasproven himself well-suited to anxious and terrifying filmsmany times in the past. ThoughBringing Out the Deadcan’t quite be called a work of horror,it’s about as unnerving as a thriller can get without also qualifying as a horror film, with it delving deep into a tortured mind and not letting you, as a viewer, out until the end credits roll.
The narrative ofBringing Out the Deadis fairly straightforward, being about a paramedic having a very bad time across a series of shifts that seem destined to put him through hell and back. It’s similarly unnerving toanother Martin Scorsese thriller,After Hours, but unlike that 1985 film,Bringing Out the Deaddoesn’t offer much by way of (dark) comedy. It’s really just dark, and somewhat difficult to watch, but it’s also mesmerizing and exceptionally well-crafted.
Bringing Out the Dead
Released in 1999, Bringing Out the Dead is a crime-drama film by director Martin Scorsese. New York paramedic Frank Pierce suffers trauma after failing to save a teenager one night during an emergency call, leading to a fractured state of mind. During another emergency run, Frank discovers a dangerous drug is on the streets, which leads to a chaotic and dangerous string of three nights tied to the same narcotic.
Watch on Criterion
2’The Age of Innocence' (1993)
Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder
Anyone who assumes Martin Scorsese doesn’t have it in him to makea great romance filmought to check outThe Age of Innocence, given it’s just as good a romantic drama as most of his gangster films are within the crime genre. It also marks one of two occasions when Scorsese worked withthe greatDaniel Day-Lewis, with him playing a very different character here to the onehe played in 2002’sGangs of New York.
Still, it’s probablyMichelle PfeifferandWinona Ryderwho impress the most here, one as a woman engaged to Day-Lewis’s character, and the other someone who he actually loves/wants to be with. That breakdown might make it sound cheesy or contrived, but The Age of Innocence really isn’t. It’s nuanced and authentic, and doesn’t short-change any characters or make them seem clichéd in any way.It’s a very human, sad, and engrossing film, and a surprisingly great one within Scorsese’s filmography.
The Age of Innocence
Watch on Amazon
1’Goodfellas' (1990)
Stars: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci
You knew it was coming:Goodfellasisn’t just the best Martin Scorsese movie of the 1990s, but perhaps Scorsese’s best film overall, not to mention one ofthe very best of the decade in general.It has an incredible castand tells a story about life in the mafia from a grounded perspective, with bothHenryandKaren Hillbeing outsiders, in some ways, to the mob life, making them perfect vessels through which to see that world.
Goodfellasis dizzying, sometimes very funny,packed with amazingly memorable characters, and just unbelievably lived-in, as a film. It feels alive in a way that very few movies either before or since have managed,and though it’s got a reputation for being great, it more than lives up to the hype. And having what might beJoe Pesci’s best-ever performance contained within? That doesn’t hurt, either.
