With “The Irishman” currently in limited release, and dropping on Netflix later this month, let’s look back on one of Hollywood’s most legendary director’s work since the turn of the millennia.
#1 — “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Scorsese’s most recent collaboration with DiCaprio has become a career-defining performance for the actor. Rude, crass, wild, you name it, and with a live-wire of a central performance steering it, there are many who would argue this is Scorsese’s most outright entertaining and enjoyable film. Following the story of stock-broker turned millionaire Jordan Belfort, and his run-ins with crime and corruption this comedic crime drama/biopic is a three-hour ball of energy. Its endless mayhem makes it feel as if you’re attached to a drip that supplies only pure caffeine. insatiable from start to finish, its over the top brashness comes across as self-aware and crafted to within an inch of its life by Scorsese. It may be the Scorsese of the last 20 years that demands the most rematches, just as it demands your undivided attention.
#2 — “The Departed”
The ultimate game of cat and mouse. Though who is always up for debate throughout the epic that finally won Scorsese an Oscar for best director. With career-best, or near best performances from its leads in the form of DiCaprio and Matt Damon as an undercover cop and a mole in the police as they attempt to identify one another, this story of betrayal, greed, power, and deceit is bound together by the deliciously vicious performance from the great Jack Nicholson as mob boss Frank Costello. Mysterious, twist-laden, gripping, un-trustworthy, this has it all. As epic as epic gets.
#3 — “The Irishman”
Scorsese’s latest venture into the genre that he owns feels different from any other crime epic that’s come before. Following Robert De Niro’s Frank Sheeran, a former mob-hitman as he recounts his involvement in the disappearance of maverick union leader Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) this is far more intricate and stripped back than anything Scorsese has done before in this genre. Operating like an almost intrinsic examination of his career, the film is anchored by a subtle, measured DeNiro, a live-wire, electric Pacino, and a haunting, deadly Joe Pesci. Chilled to the bone, “The Irishman’ operates like it has ice in its veins, never losing its composure, whilst its pacing (and credit must go to Scorsese’s long-time editor Thelma Schoonmaker) makes it feel much shorter than most on this list, even though it stands at a whopping three and a half hours long.
#4 — “The Aviator”
An underrated effort, and not one whose story really lends to the generating of huge excitement. This film usually finds itself drowned out by the noise made by Scorsese’s usual crime epics. “The Aviator” follows the story of aviation pioneer and director Howard Hughes and is one of two on this list carried almost in its entirety by DiCaprio. In fact, his portrayal of Hughes, as well as being gloriously charismatic, is also devasting and touching as the film explores Hughes’ struggles with severe OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). It would land DiCaprio his first leading actor Oscar nomination.
#5 — “Shutter Island”
Divisive amongst critics but widely seen. In fact, this psychological thriller in which a U.S Marshal and his partner investigate the disappearance of a murderer who escaped a hospital for the criminally insane is the lowest scored amongst the films of on this list (63 Metascore) but no doubt one any casual Movie fan would pick out in a line-up of Scorsese flicks. In full ‘muse’ territory now, Scorsese and DiCaprio teamed up yet again for a thriller designed to leave your head in a spin. Although labeled a ‘long slog’ by some, Scorsese’s take on Dennis Lehane’s novel has sparked a wave of think pieces since its 2010 release, mostly due to its meaningfully ambiguous finale, one almost akin to Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” and its final shot. The enjoyable nature of “Shutter Island” is the less dense and possibly more accessible story to others in his catalog. It floats through not only on performances from the likes of DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Ben Kingsley but also on its ability to drip feed the right amount of information, be it true or false as the film unfolds. If this list was about the mass-appeal of Scorsese’s recent pictures, then “Shutter Island” would probably find itself beaten by only “The Wolf of Wall Street”.
#6 — “Silence”
Widely unseen, having grossed just over $20M worldwide, “Silence” is Scorsese’s self-proclaimed passion project. Having pushed for almost half a century to get it to the screen, the film (made twice before in 1971 and 1994) follows Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver as they team up as two Jesuit priests who are sent on a mission to hostile Japan retrieve their mentor (Liam Neeson). Its massively dense subject matter can be off-putting to some, especially when coupled with its 160 minutes run time, but regardless of that, and the films at times ill-fated attempts to stretch its story to fill the time, its anchoring powerhouse performances from Garfield and Driver steer this tale of belief, whilst the story encourages its audiences to question themselves just as its protagonists do on screen. Not for everyone, granted, but one that haunts you with great sadness at its end.
#7 — “Gangs of New York”
A rare Scorsese that at times feels as long as its near three-hour run time. Failing to match the supreme pacing of his later films in this period. Scorsese’s first of the new Millenia was also the first time he partnered with the man who appears in five films on this list, Leonardo DiCaprio. However, it’s Daniel Day-Lewis and his Oscar-nominated turn as 19th-century gang leader Bill ‘the butcher’ that carries this period gangster thriller inspired by the writings of Herbert Asbury.
#8 — “Hugo”
Aesthetically beautiful but lacking in the compelling storytelling of any top-tier Scorsese. Following Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) as he embarks on a mysterious quest involving his father’s disappearance and old automation, the film works mostly on a level of homage to the beauty of cinema. From the sound to the style to the glorious sets it is a feast for the eyes, but its shortcomings see it rooted to the foot of his work since 2000. “Hugo” also represents the biggest flop of Scorsese’s career, as, despite 11 Oscar nominations, the film grossed just $185M off a near $170M budget.
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