As TheIrishman hits theaters, here's an updated ranking of all 29 of Martin Scorsese's films from worst to best
Photo: Vulture and Photos by Paramount Pictures, Miramax, Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros and Universal Pictures This article was featured in One Great Story, New York’s reading recommendation newsletter. Sign up here to get it nightly.
29. Boxcar Bertha Photo: American International Pictures Gene Siskel, who was prone to flights of moral panic about violence in movies, was disgusted with Boxcar Bertha, calling it “trashy.” Scorsese’s second movie is a little trashy, we suppose, compared to what he’d do later, but considering this is a Roger Corman production, trash is just the starting point … and what Scorsese is trying to work around.
25. New York Stories A filmmaking exercise featuring three shorts about characters in New York City by the three most accomplished American directors at the time ends up playing today like a competition between the three … and Scorsese wins rather handily. His story of a passionate, self-destructive painter whose work is fueled by romantic discord with a series of younger, tempestuous lovers feels a little problematic today. But Scorsese’s comfort with the material is self-evident.
21. Who’s That Knocking at My Door? Martin Scorsese was about to turn 25 when his debut had its world premiere at the Chicago Film Festival. Who’s That Knocking at My Door? is very much the film of a young director who’s working through his influences, trying to find his own voice. And yet, it’s pure Scorsese: Harvey Keitel plays J.R., a guy who lives to hang out with his buddies when he’s not trying to hook up.
17. The Last Temptation of Christ Photo: Universal Pictures The blasphemy heard round the world, this adaptation of the Nikos Kazantzakis novel dared to depict Jesus as a deeply human individual, filled with a preternatural kindness and humility but also tempted to abandon his holy mission and run away with Mary Magdalene .
13. After Hours In a sense, After Hours is a movie about how Martin Scorsese couldn’t get his then-dream project, The Last Temptation of Christ, off the ground. Frustrated, he decided to blow off steam by working on a down-and-dirty dark comedy about a working stiff who gets sucked into a surreal night of beautiful women, dangerous men, and weird farce. “I thought it was a whole metaphor for the way we are living and for what I went through in L.A.
9. The Irishman Photo: Netflix We never entirely bought the argument that Scorsese glamorized the mobster lifestyle. Sure, he understood that these men were charismatic and compelling, but they often met morbid fates; they rarely walked off into the sunset. That deep ambivalence toward the criminal underworld has always made his movies resonate, giving off a vicarious thrill while also humming with moral uncertainty. Lest there be any doubt, The Irishman makes it plain: Crime does not pay.
6. Casino Occasionally, a film gets unfairly penalized because it reminds viewers of an earlier, better movie from the same director. Take Casino, which was dinged because it arrived so soon on the heels of GoodFellas: What, another big portrait of organized crime with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci? The film is so good that it’s weathered those criticisms.
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