Having recently released the eagerly awaited Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese has been the topic of conversation in the film industry. Despite his new picture being in receipt of swathes of positive responses, questions have been raised over the film’s rewatch-ability, such is the length, and implacable intensity of it. With that in mind and with 27 films to choose from, let’s take a look at Martin Scorsese’s most rewatchable movies.
10 New York, New York (1977)
The swooning bellow of the brass instruments is often associated with Frank Sinatra. However, it’s thanks to Martin Scorsese’s 1977 picture, New York, New York, that this jazz anthem ever saw the light of day, having been composed specifically for the director’s screenplay. The musical drama starring Robert De Niro and Liza Minnelli follows the story of a talented saxophonist and singer, who, through their shared passion for music, fall in love. Of course, this is a Scorsese flick, so it isn’t all smooth-sailing, with the pair’s relationship tested to its limits by their respective successes when conquering the world of music.
What Makes It Rewatchable?
New York, New York is brought to life by the complexity of its characters, and the organically strained relationship at its heart. Despite the film occasionally dipping into incoherent confusion every now and again, this underrated ‘70s gem is tied nicely together by its legendary musical elements and wholehearted acting displays, rendering it a rewatchable lesson in love, determination, and irreconcilable personal disparities.
9 Raging Bull (1980)
Raging Bull
- Release Date
- November 14, 1980
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Cast
- Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent, Nicholas Colasanto, Theresa Saldana
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 129
- Main Genre
- Biography
It’s a little exhausting to write about Scorsese's classic cinema, even a thesaurus full of superlatives isn’t enough to describe or encapsulate, justly, the work of the little Italian-American. As the ‘70s turned into the ‘80s, Scorsese turned his filmmaking up a notch, starting off with Raging Bull, a sports biopic about the life and times of troubled world champion boxer, Jake LaMotta.
What Makes It Rewatchable?
A film that is utterly spellbinding for a plethora of reasons, but arguably why it is so rewatchable is down to the central performance of Robert De Niro, who puts in a knockout display on his way to Academy Award-winning stardom. The Heat star’s rendition of this awful human being, yet unbelievable sportsman is flawless, creating this weird antihero, who you’re unsure whether you should be rooting for or not each and every time you watch it.
Stream on Prime Video and HBO Max
8 After Hours (1985)
This 1985 black comedy is another undervalued gem enlaced in Scorsese’s decorated filmography. After Hours documents the nightmarish encounter between the protagonists, Paul Hackett (Geuffin Dunne) and Marcy Franklin (Rosanna Arquette) who go on a date of epic proportions.
What Makes It Rewatchable?
Undeniably, one of the lesser known titles in the director’s catalog, this indie, low-budget flick plays on an on-screen oxymoron as a studious, average Joe is thrown the biggest curveball of his life. This is a hyperkinetic, high-tempo triumph that gets better with every viewing as we get deeper and deeper into the unhinged sadism of downtown Manhattan.
Rent on YouTube
7 The Color of Money (1986)
The Color of Money
- Release Date
- October 7, 1986
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Cast
- Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver, John Turturro, Bill Cobbs
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 119
- Main Genre
- Drama
Tom Cruise and Paul Newman pair up in this irresistible sports drama. Having come off the back of Raging Bull with an Academy Award for Robert De Niro, the likes of Cruise and Newman surely had the gold statuette in their sights when taking on this gig. A sequel to 1961’s The Hustler, the film follows Fast Eddie Felson (Newman), who uncovers a pool-playing prodigy in Vincent (Cruise) and decides to teach him the ways of pool hustling, with the pair striking a mutually beneficial deal.
What Makes It Rewatchable?
This is a lighthearted, easygoing picture and a far departure from the heavy-hitting nature of his previous sports drama. The Color of Money pitches together two iconic actors at very disparate stages of their careers, with Paul Newman well into the twilight of his acting tenure, and Cruise only really just getting started. Solely, because of the performances of its two protagonists, The Color of Money has a certain charisma and charm to it that is brought by the seasoned experience of Newman, and the playful, showy youthfulness of Cruise, making this a movie a rewatchable joy.
Rent on YouTube
6 The Departed (2006)
The Departed
- Release Date
- October 5, 2006
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 150
- Main Genre
- Crime
A film that Martin Scorsese has confessed was inspired by the 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller, Infernal Affairs. 2006’s The Departed remains a seminal gangster-meets-cop epic. Reuniting with Leonardo DiCaprio, who stars in the titular role of undercover cop, Billy Costigan, who has been tasked with infiltrating Frank Costello’s (Jack Nicholson) criminal organization. Costigan faces a monumental race against time as he goes head-to-head with mafia mole, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) as they both try to expose and counter-attack each other before the respective criminal and federal organizations discover their true identities.
What Makes It Rewatchable?
This is an ultimate game of chess between two grandmasters. A film that, regardless of how many times it’s been viewed, provides a compelling tale of cat and mouse that always seems to throw up a surprise. The twists and turns this meandering course takes are what make it an irrefutable, timeless classic, and a thriller that David Fincher, Alfred Hitchcock, and the like would be proud of.
Stream on Sling
5 The Aviator (2004)
The Aviator
- Release Date
- December 17, 2004
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda
- Rating
- PG-13
- Runtime
- 169
- Main Genre
- Biography
A baby-faced Leonardo DiCaprio takes center stage in 2004’s biographical drama, The Aviator. Inspired by Charles Higham’s biography Howard Hughes: The Secret Life, the film details the early years of influential aviation pioneer and filmmaker, Howard Hughes (DiCaprio).
What Makes It Rewatchable?
Like many of Martin Scorsese’s pictures, The Aviator offers a comprehensive character study and delves deeply into the life, times, and psyche of one of the 20th century’s most intriguing characters. As this is another movie by the great Italian that screens for the best part of three hours and whose subject matter is such a multi-layered and composite personality, it certainly requires a number of viewings to truly get to grips with the measure of the man being explored.
Stream on Prime, Pluto, YouTube, and Paramount+
4 Casino (1995)
Casino
- Release Date
- November 22, 1995
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Cast
- Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Frank Vincent, Pasquale Cajano
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 178
- Main Genre
- Biography
Robert De Niro stars alongside Joe Pesci in this gambling-turned-mafia picture. 1995’s Casino follows the story of mafioso, Ace (Robert De Niro), who is tasked with overseeing the casino operations in Las Vegas, but trials and tribulations soon rear their ugly heads in the form of a romantic interest and friend-turned-rival, Nicky (Pesci), who is after the same prize.
What Makes It Rewatchable?
This film comes from the same gene pool as the likes of Goodfellas and The Godfather, naturally setting it up for a place on the sun-ridden banks of the River Acclaim. This is a more methodical and measured approach taken by Scorsese, who adds yet more nuance to his directorial mastery, and similar to Goodfellas, Casino is a crime-thriller that has to be watched again and again and again to truly and properly be appreciated.
Rent on Prime and YouTube
3 The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
The Wolf of Wall Street
- Release Date
- December 25, 2013
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Margot Robbie, Jonah Hill, Cristin Milioti, Jon Bernthal
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 179
- Main Genre
- Crime
It can be argued that 2013’s ode to the detestable qualities of stockbrokers is an unpalatable yarn. However, DiCaprio’s flair and riveting flamboyance on-screen are hugely redeeming qualities in a film that relies on the art of excess. Based on the semi-autobiographical novel of former Wall Street stockbroker, Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street traverses the wild terrain of the stock market in terms of both corruption and the sordid lives of those that sold the billions of dollars'-worth of shares in the 1980s and ‘90s. The movie follows Jordan Belfort’s ascent up the stock market’s ladder as a highly ambitious, albeit unscrupulous, stock market newcomer, reaching the very top, before his inevitable demise.
What Makes It Rewatchable?
A film that verbally and continuously punches you in the face with its unrelenting overindulgence in almost everything certainly requires a specific type of mood to watch it. That said, this is a story that lays bare the thriving, amoral nature of the capitalist society in which we inhabit and is an intriguing exercise in the power and ruthlessness the money-hungry can possess. Aside from making you feel financially inadequate, The Wolf of Wall Street cleverly pokes fun at this empty, hollow lifestyle while simultaneously encouraging you to watch time and (time) again for mindless amusement and a truly iconic, Oscar-worthy performance from Leonardo DiCaprio.
Stream on Netflix, Paramount+ and YouTube
2 The Irishman (2019)
The Irishman
- Release Date
- November 1, 2019
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Cast
- Jesse Plemons, Robert De Niro, Anna Paquin, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 210
- Main Genre
- Crime
When it was announced that Scorsese would be teaming up with the three wise men of the film industry in Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci again, the news was greeted with eternal glee and optimism. Released to critical acclaim in 2019, the Netflix-backed, The Irishman is a colossal chronicle of political scandal, espionage, and treacherous betrayal. Detailing the true story of Unionist, Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino), whose rise to power becomes inextricably interlinked with the Buffalino crime family, as he hires professional hitman, Frank Sheeran (De Niro) to be his chauffeur, security, and closest confidant in 1950s Pennsylvania.
What Makes It Rewatchable?
A film for the ages, The Irishman plays host to three of the finest acting talents of a generation in what may well prove to be the first and final time the three appear together in the same film. The combination of director and acting prowess on display alone is enough of a reason many will elect to watch The Irishman repeatedly over the years. Not only is the three-and-a-half-hour-long epic a sensational character study, but it is also a masterclass in how to deliver a performance with such conviction and authenticity that the performances on show will be deconstructed and analyzed by aspiring actors for years to come.
Stream on Netflix
1 Goodfellas (1990)
Goodfellas
- Release Date
- September 12, 1990
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Cast
- Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino, Frank Sivero
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 145
- Main Genre
- Biography
1990 was a busy year for Robert De Niro. The Godfather star was featured in Martin Ritt’s Stanley & Iris, as well as the critically-acclaimed, Awakenings. However, neither of them would come close to his third 1990s showing. Not only is Goodfellas considered one of the greatest gangster movies of all time, but it is also one of the top 20 films of all time, according to IMDb. Scorsese’s created somewhat of a monopoly on gangster movies over the years, and since Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather trilogy, few auteurs have managed to replicate the same level of consistency and poise that Scorsese has sustained. The book adaptation of the nonfiction novel by Nicholas Pileggi tells the story of the criminal underworld in New York City, and the Big Apple’s prolific mobsters during the 1960s. The late, great Ray Liotta appears in the titular role as Henry, an aspiring wise-guy, who decides he wants to make the precarious climb to the top of the pile of organized crime.
What Makes It the Most Rewatchable?
Goodfellas is to Scorsese what the Mona Lisa was to Leonardo da Vinci, Facebook is to Mark Zuckerberg, and the lightbulb was to Thomas Edison. The 1990 picture is Scorsese’s defining masterpiece, and debatably, his finest work to date. If that reason and that reason alone isn’t enough to make the movie rewatchable, then the stellar ensemble of Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Samuel L. Jackson definitely is. This is a movie littered with career-defining performances, a truly mesmeric finale, and the most distinctive Bronx accents you’ll ever hear.
Rent on Prime and YouTube
Comments
Post a Comment