Director Poll: Favorite Martin Scorsese Film

Have to limit selections, hopefully I don't miss your fave. Sorry Irishman. Name it if I missed it!

Pick your fave!

Feel free to list ideas for other threads here

 

Seeing them all listed out, I think I’d actually go with The Irishman now. For this poll, I’ll say Goodfellas.

 

if we’re going purely *favorite*, it’s color of money for me. goodfellas is pretty clearly his best.

 

Of these, #1 is wolf

 

Taxi Driver is close but I think Wolf of Wall Street takes it for me.

 

I don’t think he has a clear #1. He has like 5-7 in that tier, then another few in a tier just slightly below it. Last Temptation of Christ is probably my favorite, few films achieve that kind of magic in the final moments. Taxi Driver opened my world up and holds up so fucking strongly. Wolf and the Irishman are serious contenders. Raging Bull is a masterpiece. Goodfellas is an obvious candidate. King of Comedy and Age of Innocence might round out my top tier.

 

Wait what?

 

I have a 1 and a 1A. If I was making a list or recommending films to someone, the pick would be Raging Bull. It is one of the most powerful "biopics" ever made, and it is synonymous with method acting for a reason. Scorsese strips away all of the glamour of boxing and shows the connections between brutality at work and how it leads to brutality in the rest of your life. It also goes into our own inner demons and our inability to behave in the ways we want. While he loves his brother and wife and knows the destruction he causes in his behavior, he is unable to break free of that rage that he has learned to use to such strength in the boxing world.

My 1A, however, is the King of Comedy. Scorsese is so famous for his portrayals of performative masculinity that it can be disarming to see a man who is so clearly emasculated in his own life.

I do have a dark horse, and the thing that keeps me from crowning it is time: The Irishman. It is a stunning deconstruction of his earlier work, which was harshly critical of organized crime but was mistakenly idolized by every pizzeria and Bensonhurst wannabe. He rubs our face in it, up until the end, where we have to admit that dying alone might be even worse than what Sheeran dealt out to so many others.

 

Goodfellas will always be my answer, but Taxi Driver, King of Comedy and Raging Bull are all perfect films as well. Irishman and Wolf I need to spend more time with.

 

The Wolf of Wall Street is great, but it follows the beats of Goodfellas so closely that it could never be ranked higher.

 

Had to go goodfellas

 

Casino. Always my go to

 

Goodfellas is arguably the greatest American film of all time so it's an easy pick here.

I will say, I know The Irishman is less than 2 years old but it should be up there instead of The Aviator for sure.

 

It's between Goodfellas, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull for me. Probably go with GF.

 

Goodfellas, but The Departed might be my favorite movie

 

Goodfellas for me. Daniel Day Lewis in Gangs of New York absolutely rules though

 

Of the essentials, I am still missing Last Temptation
Of the lesser essentials, I am still missing Color of Money, Cape Fear, Age of Innocence, Bringing Out the Dead, and Silence
Of the others I am missing his early stuff, Kundun, Gangs (I turned it off because it started off pretty bad), Aviator, Shutter Island and Hugo

 

Does the early stuff you are missing include Mean Streets? It is a lot better than most of your "lesser essentials".

 

No, I count that as one of his best, if not a level right under his best. Boxcar Bertha, Knocking and Alice are what I mean

 

Don’t really care for Gangs but DDL sure is great so it makes it worth a watch.

 

I'll go:
Goodfellas
Taxi Driver
Raging Bull
King of Comedy (I am due for a rewatch)
The Irishman
--
After Hours
Mean Streets
--
Wolf of Wall Street
Casino
--
The Last Waltz (I can't really compare with the ones above tbh)
--
The Departed

 

Scorsese has so many greats that we should do top tens.

1. Raging Bull
2. The King of Comedy
3. The Irishman
4. Taxi Driver
5. Goodfellas
6. Mean Streets
7. The Wolf of Wall Street
8. Silence
9. The Last Temptation of Christ
10. The Departed

I owe The Age of Innocence another viewing.

 

UGH IT'S SO HARD

Goodfellas
Raging Bull
The King of Comedy
Taxi Driver
The Irishman
After Hours
The Wolf of Wall Street
Casino
Mean Streets
The Departed

Overdue for a Silence rewatch.

Still need to see: The Color of Money, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Age of Innocence, Who's That Knocking On My Door, Boxcar Bertha, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Cape Fear, Hugo

 

Departed is the only one of his that I've kinda soured on over time. Some great moments, but I feel like it's been Boondock Saints'ed