Best Martin Scorsese Films — His Entire Filmography Ranked

Frank Sinatra’s hit song “New York, New York” is actually a cover of a song Liza Minnelli sings in the film of the same name. And honestly, that song’s about the only thing worth salvaging from this film. It blends together a classic musical with hard realism, which doesn’t always make for a pleasant combination. Listen to the soundtrack, but skip the movie.

Any time a character in The Departed is about to die, they’re marked with an “X.” It’s tiny details like that which really elevate a film, and this crime thriller that finally won Scorsese a Best Director Oscar is a cut above the usual gangster shoot-em-ups. It’s held up decently over the years despite the hilarity of hearing these characters pronounce “microprocessors” in thick Boston accents.

To ensure the portrayal of OCD (so often mocked in films and television) was accurate in The Aviator, Scorsese worked with Dr. Jeffrey M. Schwartz, MD at UCLA to create a more accurate portrayal. Not only was the mental illness brilliantly portrayed on screen, it led to a more dynamic performance from Leonardo DiCaprio in one of his best roles ever. It’s a different kind of Scorsese picture for sure but a welcome one.

Martin Scorsese first came across the inspiration for Gangs of New York, a 1927 book, in 1970 and had to wait 30 years to finally get it made. He was still a young director upon discovering the work, but it just goes to show what kind of impact it had on the fledgling director. It also speaks to his craft that he didn’t rush production. He envisioned an epic, and he waited until he was finally at a place in his career where he could name his price.

Scorsese proves his skills as a director with The Age of Innocence. Most people associate him with violent gangster pictures. But underneath all that, it’s clear he’s more interested in exploring how people can thrive in a world determined to strip them of their free will. 

It goes to show all aspiring filmmakers out there that you as long as you know what kind of story and themes you want to tell, you can pretty much make any genre of movie you like, even an adaptation of an Edith Wharton novel.

One of the greatest shots in Scorsese’s filmography is the opening shot of the antagonist, Max Cady. The score combined with the panning down of cut up images and books before landing on a muscular, tattooed man help tell the audience practically everything they need to know about him before he says a word. He’s imprisoned but laser-focused on some goal. Why else would he be working out with such intensity? It’s a great way to open a film and a perfect lesson in cinematography for aspiring filmmakers.

There’s a quote from Scorsese that goes, “The most personal, is the most creative.” When he was initially approached about directing Raging Bull, he didn’t want to do it because he couldn’t relate to the boxer and he wasn’t interested in sports. However, after a drug overdose, he saw the film in a new light. He realized boxing could be interpreted as anything. It took on a new light for him. It became personal to him, so he exercised a great amount of creative freedom on the film.

Silence is arguably Scorsese’s most restrained work. There are no snap-zooms or jazzy jump cuts Scorsese is known for. Instead, the film is punctuated with long, drawn out shots, an appropriate choice for a film that is a long, steady march to a final and honest thesis about what it means to be a man of God.

In some form or another, Scorsese has always been interested in American evil — the underbelly of the country that infects all of its institutions and inhabitants. Perhaps in no other film has he looked at this evil so directly as in Killers of the Flower Moon, an unflinching portrait of America’s original sin, the genocide of Native Americans. As such, Killers feels like a culmination of so much of Scorsese’s work, pulling as much from Silence as he does from Goodfellas. It’s a titanic work that ranks among the master’s best.

That criticism from John Cassavetes we wrote about earlier helped propel Scorsese to make Mean Streets, the first feature film that feels genuinely like a Scorsese picture. Sometimes, you need a few misfires to realize what kind of stories you really want to tell. It’s a good lesson for filmmakers out there who are maybe struggling.

It’s okay to make a piece of crap as long as you learn something out of the experience, and when you watch Mean Streets, you get the sense that Scorsese is no longer messing around.

Hugo had the best use of 3D ever in a film. Yes, in the aftermath of Avatar, Scorsese used technology to outstanding effect to truly put you in a state of childlike wonder, a common thread throughout the film.

Even when Scorsese is out of his normal wheelhouse in terms of content, he still finds a way to put his signature stamp on a movie and push the limits of what you can do with a children’s caper.

Robert De Niro prepared for his role in The King of Comedy by talking to some of his real-life stalkers. It allowed him to get in the mind of someone obsessed with fame and celebrities, making for one of the most memorable Scorsese protagonists ever. It also just goes to show you can prepare for a role in unique ways and researching doesn’t always have to be a chore.

“Mirror, Mirror” (1986): An episode of the 1980s TV show Amazing Stories. The episode follows a horror writer haunted by an apparition in his mirror. 

“Bad” (1987): Michael Jackson’s famous music video. 

Shine a Light (2008): A documentary concert film focused on The Rolling Stones’ 2006 performance at the Beacon Theatre. 

“Boardwalk Empire” (2010): Scorsese directed the pilot for the HBO series. 

“Pilot” for Vinyl (2016): Scorsese directed the pilot episode for HBO. 

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (2019): A pseudo-documentary film on the life of Bob Dylan. 

So now that you have some more homework to catch up on, let’s dive back into the top five Martin Scorsese films of all time.

There’s one thing Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ does better than practically any other film on Jesus. It portrays the Savior as a real human. He has foibles, and he feels like a real man. It ruffled some feathers upon its release, but to date, it’s Scorsese’s most directly contemplative film on religion to date. Most of his films deal with faith to some capacity, but The Last Temptation of Christ feels the most profound with Scorsese saying everything he wants to say about the subject matter.

The count room sequence in Casino is a brilliantly shot work of art. We follow the movement of money from the casino floor to the room, the camera not breaking away for a second. It’s kinetic as voiceover plays over, introducing us to this seedy world. It makes a scene that ordinarily could’ve been pretty boring, just guys counting money, and makes it dynamic.

It’s an indelible, disturbed opening to a movie which perfectly captures Schrader’s tortured prose.

Goodfellas is about as perfect of a film as you can get. Everything from the cinematography to the editing to the performances is brilliant. All that in an engaging story about a perversion of the American dream that still rings true to this day. It’s not just the quintessential Scorsese movie. It’s a quintessential American film you’re lucky to get once in a lifetime.