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Martin Scorsese has done it all as a filmmaker, being behind feature films, short films, and plenty of documentaries throughout a career that’s spanned decades. Focusing on his features, it is apparent that the man likes exploring stories that concern crime (usually of the organized variety), but he’s not just a director of gangster movies. His films can perhaps more accurately be described as ones that tend to explore humanity, morality, violence, and religion, often being simultaneously grounded and stylish/dynamic.
That makes it unsurprising to say that, yes, plenty of Martin Scorsese pictures get rather dark, and deal with some intense themes, characters, and stories. The following can be counted among his darkest, and are bleak enough that even some of his quite intense movies – like Goodfellas and The King of Comedy – don’t even make the cut.
10 'New York, New York' (1977)
Starring: Liza Minnelli, Robert De Niro, Lionel Stander
Image via United Artists
As early as 1973’s Mean Streets, Martin Scorsese seemed keen to explore gritty and down-to-earth stories set within New York City, and so it’s not too surprising that he did something similar in another 1970s film called New York, New York. What was surprising, however, was the fact that this film was something of a musical, combining (generally diegetic) scenes of song and dance with a grim storyline about an abusive and dysfunctional relationship.
New York, New York is about love, in a way, but it’s not exactly romantic. Liza Minnelli’s character is mistreated by Robert De Niro’s, and viewers are likely to spend the whole runtime hoping she eventually gets away from the guy. It’s not as pessimistic in the end as some other more tragic Scorsese movies, but it’s surprisingly harrowing for a Scorsese film that doesn’t have people violently murdering each other. The damage done to characters here is of a more emotional nature.
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Release Date June 21, 1977
Runtime 155 Minutes
9 'Cape Fear' (1991)
Starring: Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange
Image via Universal Pictures
Cape Fear, like New York, New York (alongside other Scorsese films) sees Robert De Niro relishing the opportunity to play a terrible person. Here, he’s particularly intimidating and violent, playing a criminal who’s recently been released from prison, and wants to seek vengeance upon the public defender who he blames for his lengthy prison sentence.
One man pursuing another in such a way is already quite a lot, but Cape Fear’s Max Cady extends his revenge quest to the members of his ex-lawyer’s family, stalking, harassing, and eventually doing harm to the lot of them. Cape Fear is persistently unnerving and thereby stands as one of Scorsese’s most thrilling movies; one that shows his dedication to eliciting strong emotions in the audience and pulling no punches when it comes to showcasing terror on screen.
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Cape Fear
Release Date November 15, 1991
Runtime 128 minutes
8 'Bringing Out the Dead' (1999)
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman
Image via Paramount Pictures
As you might expect from a movie with the word “Dead” in the title, Bringing Out the Dead is far from a cheery watch. It’s an extremely well-made psychological drama/thriller that could well be too effective in creating an atmosphere of unease and despair for some, because the whole film is relentless in its depiction of a sleep-deprived paramedic having an eventful and harrowing series of shifts.
Potentially under-seen because it’s a hard sell, Bringing Out the Dead stands as one of Scorsese’s most under-appreciated efforts overall, and it also contains what’s easily one of Nicolas Cage’s greatest-ever lead performances. The whole thing plays out like something of a fever dream at best and a full-on nightmare at worst, but there’s nothing else quite like it out there, which has to be worth something.
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Bringing Out the Dead
Release Date October 22, 1999
Runtime 121 minutes
7 'The Departed' (2006)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson
Image via Warner Bros.
Of all the Martin Scorsese films released to date, only one has won Best Picture at the Oscars: 2006’s The Departed. It might not be his very best, nor his darkest, but it is still great, and it is still pretty bleak. Much of that bleakness comes about because of how ruthlessly characters are killed off, with this being one of those rare films where no one feels truly safe.
And it has to be that way, given the whole movie sees an undercover police officer and an undercover criminal (who’s infiltrated the police) trying to figure out each other’s identity. The Departed is a movie heavy with paranoia, violence, cruelty, and suspense, but it also balances all these unpleasant feelings and themes with a fast-paced story that, though dark, can also be rather exciting and entertaining.
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The Departed
Release Date October 6, 2006
Runtime 151 minutes
6 'Silence' (2016)
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson
Image via Paramount Pictures
Religious themes appear all throughout Scorsese’s filmography, with the most religion-heavy film of his from the past decade or so being Silence. It’s an intensely psychological drama, but it also functions as something close to a historical epic, considering how much ground it covers (quite literally) and because of its lengthy runtime, which isn't too far off three hours in total.
The narrative concerns two Jesuit priests going to Japan in the 1600s, principally to find their mentor, who they believe might've disappeared somewhere in the area. There’s a clear goal narratively, but Silence does more than function as a simple “go from point A to point B” story, looking at persecution, clashing ideologies, and the way one’s seemingly unshakable faith may be challenged under particularly harrowing circumstances. It’s both brutal and brutally honest about the topic of faith, making Silence an overall powerful and harrowing watch.
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Release Date December 23, 2016
Runtime 161 Minutes
5 'Casino' (1995)
Starring: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci
Image via Universal Pictures
Retaining the style and pacing of Goodfellas (alongside some of the cast members) but making everything more nihilistic and violent, all the way stripping away a good amount of humor, Casino is pretty grim, even by gangster movie standards. There are few ways to misinterpret this one, or come away thinking that the kind of lifestyle it depicts feels cool or particularly desirable.
Taking place mostly during the 1970s, Casino depicts how the mob ruled Las Vegas for a time, largely through owning various casinos, obtaining a level of power and money that made some individuals untouchable. Of course, it all comes crashing down at a point, but the “rise” – so to speak – and the fall both prove uncomfortable, disturbing, and violent in their own ways. It’s a lot to handle for almost three hours, but stands as an impressive cinematic achievement nonetheless.
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Release Date November 22, 1995
Runtime 178 minutes
4 'Raging Bull' (1980)
Starring: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci
Image via United Artists
One of the most emotionally raw biographical films ever made, Raging Bull is all about boxer Jake LaMotta slowly destroying his life and distancing himself from the people in it. LaMotta is still presented as a human being, rather than some kind of cartoonishly evil monster, but this, in turn, kind of makes the film more alarming. De Niro, in the lead role here, captures a certain kind of aggression scarily well.
This all makes Raging Bull one of the darker sports movies out there, and a far cry from the usual sort of sports-focused movie, telling some sort of heartwarming underdog tale. It’s expertly acted and consistently despairing, and would also have to stand as one of the most difficult-to-watch films Martin Scorsese has ever directed.
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Release Date December 19, 1980
Runtime 129 minutes
3 'Taxi Driver' (1976)
Starring: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd
Image via Columbia Pictures
Taxi Driver was uncompromising and surprising in 1976, and now, almost half a century later, it can still be summarized in such a way. It’s lost little of its ability to shock and awe, boldly exploring the mind of one alienated and despondent man as he loses his already shaky grip on reality while working as a taxi driver, predominantly in the seedier parts of New York City.
It’s a challenging film, and has also been called a controversial one, but it’s purposeful and has a reason to go to the dark places it does. As such, it’s also reasonable to call Taxi Driver one of the greatest films not just of its decade, but potentially of all time, with its exploration of loneliness and violence feeling pretty much timeless.
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Release Date February 9, 1976
Runtime 114 Minutes
2 'The Irishman' (2019)
Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci
Deconstructing the gangster movie genre overall, all the while also being a more solemn approach to the sort of film Scorsese is best known for directing, The Irishman is as grim and downbeat as it is long (and it’s very long, at about 3.5 hours). It looks back in time in more ways than one, with an aging character reflecting on his life, and Scorsese – alongside some of his actors here – also perhaps reflecting on their own legacies.
In the end, The Irishman doesn’t really have anything positive to say about the act of aging after living a life defined by violence and crime. It could be read as a cautionary tale about the dangers of living one’s life in a way that could lead to regret, or it might just more be an exploration of evil. Either way, it’s not a film that pulls any punches. Speaking of exploring evil and refusing to pull punches…
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Release Date November 27, 2019
Runtime 210 minutes
1 'Killers of the Flower Moon' (2023)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone
Image via Apple TV+
Killers of the Flower Moon would make for a good double feature with The Irishman, so long as you have about seven hours of free time and don’t mind watching two downer films in a row. It’s another long, solemn, and intensely grounded exploration of evil set in the past, though Killers of the Flower Moon has a story that goes back further and showcases tragedy that's both more drawn-out and expansive.
Essentially, much of the film revolves around showing, from the perspective of the wrongdoers, how various people from the Osage Nation were targeted and killed so that the rights they had to oil-rich land could be obtained. Killers of the Flower Moon feels quite hopeless, standing as both one of the grimmest movies of the 2020s so far, and one of the best. It’s not fun or flashy like some of Scorsese’s most popular works, but it does show the filmmaker in fine form, and ultimately stands as one of his most heart-wrenching and challenging cinematic works.
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Release Date
Rating
Runtime 200minutes
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