Top 10 Movies by Scorsese
By Rupesh Bhatta
Known for his unique style of representing highly-specialized characters and immersive plots, Scorsese, is often regarded as one of the best directors of all time. He has directed multiple masterpieces throughout his 5-decade long career.
Below are the top 10 critically acclaimed movies directed by Martin Scorsese.
1. Taxi Driver (1976)
Psychologically and mentally stressed war-veteran turned taxi driver in New York City, turns to violence when corruption, moral decadence, and filth increase in the city.
Writer: Paul Schrader
Cast: Robert De Niro, Jadie Foster, Harvey Keitel
2. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Inspired by the real-life of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption, and the federal government.
Writer: Terence Winter
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey
3. The Departed (2006)
An undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.
Writer: Willian Monahan, Alan Mask
Cast: Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Jack Nicholson, Vera Farmiga
4. Goodfellas
Henry Hill, a mobster navigates his unpredictable life in the mob, deals with his relationship with his wife Karen Hill, and his partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito in the Italian-American crime syndicate.
Writer: Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese
Cast: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci
5. Raging Bull (1980)
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
Writer: Mardik Martin, Martin Scorsese, Peter Savage
Cast: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci
6. Casino (1995)
Two best friends: a mafia enforcer and a casino executive, both want to control the gambling empire. Greed, deception, money, power, and murder are invoked when the two characters compete against each other.
Writers: Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese
Cast: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci
7. Gangs of New York (2002)
In 1862, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points area of New York City seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher, his father’s killer.
Writer: Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, Kenneth Lonergan
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis
8. The Aviator (2004)
A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes’ career from the late 1920s to the mid-1940s.
Writer: John Logan
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale
9. Shutter Island (2010)
In 1954, a U.S. Marshal investigates the disappearance of a murderer who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane.
Writers: Laeta Kalogridis, Dennis Lehane
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Mortimer, Mark Ruffalo
10. The King of Comedy (1982)
Rupert Pupkin is a passionate yet unsuccessful comic who craves nothing more than to be in the spotlight and to achieve this, he stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.
Writer: Paul D. Zimmerman
Cast: Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott
