All 27 Martin Scorsese Movies, Ranked Worst to Best (original) (raw)
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Updated Feb 19, 2024, 8:30 PM EST
Jeremy has more than 2500 published articles on Collider to his name, and has been writing for the site since February 2022. He's an omnivore when it comes to his movie-watching diet, so will gladly watch and write about almost anything, from old Godzilla films to gangster flicks to samurai movies to classic musicals to the French New Wave to the MCU... well, maybe not the Disney+ shows.
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To say Martin Scorsese is the greatest director of all time could well be seen as a bold claim. To say he's the greatest living director, however, might not be. He's been working steadily since the late 1960s, and continues to push cinema forward with every new film he makes. Age doesn't seem to slow him down either, and since turning 70 in 2012, he's made several films that stand among his greatest works.
His most recent movie, Killers of the Flower Moon, is his 27th feature film, with its 2023 release making now the perfect time to look back on his previous 26. The 80-year-old director has made almost nothing but hits, making a definitive ranking difficult, given how Scorsese's films tend to be pretty good at worst, and genuine classics at best. The following can be considered a ranking of good to greatest, because when all's said and done, just about everything Scorsese's done is worth watching.
27 'Boxcar Bertha' (1972)
Starring Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, and Barry Primus
When ranking the films of Martin Scorsese, one has to be at the bottom, and Boxcar Bertha serves as the sacrificial lamb here, so to speak. It's a low-budget mash-up of the crime and romance genres, set in the 1930s and following a woman, Boxcar Bertha (Barbara Hershey), and a member of a union, Big Bill Shelly (David Carradine), teaming up to take down a corrupt railroad organization. They fall in love along the way but also face several violent encounters.
It's a scrappy and gritty film, potentially reflecting small aspects of Scorsese's style here and there, but it ultimately ends up pretty forgettable. It's certainly not awful by the standards of an early 1970s B-movie-type film, but it only represents a fraction of what Scorsese ended up being capable of.
26 'New York Stories' (1989)
Starring Woody Allen, Rosanna Arquette, and Mia Farrow
Rosanna Arquette as an assistant in 'New York Stories'
Image via Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
New York Stories is an interesting outlier of sorts in Scorsese's filmography because he wasn't the only director. It's an anthology film made up of three short stories belonging to the dramedy/romance genres (all of them taking place in - you guessed it - New York), with Francis Ford Coppola and Woody Allen directing the other two segments.
The film as a whole is really brought down by Coppola's contribution, which is well below his usual standards. Allen's and Scorsese's segments are decent, but still not outstanding. Scorsese's segment titled "Life Lessons" follows an abstract artist struggling to create anything right before a big show, but then finding inspiration in unusual places. Overall, New York Stories is a worthwhile curiosity for fans of these directors, but hard to recommend to more casual viewers. At least Wes Anderson likes it (apparently), for what that's worth.
25 'Who's That Knocking at My Door' (1967)
Starring Harvey Keitel and Zina Bethune
Image via Trimod Films
For a feature film debut, Who's That Knocking at My Door certainly isn't bad. It's also notable for being the first collaboration between Scorsese and Harvey Keitel, who would go on to star in several more Scorsese features, including most recently in 2019's The Irishman. Despite being released before Boxcar Bertha, it feels more in line with Scorsese's later films that would better define his style.
The plot here is simple, following a Catholic Italian-American young man, J.R. (Keitel), who struggles with his faith and a sudden romance. When the local girl he meets turns out to have a painful past that apparently contradicts his faith, the protagonist is faced with a tough decision. Overall, Who's That Knocking at My Door is pretty good for a down-to-earth, low-budget 1960s movie.
24 'New York, New York' (1977)
Starring Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro
By 1977, Scorsese and Robert De Niro had already done two successful collaborations together, with both being well suited to the crime genre they'd been exploring. But it was 1977 that saw them trying to shake things up, because that was the year they did a musical (of sorts) together: New York, New York. To anyone who's seen La La Land, it's basically the same premise, only not as comedic and also not quite as satisfying or direct. It's centered on jazz saxophonist Jimmy Doyle (De Niro) and USO singer Francine Evans (Minnelli), whose marriage is negatively affected by their careers that begin to take different paths.
Admittedly, Scorsese's film came first, and was certainly ambitious, but it's a slightly messy movie that begins strong, but does start to become a little exhausting by the final hour of its 163-minute runtime. Nowadays, its title song (sung here by Liza Minnelli) is likely more well-known than the film itself.
23 'Kundun' (1997)
Starring Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, Gyurme Tethong, and Tulku Jamyang Kunga Tenzin
The young Dalai Lama sitting on the throne in 'Kundun'
Image via Touchstone Pictures
Martin Scorsese may have a reputation for being a gangster movie director, but he's broken away from the genre on multiple occasions. Few films represent as drastic a change of pace as 1997's Kundun, which focuses on the life story of the 14th Dalai Lama, particularly centering on his life as a child and then a young adult.
The film stars Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong as the exiled political and spiritual leader of Tibet, and he also happens to be a grandnephew of the Dalai Lama. Telling the events in chronological order, Kundun is certainly not a bad film, and works pretty decently as a biopic/historical drama. It's possible to feel as though he is a little out of his element, as it's not quite as captivating or consistent as some of Scorsese's better historical movies, but it's certainly quite good for what it is.
22 'Shutter Island' (2010)
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Ben Kingsley
Shutter Island Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo
Image via Paramount Pictures
Scorsese's take on a psychological thriller with Shutter Island makes for a good watch, though it ultimately isn't among his very best works. The less said about the plot the better, but the central premise involves a detective, U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio), investigating a patient's disappearance from a high-security psychiatric facility. He's joined by his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) who helps him navigate the titular island.
The protagonist's dark history and some interesting plot twists certainly make the film more interesting than it initially appears to be, though Shutter Island is certainly a slow-burn, with an emphasis on the "slow." It's all worthwhile by the end, because the film does have a very effective conclusion, but it doesn't quite hit the heights of Scorsese's greatest efforts.
Release Date
February 14, 2010
Runtime
138 minutes
Director
21 'The Color of Money' (1986)
Starring Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, and Mary Elizabeth
Image via Buena Vista Distribution
The Color of Money stands out for being a Martin Scorsese-directed sequel, and a sequel to a movie he didn't direct, to boot. It's a follow-up to 1961's The Hustler, centering on Paul Newman's character, Fast Eddie, taking on a young pupil of sorts, here played by Tom Cruise. Eddie identifies Vincent's (Cruise) talent immediately one night and invites him to go on a road trip where they hit up different games and learn "the art of hustling."
As far as distant sequels go, it's surprisingly good, with Newman returning to the role with ease (and winning an Oscar in the process). It's worth it for the acting prowess on display, especially because the film's screenplay isn't anything spectacular, though at least it finds a decent enough hook to place a sequel to The Hustler on.
Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.
20 'Cape Fear' (1991)
Starring Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, and Jessica Lange
Image via Universal Pictures
Five years after directing a sequel with The Color of Money, Scorsese made a remake: Cape Fear (1991). He goes for broke, with Cape Fear being a wild and unpredictable horror/thriller movie that keeps the tension high all throughout its 128-minute runtime. Scorsese also directs Robert De Niro in one of the most menacing and over-the-top performances of his career.
It centers on De Niro's character, Max Cady, a recently released prisoner, targeting and tormenting a lawyer who let him down 14 years previously. The reign of terror he enacts also extends to the lawyer's family, and it escalates in an expected – but also very nerve-wracking – fashion throughout. It's Scorsese making a clear, old-fashioned thriller, but doing it in a way that's mostly entertaining, and consistently suspenseful.
Release Date
November 15, 1991
Runtime
128 minutes
Director
19 'The Aviator' (2004)
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, and Kate Beckinsale
Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes in The Aviator
Image via Miramax Films
Martin Scorsese's favorite lead actor throughout the 20th century was Robert De Niro, but in the 21st century, it's arguably been Leonardo DiCaprio. The Aviator is one of their numerous successful collaborations, with the film being a biopic of Howard Hughes, who was a film producer, pilot, and philanthropist. Based on Hughes' 1993 non-fiction book The Secret Life by Charles Higham, the film depicts the protagonist's experiences from 1927 to 1947, which includes his meteoric rise, which is soon complicated by his severe obsessive–compulsive disorder.
The Aviator is extremely well-made from a technical perspective and has an impressive cast all doing some of their best work. It adheres quite rigidly to the biopic formula and feels a tad overlong at 170 minutes, but there are a ton of things to appreciate in The Aviator, making it a worthwhile mid-tier Scorsese movie.
Release Date
December 25, 2004
Runtime
170 minutes
Director
Main Genre
Biography
18 'Hugo' (2011)
Starring Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Asa Butterfield
Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz in a movie theater in Hugo (2011).
Image via Paramount Pictures
**_Hugo_**is the rare Scorsese movie that could be classified as a family film... though it helps if viewers have an interest in the history of silent cinema, because that's what the film is largely about. It centers on the titular character – 12-year-old Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) – who lives alone in Paris' Gare Montparnasse railway station. He soon befriends Georges Méliès (played by Ben Kingsley), a pioneering director in cinema's early days.
The film is at its best when looking at the power that cinema has, and as a love letter to the medium that Scorsese himself clearly adores, it can be a passionate and moving film. Some of the more kid-friendly elements - like an awkward comic relief character played by Sacha Baron Cohen – make it sometimes feel tonally inconsistent, but the emotional center and awe-inspiring visuals generally deliver.