Martin Scorseseisone of IMDb’s favorite directorsand one of the most acclaimed living filmmakers in general.Taxi Driver,Raging Bull, andGoodfellasare just three of his works that are decades old and still considered titans of cinematic history. At the age of 81, the famous director has made it clear that he’s still not done—and his recently releasedKillers of the Flower Moonhas received such ecstatic reviews that it appears he hasn’t lost his touch.
Given Scorsese’s been making films since the 60s (both fiction and nonfiction) and has been fairly prolific at it, the task of assigning one movie as his best is impossible. It’s challenging enough to name what his best movie of a certain decade is, so it’s helpful to use review aggregator Metacritic and see how his films have been assessed over time. Though there’s always room for disagreement, a list of the supposed-best of each decade can help the viewer understand Scorsese’s filmography as a whole.
7’Who’s That Knocking on My Door?' (1967)
Metascore: 63%
First released at the Chicago International Film Festival with the title “I Call First,” Martin Scorsese’s feature debut was later theatrically released asWho’s That Knocking at My Door?and is his sole fictional work of the 60s. Though it’s Scorsese’s best feature film of the decade by default, it is nevertheless an important entry in the filmmaker’s repertoire, as the Chicago Sun-Times' new criticRoger Ebertpredicted:“I have no reservations in describing it as a great moment in American movies.”
Harvey Keitelplays a guy in Manhattan’s Little Italy with old-fashioned views about women. So, when his girlfriend (played byZina Bethune) tells him she’s not a virgin, their relationship is tested. Writer-director Scorsese was only 25 when his debut was first shown, and the authenticity of the characters combined with the technical craft would go on to inspire its acclaimed sequel:Mean Streets. (More on that below.) It’s incredible to discoverThelma Schoonmakeredited this film, as her collaboration with Scorsese has lasted all the way throughKillers of the Flower Moon. (More on that below, too.)
Watch on Apple TV
6’Mean Streets' (1973)
Metascore: 96%
Taxi Drivermay be Scorsese’s most famous 70s work, but there’s another one that’s arguably more integral to the development of the man’s visual and narrative style. It’s calledMean Streets, a loose sequel to his debut feature. Charlie (Harvey Keitel) works as a collector for his uncle in Little Italy, while his friend Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro’s first ofmany collaborations with Scorsese) piles up gambling debts and gets into fights.
Unlike the typical Scorsese protagonist, Charlie is racked with guilt for his participation in the mafia. The voice-over is unique as well: Scorsese narrates it, whichcleverly illustrates a contrast between Charlie’s thoughts and actions. Another great decision is how the narration is in present tense, not past, showing how it seems to Charlie like there’s no way out of here. Waking up at the beginning of a story might be a cliché, but the acting and direction are so intense that it’s completely justified in this gritty precursor toGoodfellas.
Mean Streets
Watch on Tubi
5’Raging Bull' (1980)
Metascore: 90%
An unflinching examination of the sources, manifestations, and consequences of unchecked toxic masculinity,Raging Bullis the first Scorsese film withJoe Pesciand one of the last films of the Hollywood New Wave (when studios gave directors significant creative and financial freedom), as the infamousHeaven’s Gatecame out only five days after. Based on famous boxerJake LaMotta’s autobiography,Raging Bull: My Story, this film has Robert De Niro as LaMotta, Pesci as his brother and manager, andCathy Moriartyas LaMotta’s abused second wife.
Amongthe greatest boxing movies of all time,Raging Bulldistinguishes itself stylistically from the others in its brutal, expressionistic depiction of boxing. The often-wild camera does everything from descend with the announcer’s microphone to frantically spin around the ring such that all you can see are the lights to fall over with an unconscious boxer. The slow motion, the editing, the animal sounds, the unrelenting punches, the black-and-white color scheme. Insecurity and violence are laid bare in this masterpiece, and it almost hurts to watch.
Raging Bull
4’Goodfellas' (1990)
Metascore; 92%
Scorsese’s most famous feature of the 90s happened to be his first:Goodfellas.Ray Liottaplays Henry Hill, the narrator and protagonist who grows up with the dream of becoming a mobster. His dream quickly comes true, and so the film becomes an unprecedentedly realistic exploration of the ostentatious, paranoid, and crime-ridden lifestyle of the Italian mafia from the 1950s through the 1970s. Co-stars include Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, the first time in ten years since their last collaboration with Scorsese.
It was worth the wait. Based on the non-fiction bookWiseguy: Life in a Mafia FamilybyNicholas Pileggi, this film adaptation went on to get 6 Oscar nominations (including a Best Supporting Actor win for Pesci). It’s been considered by fans and critics asone of the best mobster moviesfor a while now, and went on to inform his sleek style in subsequent films (Casino,Gangs of New York,The Departed, etc.). Arguably more than any other movie,Goodfellascaptures this filmmaker’s fascination with organized crime.
Goodfellas
Rent on Amazon
3’The Departed' (2006)
Metascore: 85%
Based on the Hong Kong filmInternal Affairs,The Departedkept much of the plot but changed enough for Scorsese’s signature style to come through.Matt Damonplays a cop secretly working for the Boston mafia, while his opposite (Leonardo DiCaprio)is an undercover cop who has infiltrated said mafia and desperately wants out. Fun stuff for sure, but the other characters in this crime-thriller are perfectly cast as well.Mark Wahlbergeven got an Oscar nomination for his performance.
Given the director’s interest in violent criminals andJack Nicholson’s famous portrayals of such characters, their collaboration in this crime-thriller felt like it was a long time coming. Nicholson playsthe most powerful character inThe Departed, and wields the persona in a way that only he can. Also long overdue was Scorsese’s win for Best Director at the Oscars, so it’s good to know the Academy eventually recognized him—even if for a movie that’s not quite as iconic as his earlier masterpieces.
The Departed
2’The Irishman' (2019)
Metascore: 94%
It took a while, but the world finally got to seeAl Pacinoin a Scorsese movie. Of course it’s about the mob, and it’s based on the bookI Heard You Paint HousesbyCharles Brandt. Though it’sone of the longest American epics ever made,The Irishmanis also one of the most critically acclaimed movies of the 2010s—so it’s probably worth it if you’ve got the patience. Told in retrospect by a mobster nearing the end of his life, it has a more meditative tone than Scorsese’s other, flashier films about organized crime.
About a truck driver whose work with the mafia and the teamsters is explored over the course of decades,The Irishmanboasts another reunion with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. The de-aging special effects used on their faces aren’t very convincing, especially since most viewers know what these actors actually looked like in their younger days. Nevertheless,The Irishmangarnered a well-deserved 10 Academy Award nominations.
The Irishman
Watch on Netflix
1’Killers of the Flower Moon' (2022)
Metascore: 89%
Scorsese’s latest effort is another epic, except it recounts a white-supremacist conspiracy to eliminate (and steal from) the Osage community in the 1920s. Based on David Grann’s 2017 non-fiction work,Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, Scorsese’sKillers of the Flower Moonleans into a particularly vicious part of American history. Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro team up in their first collaboration in a feature-length Scorsese film as Ernest Burkhart and William Hale, respectively.
The Osage Nation became enormously wealthy after they discovered oil on their Oklahoma land. But William Hale is the leader of a plan to kill the men, marry the women, and then kill the women to inherit their fortunes. The original script told the story from the perspective of the FBI agents investigating the case, butDiCaprio and Scorsese decided to change the perspective to Ernest’s. Though it made a bulk of the film feel similar to other Scorsese works, it also allowed for some room to explore the Osage culture.Lily Gladstoneplays Burkhart’s wife, and her performance has been lauded as well.
