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Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, Tom Sizemore ... see more see more... , Marc Anthony , Mary Beth Hurt , Cliff Curtis , Nestor Serrano , Aida Turturro , Afemo Omilami , Cynthia Roman , Cullen Oliver Johnson , Arthur J. Nascarella , Michael Kenneth Williams

This tense urban drama stars Nicolas Cage as Frank Pierce, a paramedic on the brink of physical and emotional collapse. Frank has worked for years in one of New York's most brutal neighborhoods, and t... read more read more...he pressure of his job has taken its toll; plagued with self-doubt, he is haunted by the spirits of the people he couldn't save, and while he desperately wants to quit his job, outside forces won't let him walk away. Bringing Out the Dead brought director Martin Scorsese back to the streets of contemporary New York, one of his favorite locations, after three films set elsewhere: Kundun, Casino, and The Age of Innocence. The film also reunited Scorsese with screenwriter Paul Schrader, who scripted Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Last Temptation of Christ. The supporting cast includes Patricia Arquette as the daughter of a heart attack victim that Frank has fallen in love with, and John Goodman and Ving Rhames as two of Frank's fellow drivers. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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64% liked it

36,616 ratings

Critics

71% liked it

105 critics

R, 2 hr.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Release Date: October 22, 1999

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DVD Release Date: May 9, 2000

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Stats: 1,571 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,571)

  • fb1664868775
    October 28, 2011
    fb1664868775
    A minor work from a master but still compelling.
  • cosmo313
    September 29, 2011
    cosmo313
    Based on the novel of the same name by Joe Connelly (which I have read...and enjoyed) is this movie: the stroy of Frank Pierce, a burned out and weary paramedic working the third shift on the mean streets of Hell's Kitchen. Over the course of a long three days, Frank struggles wi... read moreth his sanity as he struggles with the ghosts of people he's faield to save, especially one in particular. He also has to deal with three different partners on each night. There's Larry-a guy who'd rather spend his time eating, Marcus the righteous man of God, and Tom- a psycho who gets off on mayhem.

    This is the fourth collaboration between Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader, and in many ways, it draws several comparisons to Taxi Driver (the first film they did together). Both are gritty and dark tales of redemption, although this one is a tad less bleak and more hopeful. It follows the book pretty well, retaining the novel's mix of pain, grimness, and dark humor, although the humor comes off more strongly and apparent in the movie.

    This is a slight departure for Scorsese, with the movie being more of a dark comedy than the super gritty drama I was anticipating. This isn't a bad thing, but it seems a bit odd, especially since the movie is also a bit more reserved and lethargic than his usual fare. Maybe this film being different is why it's one of his more underrated films. That's a shame too, because I really dug this.

    Nicolas Cage is the perfect choice for Frank, and he gives his second best performance of his career thus far (behind Leaving Las Vegas). He really pulls off the weary, desperate, and haunted nature of the character. John Goodman is fun as Larry, Ving Rhames is a real delight as Marcus, but it's Marc Anthony as a hospital regular who's the real scene stealer of the film. Patricia Arquette is decent if slightly underwhelming as Mary, an ex-junkie and daughter of one of Frank's patients who he tries to form a meaningful connection with.

    As I mentioned, this film is a slight change of pace for Scorsese, but it still has some great moments of visual flair, and of course some killer needles drops. I was a tad disappointed because the humor is more prevalent than I anticipated, but it does the book justice, and is still a good and entertaining piece of work. Give it a chance.
  • FilmFanatik
    September 22, 2011
    FilmFanatik
    Looking at it now, Bringing Out the Dead looks like a Tony Scott-fueled film blended with a spiritual sequel to Taxi Driver. When it was first released, everybody seemed to be down about it except a select few. Personally, I enjoyed the hell out of it even though everybody else d... read moreidn't. I think it's Scorsese's most underrated effort. It's not his best, but definitely worthy enough to have his name on it. It tends to go a sway in the second act and the soundtrack isn't all that great, but otherwise it's a very effective little character study.
  • ScoopOnline
    January 25, 2011
    ScoopOnline
    After watching the Movie I breaked my head off what this Movie actually was all about and where are my two hours of my life?
    A Parademic who was loosing his mind? Did I miss something, I DONT THINK SO.
    The only good thing in the Movie was Ving Rhames appearence, it made a tiny ... read morebit watchable with his funny quotes.
  • garyX
    December 31, 2010
    garyX
    Burned out paramedic Nicolas Cage deals with insomnia and oppressive guilt caused by losing one too many patients while doing his job in the New York twilight. Written by the scriptwriter responsible for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull and directed by Martin Scorsese, I was expecting... read more a lot from this film but despite some interesting scenes I found it to be very disappointing. Lacking any kind of focus or narrative momentum, it's little more than a series of unconnected events as Cage and a stream of sidekicks drive around and occasionally get splattered with blood like an unfunny version of Repo Man. A little too self consciously wacky, it reminded me of the likes of MASH or Catch 22, representing night-time New York as a kind of crazed urban warzone complete with accompanying surrealities, but the fact is I didn't really connect to or care about any of the characters and without any real structure to frame them in, I was just plain bored a lot of the time. There's little to complain about technically and the performances are all fine but for something that's supposed to be a comedy thriller, it fails in both departments.
  • SirPant
    September 7, 2009
    SirPant
    A very underrated film from Scorsese, who picks an excellent cast who he'd yet to work with. The result is quite refreshing. It's very similar to Taxi driver in a way with the great cinematography and the theme of spiralling into madness. I remember it had a poor reception from c... read moreritics and audiences alike, maybe its a future classic, either way, I love it.
  • middleeasternfilms
    June 26, 2009
    middleeasternfilms
    This isn't like a Scorcese movie at all. It's more of a dark comedy, just the director having fun. The cast is right on as a group of EMT's working the overnight shift in New York City. Specifically, Nicholas Cage is a paramedic who is in the middle of a nervous breakdown after l... read moreosing a teenage girl in the streets. All his partners are completely different, but Tom Sizemore completely steals the movie as an EMT who's already half-nuts and sincerely hates his ambulance to the point he tries to beat the shit out of it and total it. You can't take this movie too seriously. It's Scorcese having fun. And Cage is actually really good, too. Cage seems to be at his best when he plays characters who are tortured and almost out-of-control.
  • bottcorecords1
    May 29, 2009
    bottcorecords1
    In Bringing Out The Dead, Martin Scorsese once again attempts to show us the sleazy, sickening underbelly of New York City, this time through the eyes of an ambulance driver (Nicolas Cage) working the graveyard shift in the rough part of town. He befriends the daughter of a man ... read morehe brought in one night (in a fairly interesting sequence that begins the film), but is also seeing ghosts of a girl he failed to save in the past. The plot, though, just seems incidental to Scorsese and his attempt to shove as much filth and disgust onto the screen as possible. Scorsese also seems to be aping the style of earlier (and better) movies such as Seven and 12 Monkeys, in the way certain scenes are shot and edited. Unfortunately, it's mostly empty symbolism working towards a nihilistic end. The movie also invokes The Bad Lieutenant in the way it shows a man's descent into hell. But The Bad Lieutenant commits to showing it's bleak underbelly without any flash and flare, while Bringing Out The Dead seems to be nothing but flare, all camera techniques and hollywood make-up (and even some c.g.i.). While it's not a horrible movie (and Cage gives a great performance), it seems like a missed opportunity for something really great.
  • superclerk25
    May 2, 2009
    superclerk25
    I didn't care for this movie. I didn't care for Cage in it either.
  • sononothing
    October 10, 2008
    sononothing
    When Martin Scorsese and Paul Scharder get together good things usually happen (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ) and what on the surface appears to be an interesting New York story turns into a film full of overacting that tries to repeat past glory.

    The ... read morefilm stars Nicholas Cage as a burnt out ambulance driver on the edge. The story follows a weekend that begins with him meeting the daughter of a man he saved (Patricia Arquette) and follows him through the weekend and the three different partners, each of which as a different personality (played by John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore).

    This film is almost an update of the masterpiece Taxi Driver. In fact it's almost trying to be too much like Taxi Driver. The problem is that Nicholas Cage is not Robert DeNiro. Cage is over the top in almost every scene he's in and it's this that brings the movie to a screeching halt. It's almost like Cage is trying to conjure the soul of Travis Bickle and failing miserably.

    I've never accused Scorsese of trying to go back to the well, but it almost seems that way in Bringing Out the Dead right down to the music cues that at times remind us of Bernard Herrmann's Taxi Driver score. This is basically a re-imagining of Taxi Driver starring Nicholas Cage who ruins the entire film.

    So why does it get three and a half stars? The supporting cast picks up the slack and Scorsese is still a great director (even though some of the scenes seem to be borrowed from Oliver Stone). Bring Out The Dead could have been one of Marty's best if it didn't have Nicholas Cage in it. But he had an Oscar and didn't do crap like... (list to long to post)

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Critic Reviews

Lisa Alspector
September 17, 2008
Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader

Its hard-to-pin-down tone is frighteningly original -- simultaneously world-weary and adolescent with an aura of perpetual anxiety, as if the characters and filmmakers were in pursuit of a catharsis e... Full Review

Peter Rainer
August 7, 2004
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

Scorsese doesn't trust the power of simplicity to rock us. Full Review

March 19, 2002
Globe and Mail

The auteur has definitely left his distinctive mark, but too seldom and too narrowly. Full Review

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
January 1, 2000
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Scorsese has delivered a film that's both savage and sorrowing. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

If you enjoy redemptions drenched in rhapsodic agony, religious mysticism and the bloody ick of emergency room chaos, that journey will be bliss for you. Full Review

Tom Long
January 1, 2000
Tom Long, Detroit News

Bringing Out the Dead is a screaming siren of a film! Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Despite the lack of energy and the lethargic pace, there's something darkly compelling about Bringing Out the Dead. Full Review

Jay Carr
January 1, 2000
Jay Carr, Boston Globe

Surprisingly lacking in primal impact.

Richard T. Jameson
January 1, 2000
Richard T. Jameson, Mr. Showbiz

Bringing Out the Dead is stunning to look at; unfortunately, it's not terribly satisfying to watch.

Janet Maslin
January 1, 2000
Janet Maslin, New York Times

An intense, volatile film full of sorrow and wild, mordant humor. Full Review

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