Bringing Out the Dead (1999)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Graham J

  
  A minor work from a master but still compelling.

• Chris W

  
  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… More
  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 with 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.

• Tim S

  
  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… More
  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 didn'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.

• Wahida K

  
  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 bit… More
  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 bit watchable with his funny quotes.

• xGary X

  
  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 a… More
  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 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.

• Anthony L

  
  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… More
  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 critics and audiences alike, maybe its a future classic, either way, I love it.

• Derek D

  
  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… More
  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 losing 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.

• First L

  
  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 he… More
  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 he 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.

• Jason S

  
  I didn't care for this movie. I didn't care for Cage in it either.

• Chris G

  
  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 film… More
  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 film 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)

• Dean !

  
  A strange film about an ambulance crew in New York and the characters it comes across.

• Tim S

  
  Basically it's Taxi Driver as an ambulance driver, but these days you have to relish in a good Cage performance. It's also great to see Tom Sizemore and wonder if he was on crack. I know the crack and Ghost Rider have probably kept you away from this title, but don't… More
  Basically it's Taxi Driver as an ambulance driver, but these days you have to relish in a good Cage performance. It's also great to see Tom Sizemore and wonder if he was on crack. I know the crack and Ghost Rider have probably kept you away from this title, but don't let it scare you. It's still Scorcese and the film looks beautiful.

• Ken S

  
  Underrated. Like Taxi Driver meets After hours with a hint of Oliver Stone.

• Curtis L

  
  Huh? That's all I have to say about that.

• Megan S

  
  I really liked this movie. It reminded me of the TNT show Saved (which died an untimely death) complete with the ambulance crash and everything.

• Wildaly M

  
  I certainly a bit confused when I saw this film but there were too many moments in this piece that I can't help but call it brilliant. Out of all the dialogue this may very well be my favorite line in the movie and the one that impacted me the most, which was said by Frank,… More
  I certainly a bit confused when I saw this film but there were too many moments in this piece that I can't help but call it brilliant. Out of all the dialogue this may very well be my favorite line in the movie and the one that impacted me the most, which was said by Frank, Cage's character: "Oh, I see. With all the poor people of this city who wanted only to live and were viciously murdered, you have the nerve to sit here, wanting to die, and not go through with it? You make me sick!"

• Daniel P

  
  Watching Taxi Driver put this movie into context... I need to see it again, I think the two might have some interesting similarities.

• Aaron N

  
  Frank Pierce: Tom, where are the Band-Aids? This IS an ambulance, isn't it? This seems to be like the lost Scorsese film. It came out in 1999, amidst many other great movies of that year, it has a great cast, an interesting subject, oh and its a Scorsese film. Nick Cage stars… More
  Frank Pierce: Tom, where are the Band-Aids? This IS an ambulance, isn't it? This seems to be like the lost Scorsese film. It came out in 1999, amidst many other great movies of that year, it has a great cast, an interesting subject, oh and its a Scorsese film. Nick Cage stars as Frank Pierce, a burnt out ambulance driver. The film takes place during three consecutive days in the early 90s (as the film says) all surrounding a very long shift that cage is on. Over the course of these three days, Frank is paired up with three different co-pilots in the ambulence. John Goodman, the most controlled performance in the film. Larry: Oh no, I can't eat the same meal twice. Ving Rhames as a born again christian, who also doubles as a security guard in the hospital. Marcus: Don't make me take off my sunglasses. and Tom Sizemore, as the upbeat and possibly crazy driver. Tom Wall: Frank, what do you know? It's you and me again tonight. The rough riders, tearing up the streets, just like old times. This old bus is a warrior, Frank. I have tried to kill her, but she will not die. I have a great respect for that. These are all great performances, and there are even more from Patricia Arquette as the daughter of a heart attack patient, Cliff Curtis as a drug dealer, and Mark Anthony as a crazy drug user. Scorsese directs the movie with ultra fast and very visual techniques, with a very short average shot length, but none of it is too jarring, it fits the mood of what is going on in this film. Cage is also great. Being written by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver), Cage plays the counter part to Travis Bickle, a man who functions at night, is burnt out, and has seen terrible things, but still goes on with his life. Cage views things in a very dark manner, and is even seeing images of lives that he has lost, but the situations the movie presents us with are both dark and darkly humorous. A very well made film, with another great Scorsese touch including the editing, visual style and soundtrack. Dr. Hazmat: I thought you said this guy was dead. Frank Pierce: He got better.

• Michael S

  
  Under-rated Scorsese.

• Stuart B

  
  Depressing

Read all 20 featured audience ratings