This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but Martin Scorsese doesn’t usually seem too concerned with making traditionally entertaining films, or at least that’s not often the priority. Movies like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull are essential and masterful, not to mention compelling as dramas, but crowd-pleasers they’re not. You probably wouldn’t stick them on at any point, or recommend them to absolutely everyone, and the same goes for later (and also excellent) films Scorsese directed, like The Irishman and Killers of the Flower Moon.
These movies are dark and oftentimes emotionally/psychologically intense, but still, Scorsese has made some genuinely entertaining movies. A few of those entertaining movies have also been dark, to some extent, yet they have qualities that make them a bit easier to recommend, since they’re not exclusively downbeat and/or harrowing affairs. If you’ve somehow never seen a Martin Scorsese film, then these generally entertaining and approachable ones would make for good places to start.
8
‘The Color of Money’ (1986)
The Color of Money sometimes gets looked down upon a little unfairly, being reduced to “that movie that let the Oscars give Paul Newman his sympathy Academy Award.” Sure, he probably should’ve won earlier than 1986, but Newman is still great here, and The Color of Money works surprisingly well as a sequel to The Hustler, even if that film might not have seemed like one that really needed a follow-up.
Tom Cruise also gives one of his best early-career performances here, and his dynamic with Newman’s character makes The Color of Money work well as a sports-centered buddy movie of sorts. There are beats hit that you’d expect to be hit, so it’s not really unpredictable or all that surprising, but Scorsese going through the motions is still incredibly engaging to watch (the same can be said about Francis Ford Coppola doing something like The Outsiders, which has maybe come to this writer’s mind because a young Tom Cruise was also in that one).
7
‘Cape Fear’ (1990)
Cape Fear is the closest Scorsese has come to making a horror movie, though it’s more definable as a thriller, and an overall approachable one, at least by Scorsese’s standards. There is an intensity here alongside sometimes grisly violence, but it’s also broad and not that complicated, really. There’s a recently freed criminal who blames his lawyer for the time he spent in prison, and said criminal sets about making life hell for his old lawyer.
That’s all there is, and things escalate in ways that become increasingly intense and, eventually, horrific. Cape Fear works well in large part thanks to Robert De Niro hamming it up as the villain, Max Cady, but Scorsese’s direction also goes a long way to making Cape Fear feel lively and overall worthwhile as a remake of the 1962 film of the same name (which, it should be added, still holds up pretty well).
6
‘Gangs of New York’ (2002)
Image via Miramax Films
While it isn’t Martin Scorsese’s longest gangster film, Gangs of New York is perhaps his most ambitious since it’s a film done on a massive scale as far as the technical and production side of things is concerned. It takes place largely in the 1860s and brings to life a very different-looking New York City than the one Scorsese has more often depicted in his movies (it is his favorite city, after all, and few filmmakers seem to like it as much as he does).
So there’s more than just a revenge story to Gangs of New York, but that’s what drives it for the most part with various other threads going on at the same time, sometimes in the background. It’s huge and almost too big, but the core of it’s more compelling than some give it credit for. Since it’s maximalist, you never really run out of things to look at or be impressed by, so all that goes a long way toward keeping Gangs of New York very entertaining throughout.
5
‘The King of Comedy’ (1982)
If you count The King of Comedy as a comedy, then it’s one of the more uncomfortable ones out there alongside another ‘80s film by Scorsese that’ll be mentioned about 120 words from now. It is about stand-up comedy in a sense or more accurately someone who isn’t very funny at all yet being recognized as a comedian is what he wants more than anything else.
If you don’t mind dark humor then this escalating awkwardness in The King of Comedy might be funny to you when it’s not working surprisingly well as a psychological drama/thriller.
He’s also dangerously obsessed with a late-night talk-show host and there’s a huge amount of discomfort that comes about from his attempts to get close to this established entertainer. Or if you don’t mind dark humor then this escalating awkwardness in The King of Comedy might be funny to you when it’s not working surprisingly well as a psychological drama/thriller one that’s really not a whole lot easier to watch at times than Taxi Driver. The two would make for an interesting double feature that’s for sure.
4
‘After Hours’ (1985)
3
‘The Departed’ (2006)
2
‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ (2013)
Some people misinterpretThe Wolf of Wall Street, but even if you’re not among those people there’s still a lot here that’s entertaining by design. Part of this film wants you to feel swept up in the lavish lifestyle thatJordan Belfort and many of his associates live since you have to understand the appeal andThe Wolf of Wall Street has fun for quite a lot when its characters are also having fun.
It’s far from exclusively a party film though because there is something of a downfall but not as directly as typical rise-and-fall crime movies.The Wolf of Wall Streetwants you right near the film’s end as a viewer to reflect on how you felt throughout the movie even if doing so feels kind of troubling and uncomfortable.Scorsese has it both ways making something that’s equal parts fun and thought-provoking, doing so without those two things contradicting each other.
1
‘Goodfellas’ (1990)
Of course it’s going to beGoodfellas here in the #1 spot since this is about as iconic as gangster movies get and it’s also one of the most thrilling films of its time or maybe even all time. It’s aboutHenry Hill, who’s a low-level associate of the mob and he goes through a bit of a rise then something of a fall much like many movie gangsters before him but it’s all done in a manner that feels more realistic than usual.
Okay it’s based on a real-life person and story so that makes sense but even then it’s admirable howGoodfellassugarcoats and romanticizes basically nothing.Yet it’s not realistic in purely soul-crushing way sinceGoodfellasis also stylish so it’s an honestly perfect marriage.
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