Martin Scorsese returns to Touchstone with his first and only collaboration with Nicolas Cage. The story of one paramedic’s journey into madness while trying to help the people of New York City is told in Bringing Out the Dead.
Logline
Frank Pierce is a New York City paramedic that is one step away from a breakdown. Between his shifts with Marcus and Larry, Frank is trying to find some clarity to life. Haunted by the loss of a patient, Frank is tortured by the image of this dead soul each night he goes to work.
Fueled by the gloom of the night, being partnered with another paramedic named Tom, Frank’s despair spins out of control. When he tries to help Mary, the daughter of a patient that Frank helped, he can’t find any direction on what to do. With more shifts, the streets of New York look like they will swallow the soul of Frank Pierce before he finds salvation.
High Praise
Wow! Bringing Out the Dead is a masterpiece. I cannot believe that this Scorsese film is rarely talked about.
Nicolas Cage shows his talent and skill in the role of Frank. He is reserved, manic, eccentric, and broken. He is the most human, and the most pained. Despite the internet fame of Cage, his work on screen is magnificent. The partnership between him and Scorsese has created a film that is not only unique, but essential for film fans to watch.
Martin Scorsese is a brilliant filmmaker. Bringing Out the Dead is a manic thrill ride into oblivion with a desolate undertone that showcases how truly dark and devious the world is at night in a big city. With psychedelic stories that interconnect in the film, it is hard to not connect and empathize with Frank and the myriad of characters the come into his life.
Scorsese always paints a picture with multiple strokes of detail and broad aspects of life. For each big moment, there are layers and layers of finely tuned details and story that build the foundation of the narrative. For each manic moment in the movie, there is a powerful message about the people who patrol the streets at night offering help to those injured and sick, and to the people who walk the streets of big cities. Bringing Out the Dead is epic and a must-see event.
The cast is excellent. John Goodman, Ving Rhames, Patricia Arquette, Tom Sizemore, and Cliff Curtis. Everyone makes this story a knockout of quality and art.
What Were They Thinking
I have no complaints about this film. It’s not an easy watch, but well worth the time.
I cannot believe that Bringing Out the Dead has slipped through the radar and has been forgotten. How could a masterful Scorsese pic be lost like this? For shame on the audience that ignored this movie.
Backlot Knowledge
- Robert Richardson won an award for Best Cinematography at the Florida Film Critics Circle Awards.
- Ving Rhames was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for his role in the film.
- Martin Scorsese has a small role as the voice of the dispatcher for the paramedics.
- Queen Latifah is the voice of Dispatcher Love.
- The movie is based on the book written by Joe Connelly.
- Scorsese has stated that he found shooting the film to be difficult, due to the December filming schedule and the harsh conditions for the shoot.
- Tom Sizemore talked openly about the dislike he and Marc Anthony had for each other on the set. The two reportedly almost had a physical fight.
- Cage and Scorsese prepared for the film by riding along with NYC paramedics.
- This is the only Scorsese film of the 1990’s to not receive any Oscar nominations.
- Author Joe Connelly has a small cameo in the film, in a hospital scene playing a catatonic patient.
- Screenwriter Paul Schrader thought Edward Norton was the best choice for the role of Frank.
- This was the first film that Scorsese made for Paramount Pictures, and the third film made with Touchstone Pictures.
- Nicolas Cage and Patricia Arquette were married at the time of the filming.
- The movie was shot over a period of 65 days.
Critical Response
{Snub-Skip this Film, Overexposed-Desperate for Something to Watch, Money Shot-A Perfect Film For Any Device, Magic Hour– You Must Watch This Film on a Big Screen, Award Worthy– This Film is Cinema.}
Bringing Out the Dead is Award Worthy. This is a film that not only showcases the talented skill of Cage but also a supporting cast that is bringing their best for every scene. Scorsese uses the dread and dreariness of the night to emphasize the decline that Frank Pierce experiences. I regret not seeing this film earlier, and I am grateful to have discovered a hidden gem amongst the library of brilliant films made by Martin Scorsese.
Nicolas Cage recently said that he feels regret for how the film was marketed. Blaming his action films roles as being a catalyst to how the movie was advertised, he thinks audiences were expecting a certain type of film and were shocked by what the movie was about, that being the story of a burned-out paramedic. Thinking the movie was misunderstood, Cage hopes that the movie will find new appreciation with home audiences.
Nicolas Cage is right, and the audience will find this film. I have.
Call Sheet
- Nicolas Cage as Frank Pierce
- Patricia Arquette as Mary Burke
- John Goodman as Larry
- Ving Rhames as Marcus
- Tom Sizemore as Tom Wolls
- Marc Anthony as Noel
- Cliff Curtis as Cy Coates
Productions Team:
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Produced by Touchstone Pictures / Paramount Pictures / De Finna-Cappa
Written by Joe Connelly / Paul Schrader
Release Date: October 22, 1999
Budget: $55 million
Domestic Box Office Gross: $16,797,191
Coming Attractions
Next week a look back at the Melanie Griffith/Antonio Banderas romantic comedy, Two Much.