Top 5: Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese is often considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all-time, and that claim is not unwarranted. He has made some of the most memorable classics to ever grace the silver screen. With the recent release of his latest film, Shutter Island, I've decided to count down my list of my five favorite Scorsese films of all-time. Perhaps this list wont jive with your personal tastes, but these five films listed below are when I think the director was at his best and most daring. So no point in all of this build up and suspense, here's the list:

5. Mean Streets - The film that catapulted Scorsese into the spotlight of the film industry. The film features a fine performance from a young Harvey Keitel and marked the first collaboration between Scorsese and Robert DeNiro. All are in top form here, and Mean Streets has lots in common with Scorsese's other memoirs to New York, but this film feels more personal, and it really feels as if more passion is infused within this film than say Taxi Driver. I didn't fully appreciate it upon first viewing it when I was 14, but looking back now, I am amazed at the mastery.

4. Gangs of New York - Some complain that this film is more of a mixed bag than anything else, and it is not Leo's best performance, but how can you not love Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill the Butcher. Gangs of New York is a genuine gangster flick, kind of being an homage to the Western while being its own entity. I don't know if I've ever seen a movie that is quite like this one, it is one of those films that breaks down genre and just is what is, and if you can accept that, you'll enjoy it as much as I do.

3. Raging Bull - It's a cruel injustice to call this film a sports movie. In all honesty, I'm not a huge fan of biopics, the straightforward telling of one man's life, and I'm not gonna lie this kind of greatest hits compilation of the life of boxer Jake LaMotta is kind of like that, but it is DeNiro's powerhouse performance and Scorsese's beautifully realized fights within the ring that make this film a stand out in Scorsese's filmography. Not to mention it is his and DeNiro's finest collaboration.

2. The Departed - To me, this film has just about everything a Scorsese fan could desire from his works. It's kind of like a melting pot, and he took a little bit of every film he'd ever made and tossed it into a cauldron and distilled it to this fine, burning molten liquid. The film is a scorching modern day gangster story about the Boston mafia, featuring Jack Nicholson in top Nicholson form (no other way to describe it), rounded out by a dream cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen. How can one not love this movie? Not to mention it is probably one of Scorsese's more entertaining achievements.

1. The Age of Innocence - My personal favorite Scorsese film for a great many reasons. This adaptation of an Edith Warton novel, set in the late 1800s of upper crust New York City society, was so out of character for the director that it stands out from the rest of his filmography. The film tells the tale of Newland Archer who is engaged to be married, but he falls in love with his fiance's free-thinking cousin and what erupts is a tale of silent love in this buttoned up society. Scorsese's first PG rated film, no f'bombs or gratuitous violence, for once you can actually just enjoy his mastery behind the camera without it being marred by disturbing imagery. Not to mention, the film features fine performances from Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer, and being Scorsese's only real attempt at an authentic love story, it actually pays off and is a very touching, and heart-wrenching film.