Bringing Out the Dead | | Cast : | Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette | | Director : | Martin Scorsese | | Studio : | Paramount Studio | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | October 22, 1999 | | DVD Released Date : | April 01, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language), English (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | March 07, 2005 | | Summary | Very good, but not one of Scorsese's elite | Content
 | "We're all dying," says New York City paramedic Frank Pierce, played by Nicolas Cage, to Mary (Patricia Arquette), whose father is barely hanging on inside the ER after having a heart attack. That short sentence cuts right to the heart of Frank's dilemma in Bringing Out the Dead: when your entire life consists of failed attempts to save dying people, is there anything more worth thinking about?
Frank hasn't saved anybody in months; to his ambulance partners - who include the ambitious Larry (John Goodman), the deeply religious Marcus (Ving Rhames) and the overzealous Tom (Tom Sizemore) - it's not that big of deal. Hey, they're just doing the best they can. Frank is haunted by the ghost of Rosa, whose death may have been his fault, and he sees each person as an opportunity to make up for his past mistakes. He's the very definition of strung out: he gets little sleep, no nourishment except coffee and whiskey, and all he wants to do is get fired, which he thinks will cure his troubles.
In a loosely structured plot, Frank runs into an interesting cast of characters from the grungy underbelly of the big city. These include Noel, a crazy young man who always manages to end up in the ER and then run away from it; Cy, a drug dealer whose apartment is an "oasis" for junkies; Dr. Hazmat, the ER doctor frantically trying to balance the good and bad characters who come in; Griss, the hospital security guard who boots out anybody who doesn't want to follow his rules; and the aforementioned Rose, whose face appears on nearly every person at whom Frank looks. Throughout the story, Frank attempts to comfort Mary: he wants to help, but maybe he's also looking for help.
Director Martin Scorsese makes the lights of the city into a character in this movie, using them to highlight characters and draw us into their psyche. He also brings in a lot of subliminal religious imagery that would probably take repeat viewings to fully identify, which is to his credit. Screenwriter Paul Scrader has made a career out of unearthing seedy characters and showing that they too are humans, and Bringing Out the Dead is no exception to this rule.
I enjoyed this film a lot, though it doesn't rival Scorsese's best (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas) in creating riveting characters and story. Nicolas Cage turns in one of his better performances, the kind that he's capable of when he really puts his mind to it and remains understated rather than over-the-top. So overall, a thumbs up for Bringing Out the Dead, but not an overly enthusiastic one. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 01, 2005 | | Summary | Resurrection amidst death | Content
| There is a lot of darkness in this film as in other works by Scorcese. But this one moves into a space where life is not ended by death (a Catholic philosophy). I like that because although we see a lot of evil and death in this movie, the perspective is broader. This helps us to have not hope but a more secure place to live; death is not the end, so anxiety need not rule. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 27, 2005 | | Summary | Long and boring movie | Content
| I got this for a christmas present the year it came out
and I was pis$ed tht it wasted my time. I understand
that it's showing that paramedics go through alot.. But
why is nothing is to offer? I mean, the case leads you
to believe it's going to be more worth while than it
really is... I think Cage plays well and does what he
can with such a limited script.
It isn't so much that it's a depressive movie that
turns me off... There just isn't a reason to watch
it more than once. I remember I just kept waiting
for something to happen other than just hearing Nick
ramble on and on for so long. It might have stood a
chance if it had more to offer and had more depth. |
| Rating | | | Date | November 28, 2004 | | Summary | An Average Film(For Scorsese) | Content
| Director Martin Scorsese can only blame himself for the high expectations one brings to any of his ventures. When you have a track record like he does anything less than a "Raging Bull" is a letdown. For anybody else "Bringing Out the Dead" would be an above average film;for Scorsese it's merely average. You get the sense that Scorsese was not fully engaged with the material he was working with and is kind of on auto-pilot. The story of the pressures and rigors of being a paramedic is a compelling one and you do feel what these individuals do for a living. That said, you can get that same feeling watching an above-average episode of "ER". Scorsese has assembled a first-rate cast here with Nicholas Cage as the star here. Able support is offered by Ving Rhames, John Goodman, and Tom Sizemore as Cage's fellow paramedics, Patricia Arquette as a woman whose father is on life support, and Cliff Curtis as a genteel drug dealer. This is a rewarding viewing experience but one has to ignore the pedigree of the man who is helming the directorial reigns. |
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