Rating: 
Summary: If you didn't like it, you're probably dead yourself!
Review: The directing, script, acting, and cinematography in this movie are beautiful! I can understand why people didn't rush to see it since the movie is quite depressing, but if you give it a chance, you probably won't be depressed. Buy this one; it's just a shame Paramount doesn't know how to make a good DVD package.
Rating:
Summary: Ridiculously Underrated Movie Deserves Second Look on DVD
Review: Bringing Out the Dead is one of Martin Scorsese's better movies. It is not quite up to the level of Mean Streets, Goodfellas, or Raging Bull; but is is better than most of his other works. Personally, I liked it more than Taxi Driver, the movie to which it is most often compared, but it may be too early to tell which is truly the better film. Nicholas Cage gives the best performance of his career, and the other actors are perfect for their roles. My favorites were Tom Sizemore, Cliff Curtis, Mary Beth Hurt and Ving Rhames. The screenplay is much better than it got credit for being, and is thought provoking, darkly hilarious, and maybe even profound. As expected, the cinematography and film editing are astounding, and the soundtrack is amazing. No other director could have handled this material as well as Martin Scorsese. So many other directors would have made it into some kind of tearjerker, but he takes a huge risk by making it funny (this risk didn't seem to pay off commercially, as BOTD didn't do too well at the box office)as well as dramatic. This was one of the very best movies of 1999 and it deserves to be remembered for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best films of the last year.
Review: This is a highly unappreciated film from director Martin Scorsese. It receaved only luke warm reviews (except from Ebert who praised the film) but diserved more. The movie is about an EMS ambulance driver, totally burnt out, on the job during a long weekend. At the begining of the film he is suffering from a shattered god complex meaning up untill then he thought he was god like but recently he has not been saving lives and is starting to feel that it is his fault. This whole film is about internal conflict. He sub-counciously makes himself see ghosts as a form of punishment for (in his mind) not doing his job properly. Throughout the film he meets certain people and sees certain thing that help him come to terms with the fact that it is not his fault. It is well acted, has a great soundtrack but the best thing about it is the directing. The brilliance and skill in which the whole movie is shot (praticulary the ambulance scenes) is amazing. And Paul Schrader's script is also brilliant. It is up there with "Raging Bull" and "Taxi Driver" although not quite as good. A wonderful, enchanting film that I recommened to anybody that loves a good, quality film. Thanx.
Rating:
Summary: The best film of 1999
Review: This film was so incredible that I went to see it in the theater on consecutive weekends. I feel this is the most underrated film in recent memory; nothing else that came out in 1999 was close to Bringing Out the Dead. The acting in the film is very well done, especially by Cage and Rhames. This is easily Scorsese's best film since Goodfellas.
Rating:
Summary: Ridiculously Underrated Movie is Filmmaking at its Best
Review: When Martin Scorsese's newest movie recieved mild critical acclaim and poor box office, I was ready to be disappointed in it. After I saw Bringing Out the Dead I had to wonder if I saw the same movie as everyone else. I thought it was riveting from the very first shot, and during the next two hours I couldn't have turned away even if I had wanted to. Everything about this movie is perfect. Nicholas Cage, a great actor who has recently starred in some weak films, gives his best performance ever as Frank Pierce, a paramedic in NYC who is losing his mind because he is surrounded by death and suffering and is able to do little about it. His eyes are dead, his voice wavers, and he looks about ready to be admitted to the ER himself, but he struggles on, because when he saves a life, "everything just glows", making it worthwhile. Pierce is one of the most interesting characters to have appeared on the screen in a while, as are all of the supporting characters. The entire cast is flawless. John Goodman, Ving Rhames, Tom Sizemore (who is criminally underrated), Mary Beth Hurt, and Cliff Curtis make the most of their roles. Patricia Arquette was criticized for being too "boring", but she is actually quietly intense, one of best developed characters in the film. The cinematography and editing are staggering, truly awe inspiring. That neither was oscar nominated just goes to show how little the Academy knows. In the hands of a less capable director, the aforementioned cinematography and editing could have made the movie look like a two hour music video, like Fight Club, but Scorsese expertly uses them to enhance the mood and feelings of the characters. Paul Schrader's terrific screenplay has been dismissed as being pointless and without plot, but the movie has many points, all of which are profound, and a conventional plot would have killed this movie, taken out all of the soul,emotional resonance and realism. So, back to the beginning. Why was Bringing Out the Dead recieved so lukewarmly? Because it was compared to Scorsese's other movies. This is unfair because although Bringing Out the Dead may not be quite as good as Mean Streets, Raging Bull or Goodfellas, it is one of the very best movies in years, so much better than just about anything else being made these days (The only movie of '99 that may be better than BOTD is Being John Malkovich, but that is a whole other story). As time passes, people will look back and realize how great this movie was, even compared to the director's more acclaimed works.
Rating:
Summary: Living on pills and coffee, during a two hr frantic ride
Review: Scorcese takes us on a two hour frantic ride through urban New York, enabling us to see the world living on pills and coffee. Non-stop movement and weird situations drive Nicholas Cage almost to insanity. Urban decay and chaos, combined with top acting achievements. I loved it...Are you in for a ride?
Rating:
Summary: Marting Scorcese: Is the best
Review: I went to see this film twice, I had no idea what it was exatcaly about but the name Martin Scorcese drug me into that theater. I loved it, it was fast paced, strong, and even in the scenes of no dialouge I felt like I was on one helluva ride, the cinematography is great and Cage, Rames, and especially Tom Sizemore play terrific parts. Bravo Scorcese and Shrader!
Rating:
Summary: Exhilarating And Brilliant.
Review: "Bringing Out The Dead" is the latest from one of the masters of the cinema, Martin Scorsese, and this movie shows him at the top of his form, never lacking energy, style and brilliance. I've admired some of his attempts to break away from his mean streets rep with good films like "Kundun," but the mean streets of New York is his place and never does he fail in "Bringing Out The Dead" to show them in their rage and dark truths. The screenplay by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, The Last Temptation Of Christ) is brilliant and complex, with great characters and situations. He gives just enough time to each character and non is wasted. Tom Sizemore is especially good as a blood thirsty paramedic. But the best performance here is by the lead, Nicolas Cage, who lets us feel his character's sadness and need for rest, for peace. Schrader's screenplay is sometimes darkly poetic and Scorsese brings it to the screen with pure energy. The movie is never boring, but never dumb either. The cinematography by Robert Richardson (JFK, Natural Born Killers) is rich and exhilarating, he makes New York look like a vision into hell. All the performances are superb, even Marc Anthony's as a junkie. This is a brilliant movie that raises issues, tells a good and emotional story, and brings out the craft and art of good cinema. "Bringing Out The Dead" was one of the best films of 1999 and also Martin Scorsese's best movie since "Casino." Great filmmaking from a master.
Rating:
Summary: Another classic from Scorsese!
Review: The opening of Martin Scorsese's latest film, "Bringing Out The Dead", shows a weary eyed Nicolas Cage driving an ambulance during the haunting late night hours in Hell's Kitchen. Van Morrison is playing as the opening credits role. You know your watching Scorsese doing what he does best. The film is about a medic and how he copes with his late night hours and his inability to sleep due to being haunted by ghosts. The story also leaves room for interesting characters played by a great cast including Ving Rhames, Patricia Arquette, Tom Siezmore, John Goodman, and Marc Anthony (yes, the singer). This film is being compared to Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" and having Paul Schrader writing the script, it seems fitting. But the film is all on its own. It wouldn't be any different had "Taxi Driver" not been released despite that it is not quite as good. It is definately Nicolas Cage's best film and another great addition to Scorsese's list of classic films.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good, but not one of Scorsese's elite
Review: "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.
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