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: 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: raising arizona meets er
Review: this movie starts out like a straight film but by halftime turns into a black comedy that looks and feels like "raising arizona" (coen bros) meets "er" (george clooney). the second half works better. in fact, the movie really only comes alive after john goodman exits. i don't know if that's a coincidence, but of cage's 3 sidekicks, goodman was the least interesting. it's exaggerated, but scorsese does uncover another seedy side of the big city that we "normal" people usually don't see. worth a watch.
Rating:
Summary: Resurrection amidst death
Review: 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.
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