From the Copacabana scene in Goodfellas to the Quaaludes scene in The Wolf of Wall Street, Martin Scorsese is responsible for some of the most iconic movie moments of all time. Scorsese has directed thrilling action scenes, like the pool hall fight in Mean Streets, and more intimate dialogue scenes, like the phone call in The Irishman.
Scorsese brings out powerful performances from his actors, and captures truly awe-inspiring visuals (especially when he’s shooting in his native New York City). These are the most perfect scenes from Scorsese’s filmography.
The Pool Hall Fight
Mean Streets
The pool hall fight in Mean Streets was the first great action sequence of Scorsese’s career. It established his uniquely chaotic, realistic portrayal of violence. It’s not a sensationalized Hollywood action scene; it’s a shockingly authentic depiction of a bunch of street toughs pummeling each other.
Like all the best action scenes, this sequence uses violence to express character. We see that Charlie is calm and collected and practical, while Johnny Boy is reckless and maniacal, just from the different ways they handle this fight.
Travis Calls Betsy For A Second Date
Taxi Driver
Travis Bickle is so tragically disconnected from the rest of the human race that, when he landed a date with the woman of his dreams, he took her to a porno theater, thinking it was a romantic hotspot. Unsurprisingly, after this disastrous date, Betsy starts dodging Travis’ calls for a second date — but he’s so hopelessly lonely that he refuses to give up.
One of the saddest moments in Taxi Driver sees Travis standing in the hallway of his apartment building, using the phone to call Betsy. We see him leave a long, painful, awkward, desperate voicemail, and as he goes on and on, the camera looks away. Not even the camera can stand the second-hand embarrassment.
Head In A Vise
Casino
Although Casino is mostly remembered as the lesser cousin of Goodfellas, it has plenty of its own unforgettable moments. The bitter marital strife between Sam and Ginger yields a ton of memorable scenes, and it’s heartbreaking to see Nicky forced to watch his brother’s gruesome murder.
But the most iconic scene in Casino is also its goriest sequence of violence. Nicky brings a hoodlum into the back of the Tangiers, puts his head in a vise, and cranks it until his eyeball pops out. It’s a tough watch, but it’s fiercely effective.
Teddy Accepts His Grim Fate
Shutter Island
At the end of Shutter Island, Teddy is shocked to learn that his investigation has been fabricated as a grand psychiatric experiment. He’s not there to look into the disappearance of a mental patient; he is a mental patient, and that fake investigation was part of his treatment.
When that fails, the institution resorts to lobotomizing him. Teddy talking to his supposed partner, accepting his grim fate, makes this one of the most haunting endings in film history.
“You Never Got Me Down, Ray”
Raging Bull
Throughout Raging Bull, Jake LaMotta has a few fights with Sugar Ray Robinson. After one particularly ruthless beating, in which Ray is named as the victor, a mangled, bloodied Jake harangues his opponent on the way out of the ring.
Clearly defeated, Jake insists that Ray never got him down; Ray won the fight, but Jake never went down, so he feels a small sense of victory and makes a point of it. It’s just sad to see: this is the death knell of LaMotta’s career.
Rupert Pupkin’s Star-Making Performance
The King Of Comedy
In the second half of The King of Comedy, deranged aspiring comedian Rupert Pupkin kidnaps late-night host Jerry Langford and hijacks his show. At the climax of the film, Rupert’s insane plan finally comes together as he goes out on-stage and delivers the opening monologue.
He doesn’t kill, but he doesn’t bomb, either. If he’d actually worked at his craft and built his career from the ground up, he could’ve been a successful comic. But he didn’t want to put in the hours; he wanted to skip the queue and become famous overnight, which has only gotten more and more relevant since the movie came out.
Frank Calls Jimmy Hoffa’s Widow
The Irishman
In the first half of The Irishman, we see mob hitman Frank Sheeran’s blossoming friendship with notorious union leader Jimmy Hoffa. But at the film’s midpoint, Frank is sent to kill Jimmy, and he spends the rest of the movie with that guilt weighing on him.
After Jimmy goes missing and Frank pretends to be none the wiser, his daughter encourages him to call Jimmy’s wife. Robert De Niro puts on a clinic in this scene, as Frank tries to offer emotional support, outright lies to her, and holds back his own pain and anguish.
Henry Takes Karen To The Copacabana
Goodfellas
Arguably the most iconic shot in Scorsese’s entire filmography is the oner in Goodfellas. As Henry attempts to woo Karen, he brings her to the Copacabana. “Then He Kissed Me” by the Crystals plays on the soundtrack as Henry skips the line, takes Karen through the kitchen, and has a front-row seat brought out just for him.
This scene has the exact intended effect: we see how easily someone like Karen can get seduced by this lifestyle. Sure, Henry pays for these luxuries through some less-than-ethical means, but Karen could get used to this.
“You Talkin’ To Me?”
Taxi Driver
Aside from the phone message that the camera can’t bear to watch, the other Taxi Driver scene that encapsulates Travis’ isolation is when he talks to himself in the mirror. He’s bought a gun, he’s ready to start his crusade of vigilante justice, and he’s preparing some tough-guy catchphrases.
Travis starts threatening his own reflection before pulling out his gun and showing off his new sleeve retractor. This scene gets even funnier when you see how much messier his real vigilante antics are later in the movie.
Jordan Takes Quaaludes
The Wolf Of Wall Street
When Jordan Belfort takes some old Quaaludes in The Wolf of Wall Street, they don’t seem to be having much effect. But after he leaves the house to speak to his lawyer on an outside line, and learns that he’s in trouble with the FBI, suddenly the psychedelics hit him like a speeding train.
Martin Scorsese pulls out all the cinematic stops to make this the most exciting, unpredictable, visually stunning sequence possible. From the extra-tall country club staircase to the Popeye-inspired cocaine binge, this is cinema at its most spectacular.