I liked it, most don't. | Bringing Out the Dead (Spec) [VHS]

A barometer of sorts... | Bringing Out the Dead (Spec) [VHS] | Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette

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	• Bringing Out the Dead (Spec) [VHS] Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette Paramount, 2000 average customer review:based on 178 reviews view larger image
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A movie well worth your time

As someone who is going into the EMS field this movie has a special place for me. But even though it has EMS as a back drop, the real focus of the movie is the evolution of the main character Frank, who is paramedic who hasn't saved anyone in months. I really love the way this movie blends together his troubled life, his failure at work and sleep deprivation. It also has some very good looking scenes that really give you this jaded, stressed out view of the world of an EMT. On top of all the it flows seamlessly, is never over the top, and still has a few traces of dark humor tied in. This movie is in no way a comedy, but a really good story of several people being "saved". (no that is not a god reference)

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I liked it, most don't.

This movie pretty much killed Laser Disc (for those of you that remember those). It is that bad. However, I am a fan of Cage so I had to own it.

A barometer of sorts...

As a misanthrope cursed with empathy, this movie speaks to me. We are cursed to fail, cursed with freedoms, cursed to love. CURSED. I am comfortable in denying my time to those who do not appreciate the majesty of this film. Simply stated, if you don't dig this, you are living in a bubble, hence, you live in denial, hence, I am not wasting time on YOU.

We can't all be saved, but rest assured, there are masochistic individuals such as myself who are driven to pull you out of the fire that this life breathes, regardless of the fact that you are destined to burn in Hell when it is all said and done.

Jump in, smear the sludge and slime all over yourself. That's called "life."

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Best Cage movie and one of Scorsese's finest

I first saw this film in New York City shortly after it was released. I was going through a bad time, losing close friends, utterly heartbroken, drunk and sleep deprived - a feeling of losing control and being emotionally "out to sea": somewhere between numb and having a nervous breakdown.

This film and "Fight Club" got me through it week by week at a $3.00 discount theatre on 50th street where I saw "Bringing Out The Dead" several times. As such, I cannot be completely objective about it, but I believe the film is one of the very best Scorsese directed - certainly one of the most honest and honestly, though blackly, funny movies.

I admit to being in love with New York City and the film captures so much of it in a manner that is both darkly romantic and grittily realistic.

And though he has been lambasted throughout his career (and rightly so, often-times) "BOTD" is Nicholas Cage's most sincere performance since "Raising Arizona". I imagine it is difficult to watch someone act "crazy" and do it believably but at the time I saw the film I was on the very same page and his performance rang true.

The film is much too savage for the average audience and the audience that appreciates savage humor and scenarios will likely not identify with Cage's character, it being too 'everyman' and relatively straightlaced. If you've already seen it and weren't laughing at the cripple crawling like the devil out of the way of the ambulance then obviously you missed the film's attempt at humor and it's most shining attribute and it wasn't made for you.

Likewise, if you saw something wrong with Cage taking the baseball bat to the car's windshield at the moment it happens the film is simply on another plane of reality for you. Watching Cage smash it to peices was highly cathartic for me at the time and probably saved me from being picked up by the NYPD at 3:30 AM many nights for similar actions I desired to committ at the time.

And again, if you couldn't sympathise with the films finale as Cage finally attains deep natural sleep in the arms of a troubled girl he barely knows but has gone through hell with then the film is not for you. I've rarely observed such a perfect and perfectly satisfying ending. The ending of "Where the Wild Thigs Are" by Spike Jonze reminds me of it significantly. Peace and sleep in the arms of a sweet woman is the very best some men can hope for in their daily torment.

"BOTD"'s resolution is, for me, the modern version of the classic Hollywood happy romantic ending.

Fans of "Fight Club" should definitley check it out, particularly if they identified with Edward Norton's portrayal of someone losing everything and 'sliding' with it.

I doubt overmuch if anyone engaging in self-destructive behavior and observing their life fall apart will find the time to read Amazon reviews and purchase out-of-print decade old films, but do them a favor and buy them a little gift of this movie. It may provide the perspective, self respect and humor they require to get through like it did for me.

And thank you, Martin and Nicholas.

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Martin Scorsese comes home to the mean streets of New York with Bringing Out the Dead, the hyperkinetic tale of an ambulance driver (Nicolas Cage) on three sleep-deprived, adrenaline-fueled nights amongst the dead and dying of the city. Less a coherent narrative than a mood piece, the film is a welcome return to form for Scorsese, who takes Joe Connelly's memoir and spins it into a slightly surreal, darkly comic tale of one man's redemption. Frank Pierce (Cage) is a man who feels impotent in his job as an EMT--less a lifesaver, he's more of a grief mop as he sardonically puts it, bearing witness to the pain and suffering of others. Haunted by the specter of a young homeless girl, something stirs in Frank when he meets Mary (Patricia Arquette), the daughter of a heart attack victim Frank attends to. In a world where human interaction usually means putting someone on a stretcher, or bantering frenetically with his coworkers, Frank seems headed for certain physical and nervous collapse.

Scorsese, screenwriter Paul Schrader (of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull), and cinematographer Robert Richardson put a vivid spin on the New York of the early 90s with amazing visual flair and keen, economical storytelling. The film practically pulses with life, and hits the perfect note of ragged exhaustion. Cage, after a recent career slump, turns in an exceptional performance, by turns manic and weary. In fact, this is one of the best casts ever assembled for a Scorsese film: in addition to the quietly effective Arquette, there are great performances by John Goodman, Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore as Cage's ambulance partners, as well as Mary Beth Hurt (as an ER doctor), pop star Marc Anthony (as a drug addict), and especially Cliff Curtis (as a drug dealer who winds up in an unusual scrape). It's not a masterpiece in the vein of Taxi Driver, but Bringing Out the Dead ranks as a stunning Scorsese joyride. --Mark Englehart

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