| Bringing Out the Dead | |
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original film poster |
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| Directed by | Martin Scorsese |
| Produced by | Barbara De Fina, Scott Rudin |
| Written by | Novel: Joe Connelly Screenplay: Paul Schrader |
| Starring | Nicolas Cage John Goodman Ving Rhames Tom Sizemore Patricia Arquette Marc Anthony |
| Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
| Distributed by | United States/Canada Paramount Pictures United Kingdom/International Touchstone Pictures Buena Vista International |
| Release date(s) | October 22, 1999 |
| Running time | 121 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $55,000,000 |
| Box office | $16,797,191[1] |
Bringing Out the Dead is a 1999 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, and based on the novel by Joe Connelly[2][3] with the screenplay by Paul Schrader. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Ving Rhames, John Goodman, Tom Sizemore and Patricia Arquette.
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It is about 48 hours in the life of a burnt-out paramedic: Frank (Cage) is a Manhattan medic, working the graveyard shift in a two-man ambulance team. He's burned out, exhausted, and seeing ghosts, especially a young woman he failed to save six months before. He is no longer able to save people - he simply brings out the dead. We follow him for three nights, each with a different partner: Larry (Goodman), who thinks about dinner; Marcus (Rhames), who looks to Jesus; and Tom (Sizemore), who wallops people out of frustration. Frank befriends the daughter of a heart victim he brings in. Mary (Arquette) is an ex-junkie, angry at her father but now hoping he'll live.
Once called Father Frank for his efforts to rescue lives, Frank sees the ghosts of those he failed to save around every turn. He has tried everything he can to get fired-calling in sick, coming in late, delaying taking calls where he might have to face one more victim he can't help- yet he cannot quit the job.
The film was generally well received by critics and holds a 71% 'Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 104 reviews.[4] Roger Ebert gave it a perfect four star rating, writing, "To look at Bringing Out the Dead--to look, indeed, at almost any Scorsese film--is to be reminded that film can touch us urgently and deeply."[5]
Audiences stayed away from what was perceived in its marketing as a Sixth Sense-type ghost story.[6]
Bringing Out the Dead debuted at #4 in 1,936 theaters with a weekend gross of only $6,193,052.
This motion picture, along with Sleepy Hollow, were the final feature films released on Laserdisc.
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