Bringing Out the Dead (1999)

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers (WGA):

Joe Connelly (novel)
Paul Schrader (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 October 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

An Easter story. Frank is a Manhattan medic, working graveyard in a two-man ambulance team. He's burned out...

Plot Keywords:

Hell | Ghost | Paramedic | Rescue | Ambulance

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Nicolas Cage	...	Frank Pierce
Patricia Arquette	...	Mary Burke
John Goodman	...	Larry
Ving Rhames	...	Marcus
Tom Sizemore	...	Tom Wolls
Marc Anthony	...	Noel
Mary Beth Hurt	...	Nurse Constance
Cliff Curtis	...	Cy Coates
Nestor Serrano	...	Dr. Hazmat
Aida Turturro	...	Nurse Crupp
Sonja Sohn	...	Kanita
Cynthia Roman	...	Rose
Afemo Omilami	...	Griss
Cullen O. Johnson	...	Mr. Burke (as Cullen Oliver Johnson)
Arthur J. Nascarella	...	Captain Barney (as Arthur Nascarella)

MPAA:

Rated R for gritty violent content, drug use and language.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Philippines:R-18 | Brazil:18 | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Chile:18 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #36706)

Filming Locations:

11th Avenue & 54th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

De Fina-Cappa

Trivia:

Average Shot Length (ASL) = 5.1 seconds

Goofs:

Continuity: Just before Wolls crashes the ambulance, Frank starts to drink from a bottle of rubbing alcohol as he sits in the right front seat. The shot immediately shifts to one through the right side passenger window. The bottle is gone, and Frank is just staring forward.

Quotes:

Dr. Hazmat: I'm gonna hafta intubate because the kid's mother won't sign the Do Not Resuscitate. Mercy killing doesn't translate well in Spanish.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Anus Magillicutty (2003)

Soundtrack:

Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing

don't let the title fool you

Contrary to what the name suggests, "Bringing Out the Dead" is not really about dead people. It tells the story of New York paramedic Frank Pierce (Nicolas Cage), who is feeling haunted by the ghosts of the people whom he failed to save. Some reviewers compared this movie to "Taxi Driver". That's partly true, but the true similarity is in its gritty portrayal of New York. From Frank's point of view, we definitely see New York as an eerie, almost dreamlike, place, whereas we always saw the real (albeit disturbed) world through Travis Bickle's eyes.

As for what I thought of the movie, it wasn't a masterpiece by any stretch, but we can all safely say that Martin Scorsese has never made a bad movie, per se. Cage's icy performance adds to the strangeness of everything.