The Films of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, Ranked

7. Cape Fear (1991) Probably the creepiest movie in Scorsese's repertoire this side of Shutter Island, this remake of the 1962 movie of the same name finds De Niro as Max Cady, a convicted rapist who stalks the family of the lawyer who couldn't get him acquitted. This isn't one of the duo's classics, but De Niro gives a delightfully bizarre and very creepy performance; who can forget him laughing in that movie theater, cigar lit in his mouth ? Universal

6. Mean Streets (1973) Mean Streets marked the beginning of a beautiful partnership, one still going strong 46 years later. De Niro plays the loose cannon gambler Johnny Boy here, foreshadowing the sort of wise guy he generally would find himself playing for much of his career. The movie, like most Scorsese films, is set in New York City, specifically Little Italy; while Mean Streets isn't as notably revered as movies like Goodfellas or Taxi Driver, it was still chosen in 1997 as an entry to be preserved in the Library of Congress. De Niro is joined here by fellow Scorsese favorite, Harvey Keitel, and as usual the soundtrack is one of the best parts. Warner Bros.

5. The King of Comedy (1983) By far the most underrated movie in the De Niro/Scorsese catalogue, The King of Comedy is a textbook example of a movie that was ahead of it's time. This super dark comedy finds De Niro as Rupert Pupkin, a comedian so desperate to make it in the business that he kidnaps his idol, a talk show host. Sound familiar? King of Comedy clearly served as inspiration in some ways for this year's smash superhero hit Jokerin that movie, De Niro plays the talk show host, while Joaquin Phoenix plays the obsessed fan. De Niro has commented on the movie in the past, essentially citing the 'ahead of it's time' argument. He suggested the movie "wasnt so well-received because it gave off an aura of something that people didnt want to look at or know. Give this movie a watch nowadaysyou'll be surprised with it. 20th Century Fox

4. Casino (1995) Casino is an all-time cable movie. I dare you to find this movie playing on TNT or AMC or some HBO channel and not keep watching it from whatever point you find it. Literally impossible. De Niro. Sharon Stone. Joe Pesci. James Woods! James Woods in a perfect role for creepy James Woods. Anyway, I digressthis movie is a blast, and finds De Niro playing jewish Casino owner Ace Rothstein. It's all about crime, deception, and the downfall of simply getting too greedy; it loses a few points for being just a little too similar to Goodfellas (both are based on books by the same author), but, again, we're really picking and choosing with these. This movie is fantastic. Universal

3. Raging Bull (1980) Many consider Raging Bull one of the greatest movies of all time, and it's hard to argue against it. It's one of our top sports movies on Netflix, and it also won De Niro his second Oscar back in 1981. This tale of real-life boxer Jake LaMotta is one of the most brilliant character studies ever put to film, and De Niro's 60-pound weight gain to play the older version of LaMotta is the kind of method acting legends are made of. Christian Bale , the closest thing to our modern day De Niro, clearly was inspired. United Artists/MGM

2. Taxi Driver (1976) If you've ever seen a movie where someone slowly but surely loses their grip on reality, it probably gets its roots from here; it's De Niro at his very best, and Scorsese at his most personal and frenetic filmmaking. Travis Bickle, the titular Taxi Driver who eventually comes undone, is the kind of loose cannon character who can only exist through perfect director/star synthesis. His ups, his downs, his voiceoverit all works to perfection in this incredibly formative movie. The movie is a character study, sure, but its also a statement about how society fails its post-war veterans; with no system in place, Travis is left here to build his own value system and fend for himself. The man cant tell the difference between a regular movie and a porno as a choice for a date, for Petes sake. We mentioned earlier that Joker was inspired by The King of Comedy, but Taxi Driver is certainly the clearer through-line (and for an update from the movie's actual screenwriter, Paul Schrader, you can check out 2018's incredible First Reformed with Ethan Hawke). It goes without saying, but Taxi Driver is the far superior film to Joker; if you somehow haven't seen it, click over to Netflix and hit play as soon as possible. Columbia Pictures

1. Goodfellas (1990) All due respect to Francis Ford Coppola, but Martin Scorsese made the greatest mob movie of all time in 1990. Goodfellas is an impeccable movie, one that is never boring for a second of its 2 hour, 28 minute running timenot on minute one of the first watch, nor minute 150 of the 10th watch. De Niro, really, is a supporting player hereRay Liotta is the movie's anti-hero protagonist as Henry Hillbut carries it nonetheless, going from friendly to sinister within a moment's notice. Add in a brilliant Joe Pesci and a fantastic soundtrack (again, a Scorsese hallmark) and you've got an all-time great piece of cinema. Warner Bros.